Personal Support Worker - Current Academic Year

A One Year Ontario College Certificate Program
Program Code: PSW6
Campus Code: LC (LC - London)
September Admission
Academic Calendars available at www.fanshawec.ca/academicdates
School of Nursing: 519-452-4220

Program Code: PSW6J
Campus Code: SC (SC - Simcoe)
January Admission
Academic Calendars available at www.fanshawec.ca/academicdates
James N. Allan Campus: 519-426-8260

Program Code: PSW6S
Campus Code: ST (ST - St. Thomas)
September/January Admission
Academic Calendars available at www.fanshawec.ca/academicdates
St. Thomas/Elgin Campus: 519-633-2030

Program Code: PSW6T
Campus Code: TC (TC - Tillsonburg Centre)
November Admission
Academic Calendars available at www.fanshawec.ca/academicdates
Tillsonburg Centre: 519-842-9000

Program Description

Personal Support Worker is a two level program leading to an Ontario College Certificate.  Graduates, as entry level unregulated workers, have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to provide personal care and home management services to clients in both community and institutional settings.

Personal support workers work with clients who are stable and who have clearly identified needs that are not expected to change significantly. They work under the supervision of care/service teams (which include nurses, and other regulated or non-regulated care providers), as well as under the direction of the client.

Applicant Selection Criteria

Where the number of eligible applicants exceeds the available spaces in the program, the Applicant Selection Criteria will be:

1. Preference for Permanent Residents of Ontario.
2. Receipt of Application by February 1st.
3. Achievement in the Admission Requirements.

Advanced Standing

• Applicants currently employed as a Home Support Worker or Health Care Aide may be eligible for prior learning assessment and receive credit for part of the course work.

First Aid/Basic Rescuer Certificates

Applicants who accept admission to the program will be required to possess a Standard First Aid course certificate (either St. John Ambulance or Canadian Red Cross or equivalent) and a Basic Rescuer course certificate - Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers (C) in accordance with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Canadian Guidelines for CPR, VALID FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM.   Note:  CPR certification expires after one year regardless of certifying body.  First Aid certification usually is valid for two or three years, depending on the certifying organization.  If either expires during the program, the student must renew and provide documentation to the Program Co-ordinator within one month from the time of expiration.  Failure to do so will result in removal from the clinical/field component of the program of study and progression to the next level may be denied.

Evidence of Good Health

Applicants who accept admission to the program must possess good health and must present written evidence of this as a condition of registration. This will include a medical review, complete immunization and T.B. test (and a Chest X-ray if the T.B. test is positive).

Pre-Clinical/Placement Condition

An essential component of your education will be experiential learning through clinical or field practice relevant to your chosen profession.  In order to ensure high standards and quality educational offerings which will permit students maximum opportunities to achieve learning objectives, Fanshawe College reserves the right to place students in an agency or combination of agencies it determines to be appropriate.  While every effort is made to maximize use of local agencies, there is sometimes a need to place students outside of the area for some programs or portions of programs.  Accordingly, an offer of admission to this program is subject to the condition that the student must be prepared for the possibility of assignment to experiential learning outside of the area, and for the possibility of having to relocate, at the student's own expense, for all or a portion of this experience.  Students are responsible for all costs associated with clinical/field placement (including volunteer hours).

Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening

As a condition of admission to this program, students will be required to have a Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening, including a check of the Pardoned Sexual Offenders Database, prior to the first day of class.  The College does not review or use this information, however, the College must ensure that students who are admitted to the program are prepared to meet an important and standard condition for placement.  Most agencies will require students to produce the results of a recent screening.  This documentation must be valid for the duration of the program.  Applicants should be aware that certain criminal convictions for which pardons have not been received may or may not permit placement in these agencies.  In the latter cases, program completion will not be possible.  Further information concerning this admission condition will be available in early May at http://www.fanshawec.ca/registration.    Any questions regarding the Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening may be directed to the Academic Manager of the School of Nursing of the College.

Other Information

• Students registering in this program at the James N. Allan Campus in Simcoe should be aware that the program begins in early January, 2012 and runs continuously until the end of August, 2012. Students registering in this program at the Tillsonburg Centre should be aware that the program begins in early November, 2011 and runs continuously until the end of the third week in June, 2012.
• If you are currently on E.I., or have collected E.I. in the last three years, or maternity benefits in the last five years, you may qualify for financial assistance.
• Terms are normally 15 weeks unless otherwise stated under Campus Codes and Intakes and at www.fanshawec.ca/academicdates.
• The PSW clinical courses are designed to allow the student to synthesize all learned theoretical and laboratory information gained throughout the PSW program, and are designed to be taken sequentially. Due to their course design, no exceptions can be made to this order for any reason. As such, students must be aware of the following:

         (a) All clinical practice experiences must be taken in sequence (see below), and the student must successfully                     complete all clinical courses in their correct order.
         (b) In order to progress to the Consolidation and then the Community courses, students must first pass all other 
               theory courses, as well as their laboratory and clinical course. Therefore, if a student is unsatisfactory in the Long
               Term Care Clinical Practicum course(s), that student will not be allowed to progress to the next clinical
                practice experience. Similarly, if a student fails the Consolidation course, he or she cannot progress to
               the Community course.
         (c) Students must be aware that this failure to progress to their next clinical course may have tuition funding
               implications, and full-time students will be held responsible for that full term's tuition. Students who require
               further explanation are advised to seek clarification from the PSW Program Co-ordinator or from the Registrar's
              Office.

• PSW Clinical Courses (in order) include:
  
  1. HLTH-3020 PSW Long Term Care Clinical Practicum
  
  Or:
  
  1.a. HLTH-3024 PSW Long Term Care Clinical Practicum 1, then
  
  1.b. HLTH-3025 PSW Long Term Care Clinical Practicum 2
  
  After completion of all other theory and lab courses:
  
  2. HLTH-3021 PSW Clinical Consolidation Practicum
  
  3. HLTH-3022 PSW Community Practicum