Thursday, June 27, 2013

Future Grads of PSW Courses: Our Ageing Population Needs You


Young people today contemplating their choice of careers should keep in mind the many ways in which the world is changing. Those who are interested in pursuing a career in health care may want to pay particular attention to something called the "greying" of our population.

The first of the baby boomers, born in the late 1940s, have reached retirement age, the age at which we are most likely to encounter long-term disability and require care from graduates of PSW (personal support worker) courses. Toronto is just one North American city that is already experiencing the effect of this demographic shift, but in other sectors, notably the real estate market, where there has been an increased demand for condos - thought to have been spurred, in part, by retirees seeking homes that require less upkeep.

Take your cues from the real estate market? For PSW courses, in North America, yes.

Take note, prospective students of PSW courses: Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, all these cities will need more graduates of this kind of healthcare training to provide proper care for our ageing population.

When choosing where to take PSW courses, major cities offer a particular advantage in that they are more likely to have a large, ethnically diverse population, which presents many opportunities to students enrolled in a PSW program.

Amongst the opportunities they present to graduates of PSW courses big cities offer ethnically-focused nursing homes, which provide, for instance, care in Cantonese or Mandarin to ageing members of the Chinese Canadian communities. If you are interested in healthcare training and speak another language, you may want to look into these kind of nursing homes as a potential career option.

In your PSW program, you may be presented with a work placement option. By choosing a school in a large urban centre, you will increase the number of facilities that you will have to choose from.

If life in the city doesn't appeal to you, don't worry. After your PSW program, Toronto, Vancouver, etc., will not be the only places with job options. Our rural populations are ageing as well - a phenomenon that is only underscored by the depopulation of the countryside as our rural youth move to the cities in search of employment. After enjoying a PSW program you can move to Madawaska Highlands or the Okanagan to pursue your career in earnest.

So, as you are reviewing your healthcare career options, keep in mind that demand for certain kinds of training - especially that provided in a PSW program - is expected to continue to rise. Future graduates of PSW courses, the big cities, are counting on you!

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