A career as a personal support worker will provide a rewarding experience in the workplace every day. After your training, you’ll get to choose from a number of job opportunities, having the skills needed to work in long-term care facilities, supportive housing, home care, adult day care, and palliative care.Â
Providing care, support, and assistance to clients who are aging, chronically ill, or have a mental/physical disability is an important role in society. Making an impact with these clients and their families becomes a fulfilling journey for all parties involved. In order to become comfortable providing essential services for these patients, you will need practical experience to fully understand the extent of care provided to them. During your course, you will have the option to participate in cross disciplinary learning opportunities with other members of the care and service team. Read on to discover why this practical experience is so important.
Find Specializations You Enjoy
Obtaining hands-on experience while completing your personal support worker training can give you a better idea of the type of work environment you most enjoy. The only way to really know whether or not you like a certain job placement is to try it out, and practical experience allows you to do just that.
Completing a program that provides two externships will open your eyes to what two different types of work placements entail. Having the opportunity to experience extensive time in each placement gives you a complete look at what your role would be like in each one. You may find that you loved the first placement, and would like to pursue job openings in the same specialization after you complete your training. Alternatively, you may realize that you don’t particularly enjoy a certain placement, encouraging you to keep your options open for a different type of role.
Increase Your Validity After Your PSW Course
When hiring a personal support worker, employers generally want to know that the job candidate has relevant experience to help them excel in the workplace. Practical experience gives you the chance to improve your skills, making it easier to display your perfect fit for the role in an interview.
During the first hand lab experience you’ll gain in your PSW course, you will develop skills that will easily translate to a job placement after your program. In these labs you’ll get comfortable with common PSW tasks such as meal preparation, household management, medication administration, mobility assistance, and overall making sure patients of all ages and backgrounds feel comfortable and safe. These are only a few of the many practical skills you will be able to bring to a new job following your course.
Build a Network of Connections in Your Field
Working in these externships can help you build important connections in your field. These connections may be able to assist you in learning about job opportunities or even in providing letters of recommendation from your time working together. Externships are an incredible way to build a professional web of connections in different areas of the personal support worker community.
Building a network in your field will also give you supportive working relationships as you accumulate contacts across the workforce. Having colleagues you can relate to, socialize with, and lean on for support is a great way to foster long term happiness in your career. Don’t wait until you get hired somewhere – instead start building these relationships during your externships to find even more value in these educational opportunities.
Ready to begin your personal support worker courses?
Contact Medix College for information to get started!
