Long-term care proves to be rewarding for PSW
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 -- Natalie Miller
Pampering residents by spritzing them with perfume or fussing with their hair is the part of the job Mary Lynne Gallagher enjoys most about being a personal support worker.

However, working in long-term care isn’t something she ever thought she would be doing. At 21, she joined Pleasant Meadow Manor as a nurse’s aide. Her husband’s aunt was employed at the Norwood long-term care home at the time.

“That’s how I got started,” says Mary Lynne.

“It was scary at first. You don’t really know what you’re getting into, getting to know how the elderly think.”

She has since upgraded and taken the health care aide and personal support worker training. “I like working with people,” says Mary Lynne.

She likes learning about the residents’ history and their lives. “You get close to them. When you come in they get a big smile on their face,” she says. “They get lonely,” she says because some don’t have family that visits.

Mary Lynne says she takes the time to help residents pick out their clothes for the following day, paint their fingernails or comb their hair. “It makes them feel good about themselves,” she says.

Mary Lynne says she connected with a resident who had a stroke and was having difficulty adjusting to life in long-term care. She and the other staff supported the woman and spent time with her on a one-to-one basis. “Even though we don’t have the time, we make the time.”

They were able to give the woman some of her independence back after realizing she could stand on one foot so she didn’t require the lift they were using with her at first. As well, with the lift she had to wear a dress with an open back as opposed to regular clothes. As a result of that and the one-to-one support, the woman is becoming more settled in, says Mary Lynne. She now laughs and jokes with her roommate and “has come a long way.”

Working in long-term care has helped Mary Lynne in other parts of her life. She took care of her father for a year-and-a-half at home when he had cancer. She was also able to help her husband and children through her father’s end-of-life process.

Mary Lynne says she has no plans of changing her career path. “I like what I’m doing now. There’s more interaction with the residents (than registered staff have). I’m happy to stay where I am.”