Soft Skills and Hard Skills that Personal Support Workers Need to Have

When considering a career in the healthcare field you need not just your basic qualifications but you need another set of skills.  You will need what we call soft skills and hard skills.  In this article we are going to focus on the soft and hard skills needed to become an effective personal support worker.

Soft Skills

These are skills that allow a personal support worker to do their job effectively.  Without soft skills a nursing assistant is not able to convey the impression of compassion to their clients/patients.   Simply put, a personal support worker without soft skills will not be very effective.  Here are some of the soft skills required:

Empathy/Compassion.  Every personal support worker gets frustrated with their patients; however it is important to remember that your patients are just as frustrated as you are.  Remember, your patients are feeling vulnerable and frustrated due to their conditions and the fact that they are relying on you.  Put yourself in their shoes and your frustration, while not going away completely, will recede a bit.

Time Management Skills.  Typically a personal support worker does an 8 hour shift and handles 8-10 patients.  Each patient typically has their4 own unique needs and as a result you cannot simply divide your time equally among them.  As you get to know your patients and their needs you develop a natural timeline for your shift, and you will include your breaks and lunches in this timeline.

Patience.  Personal support workers must have patience to do their jobs.  As we said earlier in the empathy section, sometimes you need to put yourself in your patient’s shoes and then you will have the patience to deal with their resistance to what must be done. 

Ability to Work in a Team.  Personal support workers typically work in teams.  This means teamwork and communication about patient needs and issues is a must.

Hard Skills.

These are the skills needed for a personal support worker to be able to do their jobs.  Specifically we are talking about the physical requirements needed in moving patients with little or no mobility.  A personal support worker needs to know how to pivot or spin a patient with little mobility to move them from a bed to a chair.  Also, a personal support worker needs to know how to use the Hoyer Lift, to move a patient from a bed to a chair, and the Sit-to-Stand Lift to help patients move from sitting to standing.

These soft and hard skills are essential for anyone who wants to become a personal support worker.

Personal Support Worker - Actual Interview Questions

By Cynthia Herron

After recently completing a personal support worker job interview, one of our writers was kind enough to share some of the questions that were ‘fired’ their way during the interview process.

Practice and formulate your own answers for these questions (and any other questions that you can think of) before any job interview in this field. In-fact, it would be recommended to ask yourself these questions about an employer before applying, putting some of the answers into your cover letter and listing some of the important qualifications, attributes and skills within your resume.

Onto the questions (listed in random order):

Where do you see yourself in five years?

What are your strengths, weaknesses, attributes?

What is your definition of on the job confidentiality? (regarding clients, workplace situations, etc)

The answers to procedural questions (how to fill out an incident report, operating lifts, wheelchair vans or any other employer specific duties and tasks)

How did you find out about this company?

Explain a difficult situation with a co-worker. How did you solve it?

What are your accreditations, achievements, certifications, etc? (where you went to school, first-aid, cpr, and any other relevant info)

Why are you the right person for this position?

Why did you choose to become a personal support worker?

If you could improve one thing about yourself (on the job related), what would it be?

Are you able to work by yourself and within a team environment?

If you witness client abuse while on the job, what is the first thing that you do?

PSW’s Need Dementia Specific Training

The role of a Personal Support Worker within the healthcare system has evolved significantly.  The services they provide have become very diverse.  As a result, continuous training and education for Personal Support Workers has become paramount.  One area which tends to be overlooked when it comes to training is the area of Personal Support Worker dealing with patients in various stages of dementia.

Dementia is an often misunderstood disease that primarily affects the elderly.  Because many front line workers such as Personal Support Workers and Nursing Assistants are not specifically trained to deal with the requirements and needs of patients with dementia, they tend to infantilize them, which lead to the exacerbation of the indignity patients suffering from dementia feel.

Seeing the need for dementia specific training for front line workers in Ontario, the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto developed specific training modules that they offer to front line workers.  These courses are taught in Toronto and offer Certification in Dementia Specific Services.  For more information about these courses you can contact the Alzheimer’s Society at 416-322-6560, or click here to register.

The reality is that 1 in 6 seniors in Canada suffer some form of dementia, and a properly trained front line is essential to provide them services.

