Working as PSW while RN student

xokw, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2015

Hello, I live in Ontario. I'll be pursuing a compressed BScN this September. I'm just wondering whether it is recommended to work as a PSW to gain work experience, and whether it would be beneficial for future employment as an RN (or is the clinical experience enough?). I've received calls for interviews for casual PSW positions but turned them down since I think I should wait until I get some â€‹level of experience in community care through the clinical components.

I'm very surprised that places would be calling you already considering you haven't even started nursing school yet, and most PSW courses are 6-8 months. Most places that I've heard of require at least 1 year of nursing school, so I am just very surprised. For safety reasons I would wait until you have at least some nursing school under your belt, because as a PSW you have to know and be able to recognize some pretty important things in regards to your clients health and condition, things which you will learn in school.

That's just one opinion, though.

Anon101 · Apr 1, 2015

@xokw: Thanks for your input. To be honest I was surprised as well, the position required me to provide in-home care to elderly male patients. I was very excited at first, but realized that I may not have sufficient training yet. I have volunteered at a hospital before, but I think nursing school would prepare me in regards to how to protect myself, lift patients, the do's and don'ts, etc.

Do you think the experience of working as a PSW would help in landing a job at a hospital as an RN down the road or is the clinical experience generally more important?

loriangel14, RN · Apr 2, 2015

I worked as PSW for 8 years and I was hired with no training.I did eventually get the certificate but really all you need is basic common sense to do home care. You aren't providing nursing care.

dishes, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2015

It is assisting with activities of daily living and is done in private homes by hundreds of thousands of family members and lay people everyday. If you applied for PSW positions, I do not understand why you were surprised when you received interview offers. Most employers assume that prior to applying, an applicant understands the job description and is able to do the basics of the job with minimal instruction.

xokw, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2015

I personally don't know any facility or organization that would hire someone without education for this job, maybe years ago but not anymore. I'm sure they are out there, but I've never come across one.

Also, these responses have confused me even further due to the conflicting posts there are regarding this topic. When someone from the U.S. posts asking whether his/her CNA certification will be accepted for employment purposes in Canada, they are quickly reminded that it will likely not carry over because PSW programs are 8 months full time and that most agencies and hospitals will require the certificate.

Fiona59 · Apr 2, 2015

I think it depends on the actual job title posted and the qualifications listed.

There are many agencies that will hire anyone with a pulse to go in and have you assist someone get dressed, pull on compression hose, set up a meal on a table and do some light clean up and many of these workers have extremely limited language skills.

Usually the certificate is required if meds are involved but even then with blister packs, all they have to do is hand the packet over at the right time

It's not so much healthcare as life assistance that family members have traditionally supplied. I've seen it in my neighbourhood. Family come by to visit on the weekend but twice daily agency workers show up to get the lol on the road. One woman stands out in my mind because she'd bring her family and they'd sit in the minivan on the driveway. When Nonna (how the people in the area think of her) was up and dressed, she'd come sit on the bench on her porch and hang out with the support workers kids before she'd head off to her next client. And yes I know it was a support worker because she was 30s Somali.

Perfect world? No. But I know Nonna had a gas laughing with those kids because she'd be out with the kids when I started walking my dog and when our walk was finished we'd chat and then she'd go in. Otherwise she wouldn't have been out of the house all day.

dishes, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2015

@xokw, the 8 month PSW education programs have only been in existence for 10 or so years, before that most attendants/orderlies were trained on the job. Hospital employers have only required PSWs to have completed an 8 month education program since the mid 2000s. Nursing home and community employers have only required it since the late 2000s. There are still private employers who hire PSWs without the 8 month education, for example adults with physical disability hire personal attendants and decide what criteria is required. Also, family members of adults with dementia or stroke etc also set their own hiring criteria.

@anon101 to get a better understanding of the kind of services PSWs can safely provide, look at the Ontario Personal Support Workers Association standards of practice, there is a list of twenty three different standards.

xokw, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2015

Interesting!

loriangel14, RN · Apr 3, 2015

I know that nursing homes in my area will hire with no PSW certificate. They just have the title of aide.

Maxg1983 · May 6, 2015

In my area, there is no way, unless you are hired by a family, employers will hire anyone without a PSW certificate. Maybe in the past (idk) a certificate was not needed but in the GTA no one gets hired by a reputable company without it. It is a matter of safety and now PSW's have to be registered just like most other sectors of health care. There is also a union that came into effect a few years ago for PSW's because the pay and treatment from other staff and the publicis terrible. I work as a PSW on a very pt basis and have for a few years.

Back to the original question, I dont think there is anything wrong with working as a PSW while in school (but you have to get certified so that will take time that you might not have especially if you are going after a degree) but it won't get you the skills you need as a nurse. Maybe basic skills but that's about it. I have taken the PSW cert. (obv) and just completed pre health and waiting to hear back from nursing schools at this point but I know some BscN students and nurses and the knowledge is not comparable.

xokw, BSN, RN · May 6, 2015

In my area, there is no way, unless you are hired by a family, employers will hire anyone without a PSW certificate. Maybe in the past (idk) a certificate was not needed but in the GTA no one gets hired by a reputable company without it. It is a matter of safety and now PSW's have to be registered just like most other sectors of health care. There is also a union that came into effect a few years ago for PSW's because the pay and treatment from other staff and the publicis terrible. I work as a PSW on a very pt basis and have for a few years.
Back to the original question, I dont think there is anything wrong with working as a PSW while in school (but you have to get certified so that will take time that you might not have especially if you are going after a degree) but it won't get you the skills you need as a nurse. Maybe basic skills but that's about it. I have taken the PSW cert. (obv) and just completed pre health and waiting to hear back from nursing schools at this point but I know some BscN students and nurses and the knowledge is not comparable.

I'm sorry but PSWs are not registered. There is a registry, but it is not the same thing at all. Nurses are called "registered" nurses or "registered" practical nurses for a reason, because we are registered within a governing body (the CNO) with which we pay yearly fees to. We can also have our registration taken from us at any time if we are not practicing within the CNO's practice standards. One must also sit for and pass the national exam in order to become registered, which is typical of regulated professions. PSWs are not registered. It is in the works (so I've heard), and I look forward to the day they are because of the need for them to have some increased accountability.

Also, many employers do still hire nursing students as PSWs. Within a few months of nursing school one has basically covered the content of a PSW program, there is no extra certification required. Many facilities still choose not to, but I assure you that many do. I worked as a PSW while in nursing school, with no "certification", as did probably 50-60% of my classmates.