Category: Developmental Service Worker
Exploring The Role: Food Service Worker Job Description Explained
August 10, 2023
Nutrition is an essential dimension of health making food service workers a vital part of any integrated healthcare team. If you have an affinity for food preparation and nutrition, this may be the perfect role for you. Keep reading for a comprehensive description of the food service worker role. Learn about your daily responsibilities, what sort of technical and soft skills you’ll need to thrive in the role, and how our training program will prepare you to be a competitive and competent candidate.
What You’ll Do: Food Service Worker Job Description
Food service workers assist in the preparation and service of food to patients in various healthcare settings including hospitals, special care institutions, and long-term care homes. These roles are demanding but also very rewarding as they involve the nourishment of those who cannot nourish themselves. As a food service worker, you will cook, prepare, and serve food to patients following safe food handling procedures. They may also be responsible for sanitizing cooking supplies and food service areas in order to ensure the health and safety of patients. Other tasks may include stocking refrigerators and pantries with food products and essential kitchen supplies.
Essential Food Service Worker Skills
Food service workers require various technical and soft skills in order to thrive in their roles. They must have a profound understanding of nutrition and its effects on health. In addition, they must be aware of various food allergies and intolerances caused by conditions like celiac disease and diabetes then work around them. Some essential technical skills for this role include the proper preparation of various meals and food safety. Soft skills that you may not see on a food service worker job description also play an integral role in your success in this role. For example, communication skills, customer service, stress management, the ability to multitask, and observational skills are essential.
How Food Service Worker Training Will Help You Succeed
In pursuit of this career, certification will be an important way to distinguish yourself as a knowledgeable candidate who’s ready to work. Healthcare facilities need to trust your ability to exercise the right food safety practices, understand nutrition and the dangers associated with nutritional deficiencies, prepare meals that will nourish patients, and serve these meals. Our training program covers all of the skills and knowledge you’ll need to meet all food service worker duties and responsibilities. Using three engaging delivery methods – online flexible learning activities, in-person practical labs, and externships, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to grasp essential principles and get hands-on practice.
FAQs To Consider
Q: What does a food service worker do?
A: As a food service worker, you will cook, prepare, and serve food to patients following safe food handling procedures. They may also be responsible for sanitizing cooking supplies and food service areas in order to ensure the health and safety of patients.
Q: What is a food service worker?
A: Food service workers assist in the preparation and service of food to patients in various healthcare settings including hospitals, special care institutions, and long-term care homes.
Ready to start our food service worker program?
Contact Medix College to learn more!
Fostering Friendship Skills in Clients After Developmental Service Worker Courses
September 29, 2017
The need for friendship and social interaction is natural and universal. Children and adults who have developmental disabilities are no different. However, they may find making quality friendships more challenging, because the skills needed to form quality friendships might not always come as easily. As a result, individuals with developmental disabilities may need guidance from caring developmental service workers in order to foster skills that will allow them to form mutual and respectful friendships.
If you’re interested in a career that allows you to empower individuals with disabilities to live happy and fulfilling lives, read on to learn how to help those with developmental disabilities form friendships.
Help Your Clients Understand Everyday Conversation After DSW Courses
At the beginning and throughout a friendship, the ability to have a respectful, two-way conversation is important. Clients with a developmental disability may need help learning what topics are appropriate for everyday conversation. Learning about boundaries, privacy, and what topics are appropriate to talk about will help your clients have appropriate discussions with their peers and work towards building quality friendships.
For example, after DSW courses, you may explain to clients that good topics to talk about when meeting someone new could be the weather, the person’s last vacation, or what subject they like in school.
Teach Your Clients About Appropriate Personal Space After DSW Courses
Teaching your clients the proper amount of space to leave between them and a stranger, a new friend, or a close friend is important to ensure their social interactions are comfortable and respectful.
It’s also important to note that some of your clients may be more sensitive to other people standing closely to them or touching them. Therefore, having conversations with your clients about what personal space means can help them develop good boundaries with new friends. In addition, it can be helpful to also talk about appropriate and consensual touch from a friend, such as a high five, hug or a pat on the back. By helping your clients understand that these gestures are a positive sign of support and care will help them remain relaxed in social situations with friends.
