Q-Take me to a little bit of history of what brought you to this job?

Back home I was working in the at the office of the Senior Divisional officer (SDO) My duties was public admin, mainly attending to people and that made me to come in contact with so many people. I really find satisfaction with the way I was handling the file the smile and I put on their faces brought me lots of joy.

When I came to Canada, I was looking for a job that would give me that same feeling. So when I learned about the PSW giving help to those that cannot support themselves and helping others live their dream life I thought it is really the job for me. I love helping people and I love to see people regain and rebuild their life.

What are the age range for the clients you take care of?

I don’t have a specific age range I work with clients of different ages. I work with kids with autism, disabled and seniors.

OK, that’s great so do you work in home HealthCare facility or with another sector?

I used to do home visits, then right now because in the pandemic, we are restricted to work only in one place, so I choose to stick with long Term Care facility

good So what are the average age of your clients, the once you take care for in that long term care facility

65-98 some of them require total care

while others require partial care, where they can do certain things by themselves.

How do your typical work day look like especially during this pandemic time

As mentioned earlier, we help some clients with total care and some are partial care. Those who cannot shower by themselves, we help them get shower. We help some do exercise

Do you have to maybe help transfer them from bed to chair?

We help people that are totally dependent anything from your own feeding to using lift for transfer which require two people to transfer.

what are some of the experiences you’ve had using the PPE at during this pandemic

I know it’s not like usual time because now we have to protect yourselves and make sure we stay free from the virus and also for the people we offer care to.

What are some of the experiences you have got using the PPE

have you got enough PPE at all times

working with the PPE has never been easy. not easy because it was something new we have not been used to. suddenly we have to switch to using it. It was not easy for us and to the residents as well. The mask feels tight thing is and it causes us burnout.

We have to take extra time to put them on, coupled with the fact that you’re working under pressure, It sometimes feels hot and uncomfortable. Some of the resident you talk to, they have a hard time communicating back because they have a hard time understanding what we say.

Again it is not easy wearing all those things like the process where who the donning and doping of the gloves, is like Oh my gosh you have to do that thing like 100 times before the end of your shift and its draining so much energy draining, but we do what one can just to protect oneself the people that you’re working. Safety first so they always will show the right way to do it because if you don’t do the donning of the dope in the right way you can still end up catching the virus. At the beginning of the pandemic, we experience so much shortage of mask and have to wear one throughout the shift. Later on, there was enough supply

Please tell me what you mean when you say you burnedout in order to get a better understanding of what you mean?

Burnout mean so hot inside and you become so stressful and you develop a lot of stress and anger in you, sometimes you see people transferring the aggression to other colleagues or considering their aggression on residents because they feel so terrible inside like you working yourself higher then you can’t even breathe properly because you just stuck so many things for your face. You have the shield you have glasses you have double mask sometimes it feel like so sad.

Is there a specific incident you can describe for any particular challenge you faced using this PPE?

Some of my clients have hearing impairment, so you are talking under the mask, they find it hard to understand you and they said I can’t hear you it’s like you do something repeat yourself like 100 time for them to pick one word. Sometimes walking with a resident, they need to know who is working with them but if they don’t see your face, they become aggressive. Sometimes you want to transfer them, they tell you “don’t touch me don’t touch” Take the mask off to show your face. It was really hard working with some resident. They will say, I don’t know you please don’t touch me. how you want to know me I’m wearing them mask and I can’t take it out this is protective measures I have to protect myself and protect you. It was a little bit difficult and it took some time for some client to accept that that is how it would be with the PPE.

How was the workload for you?

Most PSW from the agency I work at big got scared, some quit the job due to fear of contracting the virus some stop working due to medical reasons those of us who were left to work how to put in extra hours and sometimes even double hours or work double shift, like 16 hours, sometimes I got really exhausted and are expected to work the next day.

Were there any instance that you feel the mask was not secure enough

We use the regular disposable mask and not the N95 mask sometimes we had to double up the mask. At one point we were giving some mask that looks more like a thin nylon material. Wearing it did not feel like it was protective enough. It was causing so much heat and making it hard for one to breathe. After wearing it for a few hours, the mask it felt so terrible. We had to complain we were given another mask.

We are clients also obliged to wear masks

clients we’re not obliged to put on mask most of them had held issues like respiratory problems that made it difficult for them to wear masks and some had dementia and were unable to keep the mask on. They put on masks only if they have to go out of their rooms.

Was there a time where visitors were not allowed to visit the residence if how did you manage this situation?

There was a point where visitors were not allowed to visit the residents some have to see their loved ones from the glass window some clients will cry and spending a significant amount of time with them, we had to help take care of their emotional needs while staying professional

Do you think the compensation you received was satisfactory considering the amount of work you put in?

The $4 pandemic Pay as it was called, did not match the workload we put in. it is so exhausting to put in 16 hours of work and have to come the next day to continue working. I believe this pay increase should stay permanent and not just during the pandemic

How of your relationship being with friends and family?

Friends avoided me, they won’t want to come close to me even in public transit if i wear a scrub I notice that people don’t want to sit anywhere close to me inside the bus or train for fear that I will transmit the virus to them.

At one point I tested positive for COVID -19 virus my family was very scared. living in a foreign country by myself, it was really difficult for me. Although I had to support my family financially at this point, they urged me to quit the job as a PSW because they thought my health and my life is more important I felt really terrible after I contracted the virus but when I recovered I had the courage to go back to work.

Constant Covid Testing

At my job, we are required to take the covid tests on a daily basis before starting work I developed nose nose bleeding because of the constant testing positive.

What made it motivates you to go to work

Working as a PSW it’s more of a passion for the work I do, it is not all about money. Sometimes when you think about your life and the risk you take, no amount of money can compensate for one’s life. Generally, the work is stressful we are drained physically emotionally and psychologically especially during this pandemic times. we spend more time with the residents, and they become so attached to us. When they see us, they smile and call us by our names. The bond we create with them makes us feel obligated to help them

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