title: The Personal Support Worker Program Standard in Ontario: An Alternative to Self-Regulation?
abstract: Personal support workers (PSWS) provide hands-on assistance in a variety of long-term care and community settings. The question of whether psws should become regulated similar to other self-regulating health professions is a perennial concern in policy circles, especially because of the intimate nature of their work and the potential for abuse of clients and workers. This article explores a chain of policy decisions around psws in ontario culminating in the creation of a common educational standard for psw programs, titled the psw program standard. We argue that these policy developments may represent an alternative pathway to self-regulation of an essential workforce.
authors.affiliation: Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Professor, Telfer School of Management, CIHR Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health Human Resources, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
authors.forename: Ivy Lynn
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Bourgeault
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000592:standards*; D009728:Nursing Assistants / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D009864:Ontario; D000068356:Self-Control