Explain What a Positive Friendship Is After DSW Courses
Unfortunately, individuals who have developmental disabilities may be at risk of being taken advantage of. That’s why after developmental service worker school, you can discuss with your clients what constitutes a good friendship. In this way, you can help them foster friendships that are positive.
For instance, it is important to explain to your client that if someone is nice to them when they aren’t around other people, but ignores them when they are in a group setting, then that person might not be a true friend. On the other hand, someone who includes them and invites them to play or socialize with a group of friends is someone who is a good friend.
By helping your clients develop friendship skills, you can help them live happy and fulfilling lives, form lasting friendships, and set them on a path towards success.
Did you know career training in healthcare can lead to a variety of rewarding opportunities?
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How Grads of DSW Courses Can Use Activities to Promote Client Well-being
June 30, 2017
Developmental service workers work hard to contribute to a client’s happiness and fulfillment. Thoughtfully encouraging clients to take part in activities, or assisting them as they participate in them, can offer many important benefits. Activities are a good way to get clients stimulated, active, and engaged, and can help them enjoy a higher quality of life.
Completing training to work as a developmental service worker will provide you with many skills that can help you help others enjoy a variety of fun and valuable activities. Here’s a look at some of the ways you can help.
After DSW Courses, Getting Clients Active Can Lead to Improved Wellbeing
It’s well known that physical activity can lead to many benefits, from improved cardiovascular health, to increased strength and endurance, and even to a better mood. That’s why, for future clients who may have difficulty engaging in physical activities, or who may require extra motivation to engage in them, introducing physical activity into their schedule can be a great idea.
Go for a walk, head to a public pool, play some friendly one-on-one basketball, or anything else! One of the great things about exercise is that so many different activities fall under its umbrella. Confer with your future clients, find out what kinds of things they like, and use that as a basis for finding physical activities they enjoy taking part in.
Help Clients Enjoy Social Activities for Improved Emotional Wellbeing
Some individuals with developmental disabilities can feel a bit isolated, which can lead to lower feelings of self-worth and life satisfaction. If this is true of your future clients, consider encouraging them to take part in social activities.
There are many different possibilities for social activities, including art classes, game nights, and more. If you work in a residential facility, you might even want to try setting up designated areas for different activities, and give clients the chance to choose whatever social activity they want to take part in.
Socializing can make some people nervous, but the communication and interpersonal skills you develop through developmental service worker training can help you act as an encouraging presence for your shyer clients. With your help and support, your clients can enjoy a fuller social life, and the emotional benefits that come with that.
Grads of DSW Courses Can Introduce Clients to Helpful Therapeutic Activities
Therapeutic activities can help your future clients de-stress and enjoy greater mental clarity and wellbeing, which is why you may consider helping them take part in some.
There is no shortage to the possibilities for therapeutic activities. For example, there is music therapy, wherein a client could sing, clap their hands, or play instruments—all good opportunities for self-expression. Or you could organize for a therapy animal to visit, which can help a person de-stress.
Whatever kind of therapeutic activity your future clients take part in, the skills you learn in your DSW courses will be helpful in ensuring they are able to enjoy them. Through practical skill-building and one-to-one attention from expert instructors, you’ll develop a valuable range of abilities that will allow you to assist others in enjoying all kinds of activities.
Do you want to attend healthcare college in Ontario?
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Living with dignity means feeling respected and accepted by those around you. Dignity promotes a strong sense of self-worth and overall wellbeing, and can make all the difference in a person’s quality of life. As a result, it’s no surprise that it’s important for all members of the community to be treated with dignity and respect.
Developmental service workers (DSWs) play a crucial role in helping their clients live life to the fullest. As a developmental service worker, there are many ways in which you can promote client dignity. Whether by providing attentive and caring support, or by helping clients develop skills so that they can live independently, you’ll be able to help your clients live with dignity.
Here are just some of the ways that developmental service workers promote client dignity.