Factors That Can Affect Personal Support Worker’s Salary Ranges

Personal support worker salary ranges, like any other career, start low and work up. There are a few factors involved in how quickly they can increase or simply how high a personal support worker can begin a job at. These are wide ranging and can mean the difference between just getting paid and earning a living.

One of the major factors in determining where the personal support worker salary ranges begin at is the amount of schooling and experience they enter with. Typically, a recent graduate with less than one year of experience will start at an hourly rate of $10.00 to $12.00. This also greatly depends on the area of the country that the employer is located in as the cost of living may be higher or lower than other locations.

As with any career, the more experience, the higher the pay. Personal support workers with 20 or more years of experience can earn between $15 and $20 per hour but again does not factor in location or continuing education. Along with the addition of continuing education, more skills are added, thereby making the personal support worker that much more valuable to an employer by boosting the level of client care that much further.

Depending on location, the personal support worker salary ranges may be affected by the employer’s need for someone who is bilingual. The ability to speak, read and write in another language can be invaluable to an employer located on or near the border of another country. This can be a major factor in areas such as Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

There are ways an individual can affect the personal support worker salary ranges in the markets that they are competing in. By choosing a specialty to go along with their standard certifications, such as working with seniors or those clients with disabilities, can make them much more valuable to certain employers.

As with any job, the major contributing factor in salaries is experience. An experienced personal support worker will always fetch a higher hourly rate than a non-experienced personal support worker or someone with very little actual on the job background. This is no different in any respect than any other position available in any field and should be viewed as such.

The best way to insure that the proper hourly rate is being received is by doing some research online. There are many websites that have salary calculators available to tell you what can be expected for an hourly rated based on area, years of experience and educational background. In doing this type of research, one can be assured that whether looking in the area they already live in or maybe searching out that next great adventure, they will be receiving the wage deserved for the service they provide.

Are Personal Support Workers Simply Cheap Labour in Ontario?

By Cynthia Herron

Are Personal Support Workers that work in Ontario being used a cheap labour by the Ontario government?  That seems to be the overwhelming consensus of Personal Support Workers across the province.  They feel that they are being used by the provincial government to make up for the shortfall in funding to the home-care support system throughout the province.  Here is a fantastic article that encapsulates the entire situation from the perspective of a Personal Support Worker in Toronto.  Here is the article.

What do you think?  Is this a valid perspective?  Let us know.

SEIU Video Extolls Virtues of Personal Support Workers

By Cynthia Herron

I was recently sent a link to a video posted by the health care related union SEUI (Service Employees International Union) extolling the virtues of Personal Support Worker’s.

While the video can come across as a bit self-congratulary, it does leave the viewer with a good video that celebrates the work that personal support workers across Ontario, Canada and the world do.  There are testimonials from personals support workers and their clients.  All in all, this is a video that is worth the few minutes it takes to watch.

Click here to see the video.

Personal Support Workers in Long Term Care Facilities

By Cynthia Herron

Information for Families

Choosing to live in, or have a loved one live in a Long Term Care Facility (LTC), also known as a Nursing home, can be a very difficult decision. If you are a caregiver, already taking care of a loved one full time, realizing that you are now unable to care for them can be a depressing and stressful time. Many seniors find just the thought of a nursing home very frightening. Caregivers and seniors need support and council when making these types of decisions.

In a LTC facility, there are a variety of professions employed.

Examples are:

·      Personal Support Workers (PSW) 

·      Nurses 

·      Directors of Care 

·      Administration 

·      Food service staff

·      Laundry service staff 

·      Cleaning staff 

·      Activity directors

·      Visiting Doctors

Some LTC facilities may have many other professions employed as well. Personal Support Workers (PSW), play a very large role in the care of your loved one and all people living in the LTC facility. The role caregivers take on when caring for their loved one, is similar to the role of a Personal Support Worker in LTC. Personal Support Workers are the EYES of LTC. Paying attention to the needs, wants, concerns and well being of all residents. The Personal Support Worker job description for each LTC facility varies but most factors are very similar.


Most importantly, Personal Support Workers assist the residents with their Activities of Daily Living (ADL).


Showers, tub baths and sponge baths.
Many LTC facilities have specific tub bath days for every resident. Usually, a specific Personal Support Worker for that shift performs the tub baths. Residents capable of bathing themselves, and resident’s bed ridden, have sponge baths most days. (morning and bedtime) However, each facility may have different policies, schedules and bathing equipment.

