Staff Spotlight
Anthony Pires, Community Health Worker
Health care assistants are in demand across the province. The Health Career Access Program (HCAP) provides a path for applicants with no health care experience to get hired and receive paid employer-sponsored health care assistant training as part of their employment.
Normally, to become a health care assistant, one must complete six to eight months of post-secondary education at their own expense before applying for a position. Through the HCAP, the Province will pay for the applicant’s education and provide paid training that leads to full qualification as a health care assistant. All successful program applicants start as health care support workers (HCSW) before advancing to a health care assistant position. HCSWs are supervised by regulated health care professionals and provide a variety of critical non-clinical, non-direct care supports to patients and residents.
Meet Anthony Pires, who graduated from the program last November and is now working as a Community Health Worker (CHW) in Powell River with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Prior to starting HCAP, Anthony worked as a residential care worker and also took care of his family members. “I’ve always liked helping people,” he says.
Due to the pandemic, the theoretical part of the HCAP was done online via Zoom. The cohort was grouped with HCAP students from Duncan and Cowichan. “I found doing group projects more challenging when teamed up with students from other areas as we couldn’t meet physically. After we all got to know each other via break-out rooms, classes started to run much more smoothly, “ he says. “Having worked as an HCSW while learning both the theoretical and practical portions, we developed relationships with the residents which helped us tremendously when we started our clinical.” Anthony realized at the halfway mark of his clinical, everything came together. “I understood the skills I’d been taught and knew how to best put them to use. I started working as part of the team. Now I work on increasing my efficiency and pick up tips and tricks from my co-workers.”
VCH strives to provide a supportive work environment to ensure each member’s success. Before Anthony worked on his own, he was provided with a few weeks of buddy shifts. “Both the LPN supervisors and the schedulers are just a phone call away,” he says. “There is also a ton of modules available on the learning hub online.”
When asked what he loves the most about being a health care assistant, Anthony tells us it is meeting his clients. “Time permitting, I will visit with the clients during or aftercare. This is important for their social and emotional health especially in these trying times,” he says. “Visiting is also very enjoyable for me as I get my socialization done while I work and it helps build a great relationship. This makes it easier to care for them as well.”
To anyone considering enrolling in HCAP, Anthony says “This program is a gift. If you have the opportunity and you like to help people, I would highly recommend [HCAP]. The HCA career is in great demand and there are lots of opportunities for work right away. You get to make a difference in your clients’ lives every day. This career is very rewarding and has great job satisfaction. I am genuinely happy to go to work every day.”
Join the team
Explore the current career opportunities in HCAP at Vancouver Coastal Health.