Graduates of DSW Courses Empower their Clients by Teaching Them Valuable Life Skills
An important part of living a life of dignity is enjoying a sense of independence. For those clients whose disability can make it challenging to enjoy the level of independence they might want, a valuable service that professionals with developmental service worker training can provide is helping them learn valuable skills that promote independence.
From helping clients perform physical chores, to personal care, to providing them with guidance in a job search, and beyond, there are many ways a developmental service worker can empower their clients to become more confident and independent. Enroll in a good training program to learn the best ways to complete all of these responsibilities, and thereby help your clients enjoy greater independence and dignity in their lives.
Communication Skills Learned in DSW Courses Can Help You Promote Client Dignity
A crucial element of treating a client with dignity is engaging with them in respectful communication. This means speaking to them in a polite manner and taking care to listen to the thoughts and concerns they have to share as well, both of which can encourage mutual respect and understanding.
Some individuals with disabilities may not enjoy enough of this kind of respect in their daily life, which is why it’s especially important for service workers to be able to engage with them in a respectful manner. Fortunately, suitable DSW courses will offer you excellent training in communication skills, as well as a lot of personalized attention from expert instructors. This can help you gain a great understanding of the particular ways you might promote a client’s dignity while communicating with them, taught by people who are drawing from valuable experience.
Graduates of DSW Courses Promote Client Dignity Through Social Inclusion
Bonding with friends and family is a wonderful, valuable part of a person’s life. For those clients whose disability can make it difficult to enjoy an active social life, one of the most rewarding services a DSW can provide is assisting them in making and strengthening social bonds.
There are many ways this can be achieved. You could provide physical assistance to clients who are mobility impaired and want to enjoy a day out with friends, or help clients who have difficulty with interpersonal interaction in learning new tools for conversation with others. Every client is unique, but by training to become a DSW, you will learn how to provide whatever assistance might be necessary for your clients to enjoy a fulfilling social life. With these skills, you will be able to begin your career in developmental service feeling confident in your ability to make a real and powerful difference in the lives of your clients, as you help them live with dignity and respect.
Do you want to go to Developmental Service Worker school?
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A Look at Different Developmental Disabilities for Students Taking DSW Courses
March 31, 2017
Research allows us to predict development paths for things like healthy brains, skeletons, nervous systems, and other parts of the human body. For the majority of people, development for most systems occurs at around the same time in life.
Developmental disabilities are physical or intellectual impairments that prevent normal development or functioning of a person’s mind or body. Those living with these disabilities can have difficulty managing everyday tasks, and may turn to a developmental service worker for assistance.
Here is a closer look at a few common developmental disabilities and what they mean both for the people living with them and for the service workers who help them.
Graduates of DSW Courses May Work With Clients Who Have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects intellectual development, and can have many different effects. Clients with autism may have difficulty socializing with others, may be sensitive to loud noises, or may exhibit other atypical behaviours. Though many people with autism can enjoy a very high level of autonomy, some with a more severe type of autism could have symptoms that affect their quality of life. They may be prone to self-injury, have difficulty speaking or communicating, and more. A developmental service worker can assist autistic clients with various tasks including helping them develop healthy social skills and feel comfortable in a public setting.
After graduating from a Developmental Service Worker College, there are many environments in which graduates might work to assist individuals with autism. Examples include working to assist students in the classroom, as a respite or support worker, as a counsellor for the family of an individual with autism and more. The program at Medix College will prepare you to succeed in any of these environments, and can help you provide excellent assistance to people with developmental disabilities like autism.
Clients With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Can Benefit From the Assistance of DSWs
Some experts, including those at the Public Health Agency of Canada, recommend no alcohol consumption at all while pregnant. This is because consuming more than a small amount can lead to a baby being born with a disability known as “fetal alcohol syndrome.” Symptoms like intellectual impairment, physical deformities, and difficulty managing mood are commonly associated with FAS.
FAS is incurable, and clients with this condition may seek out assistance at different times in their lives. Useful services DSWs can offer includes aiding clients to develop their social skills, helping them find employment, and offering useful advice when a client is having difficulty resolving an issue on their own.
