Personal support workers are incredibly valuable to our society. They play a necessary role in supporting those among us who require assistance with daily tasks and activities. In this role, they help older adults, people with chronic illnesses, and people with disabilities to live with dignity and integrity. By receiving PSW training, you can help create respectable living conditions for those who would be unable to do so on their own.
During your training, you’ll learn a wide range of skills so that you can become an adaptable member of a multidisciplinary care team. PSWs truly embody extremely diverse skill sets, between medical knowledge, communication skills, administrative proficiency, and more. In a PSW role, you can expect to help with personal hygiene, nutrition, medication, family communication, and more. Above it all, you will be expected to help improve peoples’ lives in ways that are sometimes intangible. Read on for some ways you can help better your clients’ lives.
Raise Peoples’ Quality of Living After PSW Training
The central way that personal support workers can help improve their clients’ lives is by maintaining their standard of living. By the nature of their general job duties, PSWs significantly improve their clients’ lives. Most clients of a PSW will have difficulty maintaining an acceptable standard of living, either due to advanced age, illness, or disability.
Professionals with PSW training help these clients move through their daily routines. Many clients may have difficulties performing cooking, cleaning, grooming, or some combination of these tasks. PSWs can greatly improve clients’ feelings of dignity and happiness by ensuring that they’re hygienic, dressed, and respectable. Through tasks like meal preparation and routine household tasks, PSWs ascertain that their clients are living a decent, happy life.
Help Them Find Joy Through Games and Activities
As a graduate of a personal support worker program, you can do more than just bring your clients lives up to a baseline of respectable. There are many things you can do with your clients to ensure that they’re not just satisfied, but happy and joyful. During your PSW career, try leading your clients through different activities that stimulate their minds, bodies, and emotions.
For example, music is an incredible tool that can be used to soothe or excite your clients. Try inquiring as to the kind of music your clients like to listen to, or even whether they play an instrument. You can also guide clients through light-hearted games and quizzes as a way to encourage them to keep their minds sharp and entertained. To help them feel good in their bodies, try to lead clients through simple stretches and exercises.
Provide Necessary Companionship to Clients
An often overlooked aspect of a personal support worker’s career is the companionship they offer. This is a more intangible facet of the job, but it can be just as important as feeding, clothing, and bathing clients. For some clients, their daily lives can be isolating, and the presence of a PSW can help to negate some of the loneliness.
Feelings of loneliness can inspire sadness and apathy, which may compound existing health issues. As a PSW, your involvement in your clients’ lives can help them feel less alone, more appreciated, and generally happier. It’s important to remain conscious of this as you engage with your clients.
Are you interested in helping improve peoples’ lives by taking personal support worker courses?
Contact Canadian Business College for more information.