REQUEST MORE INFORMATION
Our Commitment to Students. Click Here >
Patient Care Technicians play a vital role in a long-term healthcare facility. Under the supervision of a doctor or nurse, they help ensure patients are comfortable and have their basic needs met. They assist patients who are unable to perform basic tasks like eating, drinking, and repositioning themselves.
Patient care technicians also help with some basic clinical tasks like taking a patient’s vitals and assisting with examinations. While patient care technicians are an important part of the medical team, there are certain tasks that a patient care technician does not have the training to perform. A patient care technician’s exact duties will vary from one office to the next but it is important to note that some tasks are outside a patient care technician’s scope of practice.
If you're interested in becoming a Patient Care Technician, consider enrolling in Florida Career College's Patient Care Technician Program!
Can Patient Care Technicians Give Injections?
Patient care technicians do not have the training necessary to give injections. This task is generally reserved for medical assistants and those with more advanced training, like nurses and doctors. However, patient care technicians are trained to collect blood specimens when necessary.
The great thing about the medical field is there is always room to grow. Becoming a patient care technician is an excellent stepping stone to further positions in a healthcare facility. With additional training and certification, they may be allowed to give injections in the future or progress into an assistant medical role.
What Tasks Are Patient Care Technicians Permitted to Perform?
Patient Care Technicians are trained to help with basic tasks like bathing, feeding, and toileting but are also trained to handle some medical tasks. These medical tasks may include recording a patient’s vitals like blood pressure, weight, and temperature. They also perform electrocardiogram readings and may also collect blood, urine, or fecal matter specimens for lab tests. Patient care technicians carefully note any changes in a patient’s diet or condition to report back to the supervising nurse or doctor.
Patient care technicians are also trained to insert a catheter, safely remove stitches and staples, and operate equipment such as inhalers, resuscitators, mechanical ventilators, and oxygen tanks.
Other tasks include helping a patient eat, use the restroom, or turn into a more comfortable position. Patient care technicians are often tasked with transporting patients from one room of a facility to another for diagnostic tests and ensuring a patient has clean sheets and a sanitary room.
All of these basic patient care tasks help free up the time of nurses and doctors while ensuring patients have the around-the-clock care and support that they need.
How to Become a PCT?
Becoming a patient care technician is an excellent first step toward becoming a nurse or building a long-term career in the medical field. This position gives a great perspective on how long-term care facilities operate and the skills necessary to provide valuable care to patients. Patient care technicians also may have the opportunity to learn from the doctors and nurses around them and gain new skills they can use in the future.
The training to become a patient care technician can be completed in less than a year. In as few as ten months, you can become a patient care technician and begin providing meaningful care to patients in a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility.
To become a patient care technician you do need a high school diploma or equivalent and you must complete a training program.
Patient care technicians can sit for an exam to become a certified nursing assistant. Certifications are always a good idea to add to your resume and help you stand out above the crowd. Patient care technicians perform many of the same functions as a certified nursing assistant, but they do have additional training that allows them to perform more advanced clinical tasks.
Most training programs take less than a year to complete and offer hands on practice to quickly master skills.
Learn more about How to Become a Patient Care Technician.
Become a Patient Care Technician with Florida Career College
Florida Career College’s Patient Care Technician program will prepare you for an entry-level position as a patient care technician in as few as ten months.
Our hands-on training is taught by experienced instructors who take the time to ensure students have the resources and support they need to understand the skills being taught. Additional tutoring and lab time are available to those who need it.
Our flexible class schedules allow you to train during the day or evening, complete assignments online, and visit campus just twice a week for hands-on lab experiences. Ongoing enrollment allows you to get started right away!
Our career services team will help identify opportunities near you to begin your career as soon as you graduate. We’ll also match you with an externship site in the community at the end of your program to practice your skills in a real-life setting. Many students are hired by their externship site.
With all the resources and support offered at Florida Career College, there is no excuse to wait any longer. If you have the heart to provide compassionate care to patients and are serious about a career in the medical field, give us a call today to learn how to get started!
Enroll in the Patient Care Tech Program today!
