A Conversation with a Personal Support Worker (PSW)  

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed a large number of deaths and deficiencies in the care provided to patients in long-term care facilities in Canada. There was much suffering for patients as well as their families. Currently, national standards which provide guidance to enable long-term care homes to provide high-quality care are being reviewed and many health care organizations have been asked to comment on the draft document. I invited a PSW to talk about her experience working in long-term care facilities. I will call the PSW “Margaret” instead of using her real name. Margaret’s comments describe the thoughts and feelings of a long-term care worker who loves her occupation and the patients she cared for while working in a public-funded facility. The conversation went like this: 

Sister Pat:  Margaret, did you work in any long-term care facilities before coming here? 

Margaret: Yes, one in Toronto and one in London.  

Sister Pat: What did you like about working in those places? 

Margaret: I had not taken care of my parents when they grew old and so it was an opportunity to give to my patients the kind of care I wish I could have given my parents.  I learned patience. And I learned about the cycle of life: being a child, becoming an adult who could give to others, and then growing old. I learned to give my patients the kind of care I hope to receive when I become old. 

Sister Pat: Margaret, was there anything you did not like when you worked at those places?  

Margaret: Yes, I did not have the time I needed.  If a patient had dementia and could not communicate, I needed time to get to know them, to observe, and to listen. I needed to see if I could point to something they wanted and to read their body language. But often I would have to move on to a new task and could not spend the time I needed to know and communicate with that patient.  I also would have up to twelve patients, and it would be impossible to give them all the care that they needed.   

Sister Pat: Margaret, how did you feel when that happened: 

Margaret:  I felt sad.  

Sister Pat: Margaret, did you feel angry when you had too many patients? 

Margaret:  I felt very sad. I would go home and just feel sad that we (staff) could not give these patients the care that they needed.  

Sister Pat: So, the long-term care facility was a sad place to work. The atmosphere was not happy. Did that affect everybody? 

Margaret: Yes.  

. . . . . . 

I have great admiration for the PSW’s who provide care to patients in their homes and in long-term care facilities. They are persons who often work for minimum wages and love their patients and want to make their lives better. I hope that the review of standards for long-term care homes will help our society to value the service they provide with such dedication.  

-Sister Pat McKeon, csj