If you want to work with others, help patients achieve a better quality of life, and enjoy fulfilling work at a rewarding job, then community support work might be the career path for you.
Community support work is all about variety. No two jobs are exactly the same and no two patients are the same either. One day you could be teaching a client how to take the bus, the next you could be preparing meals and going to swimming class.
So, if you want a job where you get to be on your feet instead of sitting in an office, then you might be the perfect fit for a community support work career.
With a diploma in community support work, you can find employment at:
- Community centres
- Adult protective services
- Group homes
- Long-term care facilities
- Residential, supportive housing units
Here’s what a day at work might look like if you decide to pursue a career as a CSW.
CSWs Work With Elderly Patients
After completing your Community Support Worker training in BC, you may decide to work with elderly patients. Some seniors are independent enough to live at home, but still need help with tasks like driving to appointments, buying groceries, cooking meals, doing laundry, and bathing. They might also suffer from isolation and need the company of a friendly professional with CSW training more than anything else.
Your day might start in the morning, as you drive to the house of your first client. This client is an older man who is fairly independent, but who can’t drive anymore. Once a week, you help him do his groceries. You chat in the car and at the grocery store, and help him unload his groceries before heading off to your next client.
Your next client is an elderly woman who suffered from a stroke a few years ago that left half her body paralyzed. Because of this, she has trouble watering her plants and cooking her meals. You prepare a few things that she can eat throughout the week, and also take some time to sit and share a cup of tea together before you head out, write up a short report about each of your clients, and finish your day.
Community Support Work in a Long-Term Care Facility
After earning a Community Support Worker diploma, you might find work in a long-term care facility for patients with mental or physical disabilities. At this job, you might start your shift early in the morning. You say hi to the night staff as they update you on any events that may have happened during the evening.
Next, you say good morning to your patients, and help them get showered, dressed, and ready for the day. They enjoy a healthy breakfast before getting started on the activities scheduled.
Today the morning activity is arts and crafts. You help your patients make painting that they are proud of. By mid-afternoon, you are ready to write a report and prepare the next shift of workers by updating them on any developments.
Interested in learning more about a career as a CSW? Why not check out our student blog to see how other students enjoy working in community support.
