Patient Care Technician – What You Need to Know

Patient Care Technician (PCT) : What You Need to Know

Do you wish to work in a medical environment helping doctors and taking care of patients? Are you concerned this job description only fits a nurse? Well, it doesn’t!

You’ll be happy to know that this type of job isn’t limited to doctors and nurses. In fact, there are several careers in the healthcare area that allow you to work with patients and improve their life, and PCT is one of the most powerful and complete alternatives.

We researched the most important information you need to know about PCT so you can decide if it’s the career you have been looking for.

Skills needed

As a PCT you will learn to:

• Provide basic patient care — bathing, feeding, catheter care, etc
• Acquire, distribute and administer patient care supplies
• Perform safety checks and ensure cleanliness in patient rooms
• Accommodate the special needs of patients accordingly
• Obtain EKG readings and monitor vital signs
• Perform phlebotomy procedures
• Provide emotional support to patients and families, particularly coping with grief and death

After gaining the skills you will be able to work in positions where you need to do tasks related with Phlebotomy, Nursing Assistant, Electrocardiograph Aide, Home Health Aide and CPR-FA. So by studying PCT you will have the knowledge of 5 healthcare careers into just one certificate. That’s a powerful certification for your career.

Job duties

At work, the PCT will perform as multi-skilled individual able to perform technical and clinical tasks/procedures under the supervision of the Registered Nurse.  The PCT will have the task of identifying abnormal findings based on established standards and guidelines and reports to the Registered Nurse.  Assisting the patients with everyday needs and provides a safe, clean environment are also into the PCT task list.  Patients may range in age from newborn to an elderly patient population.

Education requirements

The medical field hosts a variety of careers featuring a whole spectrum of educational requirements. The good news is the qualification for PCT requires a fairly minimal time commitment compared to other healthcare careers.

While PCTs aren’t required to earn a college degree, a typical PCT program can be completed in as few as 6 months.

To become a PCT, you’ll need to have a high school diploma and complete a training program with a duration of as few as 6 months. After completing a training program, you can become a Certified Patient Care Technician by passing an exam. Once employed, you’ll likely be required to undergo some sort of on-the-job training as well.

Salary and job outlook

According to Indeed, as July 25th, 2016 the average salary of a PCT is $36,000, and the number of jobs are expected to increase 22 percent by 2022. This faster-than-average job growth is attributed to an aging population who will inevitably have more healthcare needs as they grow older.

The bottom line

The comparisons provided above should give you a better understanding of a PCT and how it will allow you to work directly with patients while playing an important role in the healthcare system.

If you want to enroll in a PCT Course or you are curious about other healthcare career options that don’t require an extensive amount of training and education, check out the options we have for you at AVA Courses or request information at the phone number 407.483.7887