Personal Support Worker

Program Overview

Personal hygiene, mobility, preparing meals and taking essential medication are elements of daily life that most people take for granted, but there are many individuals who are unable to perform these tasks independently. The personal support worker (PSW) is the front-line care provider whose responsibilities focus on the provision of personal care and support that include activities of daily living with client populations across all institutional, community care and service settings. PSWs provide compassionate, client-centred care to enhance and maintain the quality of everyday life. Through dedicated faculty, enhanced curriculum, skills and certifications obtained in the course of study, and implementation of several interprofessional education and simulation opportunities, our students graduate well-prepared and job-ready. In fact, our recent PSW graduate satisfaction rate was 100 per cent (2016-2017).

Hands On

Practical Experience

Helping Others

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)

Note: this program has additional recommended admission and post-admission requirements. Please visit the Admission Requirements and Practicum tabs for further details, including information about providing a clear and current Criminal Reference Check (CRC) with Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS).

View All Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Date	Domestic Availability	International Availability
May 2020	Closed	Closed
September 2020	Open	Closed
January 2021	Open	Open
May 2021	Open

Tuition

Year one domestic: $2,722 (CDN)
Year one international: $13,322 (CDN)

View Full Costs

Semester 1 Courses

View All Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Personal support worker

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Program Details

Personal support workers are valued members of the health-care team. As a graduate, you will have the enhanced skills required to provide compassionate, client-focused care with daily living activities including:

Assistance with medications
Nutrition support
Mobility and restorative activities
Palliative and end of life care
Enhanced certificates including:
- GPA training (Dementia Care)
- Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care
- Safe Food Handling
- FEED “Facilitating effective eating in dysphagia”

In The News

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)

SEPTEMBER, JANUARY AND MAY INTAKE:

Students who begin classes in September will complete Semester 1 in the fall and Semester 2 in the winter/spring semester
Students who begin classes in January will complete Semester 1 from January to April and Semester 2 from May to August.
Students who begin classes in May will complete Semester 1 from May to August and Semester 2 from September until the end of December

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.

Costs

YEAR ONE FEES	Domestic	International
Tuition	$2,722	$13,322
Compulsory Ancillary	$1,337	$1,812
Program Incidental	$60	$60
Total Fees:	$4,119	$15,194

Please note: fees are based on the 2019-2020 academic year and do not include textbooks. For more information please see Other fees to consider.

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Personal support worker

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Community service agencies
Group homes
Home care agencies
Hospitals
Long-term care facilities
Retirement homes

Practicum

Part of your training includes the opportunity to practice what you learn through supervised placements in institutional and community settings. Practicum experiences take place throughout Durham Region and you are responsible for your transportation to and from your practicum agency.

Your practicum will enable you to:

Become job ready
Be sought out by local employers
Provide care for clients in health-care facilities under the direction and supervision of experienced faculty
Learn in a state-of-the-art simulation lab and health care learning centre
Obtain recognized certificates including Palliative Care, St. Peter’s Feeding and GPA training
Experience small group instruction in practicum and laboratory settings
Write a comprehensive exam

PRE-PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS

Please note: There are costs associated with Electronic Student Permit Checking (ESPC), immunizations, lab tests and certifications. Be sure to keep all of your receipts for income tax purposes. These costs include:

Service fees for Verified, our documentation collection and ESPC verification partner.
Costs to complete mandatory immunizations, lab tests, and certifications.

It is required that students have completed the ESPC with Verified to be eligible for the field placement component of this program. You must (at your expense) provide:

A clear and current Criminal Reference Check (CRC) with Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS). If you cannot provide a clear CRC with VSS, you may not be accepted for placement by a field placement agency. CRCs with VSS must be obtained from your local police station. You may be required to obtain additional CRCs with VSS to meet field placement agency requirements
Current Level C CPR from a recognized provider and mask fit testing from a recognized provider.
Current Emergency First Aid Certification from a recognized provider
Entry immunization form completed by a health-care provider

Links:

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Durham College also offers degree completion opportunities with a number of Canadian and international institutions.

Please visit our pathways page to learn more about how you can transfer your credits towards a degree.

COVID-19 Information

Program Overview

Admission Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Tuition

Semester 1 Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Program Details

In The News

Admission Requirements

Recommended

SEPTEMBER, JANUARY AND MAY INTAKE:

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Costs

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Practicum

PRE-PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Personal Support Worker in the news

Helpful Resources

College guide September 2020 [PDF]

College guide September 2020 [Interactive]

Graduate Employment Report [PDF]