PSW, RPN or RN: who does your family need?

Personal support workers, registered practical nurses and registered nurses all play important roles in home care. Knowing what each does helps you ask for the right support and avoid paying for more than you need.

Personal Support Worker (PSW)

PSWs help with the activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, moving safely, meals and companionship. For most families, a PSW provides the bulk of day-to-day home care. In Ontario, PSWs can register with the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority (HSCPOA), which keeps a public register you can search.

Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

RPNs are nurses regulated by the College of Nurses of Ontario. They can give medications, care for wounds, monitor health and support people with ongoing conditions. RPNs generally care for people whose health is more stable and predictable.

Registered Nurse (RN)

RNs are also regulated by the College of Nurses of Ontario, with longer education. They care for people with more complex or less predictable health needs, carry out assessments and help plan care when things are changing quickly.

Matching the role to the need

• Help with bathing, dressing, meals and company: a PSW.
• Regular medications or a wound that needs dressing, with stable health: often an RPN.
• Health that is changing, complex or hard to predict: an RN.
• Many families use a PSW most of the time, with nursing visits as needed.

You can check any nurse’s registration on the College of Nurses of Ontario’s public register. If you’re not sure which role fits, a care consultation will help you decide.