Effective communication will be a valuable tool for you when working with clients who have FAS or other developmental disabilities, and is something you will develop throughout your DSW course. Through lectures, case studies, scenarios and hands on practicum experience, you will gain insight into how to effectively speak with and listen to clients with all kinds of disabilities, so that you can guide them to greater autonomy and happiness.
Graduates of DSW Courses Can Work With Clients Who Have Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is one of the most common physical developmental disabilities you might see in your career in developmental service work. Damage or malformation in particular areas of the brain can affect a person’s coordination, strength, and stability.
Though cerebral palsy doesn’t normally worsen over time, severe cases can be very limiting. Clients might have difficulty completing everyday physical tasks including maintaining personal hygiene. A DSW worker can help these individuals accomplish these tasks, allowing them to enjoy a higher quality of life.
By completing your DSW program at Medix College, you will receive hands on training with clients at long-term care facilities, allowing you to gain real life knowledge of the kind of work you will perform throughout your career. Translating this training to the workplace will allow you to offer great assistance to clients with physical disabilities, helping you make a difference in your community.
Are you ready to begin your career training in healthcare?
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What to Look For When Choosing a Developmental Service Worker Training Program
January 20, 2017
Studying in a Developmental Service Worker (DSW) program is a great way to prepare yourself for rewarding careers helping people who are living with developmental disabilities. Possibilities include working as a development assistant, special needs worker, and counselor, to name just a few examples.
However, not all training programs are equal for readying you for these roles. For the best odds of future success, it’s important to enrol in a program that uses effective training methods, and is able to help you progress from student to professional efficiently. Curious about what you should look for? Here are a few attributes that great Developmental Service Worker training programs have.
Look For a Program That Offers Hands-On Training in Its DSW Courses
Evidence suggests that active participation is more effective than lectures at helping students understand course material. For that reason, it’s a good idea to choose a DSW program that offers many opportunities to receive hands-on training, and participate in active work.
The Developmental Service Worker training program at Medix College includes a lot of this kind of hands-on training. You’ll spend time in well-equipped laboratory and clinical settings, where you’ll learn to complete the practical work that will be required of you in your future career. This includes assisting individuals with physical disabilities, intervening in crisis situations, promoting personal care skills, and more. By the time your training is complete, you’ll have great, practical experience with the skills that healthcare employers look for.
Great Developmental Service Worker Training Programs Offer Practicum Components
Today’s employers value and seek candidates that have some relevant work experience. That’s why it’s a great idea to enrol in a Developmental Service Worker school that includes a practicum component. In a practicum, you will put your training to work for a relevant employer as part of your curriculum, bolstering your resume and receiving school credit at the same time.
All students in our developmental service worker program complete a practicum as part of their studies. You can work in a variety of locations—community facilities, residential facilities, and educational institutions are a few examples—and you can expect to offer various DSW services during that time. Some tasks you may be responsible for include supporting and encouraging clients, and helping them develop skills to improve their mental, emotional, and physical health, among others.
Completing a practicum allows you to add real-world, valuable experience to your resume before you even complete your training, and get a real feel for what it’s like to work in your field. This can give you a competitive edge when you look to begin your career.
Look For a School That Offers Employment Assistance to Students & Graduates
Once you’ve completed your career training, it will be time to begin the process of finding job opportunities, applying to openings, and interviewing to be hired. To improve your odds of finding a great job, it’s a good idea to enrol in a school that will actively help you with this process.
Our career services can give you an advantage in looking for and landing a great position at the end of your developmental service worker studies. Services include employment counseling, help with your job search, assistance with crafting resumes, and coaching to help you handle job interviews effectively. What’s more, we are often notified about new openings before they are posted to the public, and will pass that information along to students and recent graduates.
When choosing a developmental service worker training program, choose something that offers hands-on instruction, a practicum component, and assistance with finding a great career after you finish. This will help you gain the skills and experience to find a good career—and extra advantages in the job search process too.
Looking for a school that offers great DSW courses and student support?
Visit Medix College to learn why our school is a great choice for you.
