Personal Support Worker Program (PSW) (C112)

Program Description

Leadership Claims

George Brown has been training Personal Support Workers for over 20 years.

Program Overview

The Personal Support Worker (PSW) program teaches students the skills required to provide or assist with personal care for the elderly, the chronically ill, and persons with accessibility challenges. These patients may live in the community, in long-term care facilities, or in select ambulatory care settings.

Classes for this two-semester program are held at our state-of-the-art Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences at Waterfront Campus and are scheduled between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Students can expect to participate in faculty-supervised clinical practicums that take place in various settings across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Shift hours may vary between day and/or evenings depending upon the practice setting.

Full Description

The two-semester Personal Support Worker (PSW) (C112) certificate program teaches students the full range of skills required to assist clients with their personal and household needs in order to ensure their comfort and safety.

PSWs provide or assist with personal care for:

  • the frail elderly
  • the chronically ill
  • people with physical disabilities living in the community
  • people in long-term care facilities
  • people in select ambulatory care settings
  • people in acute medical and surgical settings
  • people receiving palliative care

PLEASE NOTE: Public Health continues to recommend that people working with vulnerable communities be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Clinical agency partners continue to require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be approved to complete clinical placements within their facilities. Agencies have the right to decline the placement of students who are not fully vaccinated, and students who are not vaccinated are at risk of not being able to complete their clinical placement course requirements.

Courses focus on the skills and abilities needed to create a climate that promotes the optimal physical, social and emotional well-being of each client.

Your Field Education Options

As a student in the Personal Support Worker program, you will learn how to practise as a member of an interprofessional health-care team through a variety of clinical placement experiences. These experiences will include supervised placements in institutional and community settings, and an interprofessional Simulation Centre experience.

Please note: Faculty-supervised clinical practicums take place in various settings across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The clinical practicum experience may vary between day and/or evening shifts, depending upon the practice setting.

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career Options

George Brown College PSW graduates can find employment in a variety of settings such as:

  • ambulatory care settings
  • long-term care facilities
  • residential and supportive housing
  • community support agencies
  • acute medical settings
  • palliative care settings

Educational Pathways

Our Personal Support Worker (C112) graduates who wish to continue their education and who meet all admission requirements can apply to the following George Brown College programs:

ALUMNI IMPACT

We are immensely proud of the contributions of our alumni in Toronto and around the globe.
 
From Michelin-starred restaurants to major construction, entertainment, community and financial organizations, our graduates are truly making an impact across a range of industries.

Latest Alumni Stories 

"Upon graduating from the Personal Support Worker program at George Brown College, I can honestly say that my life is changed for the better. The course work was gruelling and the practical exhausting but I have never had such a great experience with a school. To your professors you are not just a student number, you are someone who could one day be taking care of family members and loved ones. The amount of time and effort my clinical instructor put into my education was unforgettable. Her care over my academic and emotional well-being will stick with me forever. George Brown College truly prepared me for a exciting future full of meaning."

Mira Glogauer
Ontario College Certificate

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