Mouth care is preformed by Personal Support Worker if resident is unable to do.
Cleaning of dentures, partial dentures, and over all mouth care. Checking inside of the mouth with the removal and application of dentures. This is to ensure there are no surface wounds of gums, tongue or any issues with any remaining teeth.

Assistance or performing any incontinent care.
Peri care is performed during every incontinent product change. Appropriate creams or specific cleaning products are used if necessary.

Assistance of dressing and undressing.
Residents who are bed ridden or have partial to no mobility, Personal Support Worker’s perform a complete dress/undress.

Applying medicated (if needed and approved) and non-medicated creams, lotions and powders.
Paying close attention to skin appearance. Checking for any surface wounds, unusual bruises, scratches, redness or swelling and signs of any potential pressure sores

Assistance with positioning in bed. Residents who are in bed for long periods of time, are repositioned and moved every two hours to prevent pressure sores from forming.

Assisting female residents with makeup application and male residents with shaving (electric usually).

Personal Support Workers ensure hearing aids are being used and working. Or other personal aids.

Personal Support Workers perform simple catheter care if needed. Cleaning around catheter site, watching for infection or any unusual concerns and the emptying and changing of catheter bags. Documenting the amount of output. Many residents with catheters have different bags for day and night. Personal Support Workers change the bag to the residents needs. Personal Support Workers work with condom, In-Out and indwelling catheters.

Assisting in transfers. LTC facilities use equipment to aid in transfers if the resident is unable to bear some or all of his/her weight during a transfer. Ceiling lifts, and mechanical lifts are used in these cases. For residents who partial weight bear, Personal Support Worker’s assist them with transfers from their bed, chairs, wheel chairs, bathrooms etc. In some cases, depending on facility policies, hip belts, floor disks, transfer boards or other transfer aids may be used.

LTC facilities have specific breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Personal Support Workers assist residents down to the dining room and back again. In some cases, residents are unable to leave their rooms and a tray of food is brought to them. Personal Support Workers will also assist residents to activities, being held in the activity room of the facility.

All facilities have a “call bell” system. When a resident needs something or needs help, there is a button or pull string in their rooms and bathrooms. When the system is used, an alarm can be heard and a Personal Support Worker comes and aids the resident.

Personal Support Workers, usually work within three shifts a day. Morning, evening and midnight shifts. Positions may be full time, part time or casual. Most shifts usually consist of the same group of Personal Support Workers.

Personal Support Workers ensure privacy of all residents during procedures or personal care routines.

Personal Support Workers document daily, and record any concerns they may have. They record intake of food and fluid, output if needed, personal care routines completed, skin condition, emotional state, update on any ongoing or recent concerns and more. Each facility has a different form of documentation (I.E. flow sheet, tick sheet, progress notes, etc.) and what is documented may vary.

Personal Support Workers stay aware of all safety concerns for the residents. Ensuring all safety equipment is being used when necessary (I.E. bed rails being used when resident is in bed)

Personal Support Workers ensure the residents are comfortable in all situations. Both physically and emotionally.  Personal Support Workers provide socialization to residents and encourage independence!

Most Personal Support Workers, residents and the resident’s families, share close relationships with each other. Personal Support Workers have many residents to provide care for but are always ensuring all the residents are in their best condition. Socialization is a huge point of care that a Personal Support Worker provides. Talking about life stories or current issues and concerns the resident is having, can really improve their overall state of mind. Personal Support Workers can talk to family members, and assist them with any concerns they may have about their loved one.

Many Personal Support Workers go above and beyond their duties in a LTC facility, making the facility as much of a home setting as possible. Loved ones living in and moving to a LTC facility have to deal with the loss of their independence. Personal Support Workers try to enable residents to maintain some kind of independence while living in a LTC facility. Whether it is encouraging the resident to perform their own personal care needs or help another resident in any way. Even residents being involved in the activities department can give them a feeling of independence.

All professions working together in a LTC facility come together and try to make your loved one and all residents as comfortable as possible in their new home. Communication among all health team members and families involved, is essential to make the resident feel independent, safe, comfortable and happy in their new environment.