A patient care technician is someone who works to help people in long-term health care facilities or hospitals. This job includes a variety of responsibilities that are focused on assisting with the health and well-being of people in nursing homes or hospitals.
Are you wondering if this is a good job opportunity for you? Below, you can learn more about the job duties and the job outlook of a patient care technician. You can also learn about what it is like to attend a patient care technician program. If you are looking to find an entry-level position in the medical industry with a focus on patient care, this could be an excellent opportunity for you. Read on to learn more.
Patient Care Technician Job Description and Duties
A patient care technician, also known as a nursing assistant provides basic patient care for anyone needing long-term health care. As a patient care technician, you could work in a nursing home, a hospital, or a long-term care facility of some sort.
A patient care technician measures vital signs, oversees patient medications, helps patients bathe, and provides other needed patient care. In this position, you may help patients move around the facility as well as listen to patients needs and health concerns.
You will also have other duties that can include cleaning equipment and facilities, stocking supplies, and doing other things for the facility you are working in. Your exact job duties will depend on where you work and what is needed for your place of employment.
Working as a patient care technician gives you the ability to help people and be involved in the medical field. It can be rewarding work and is a job that has a growing demand for workers. Learn more about that below.
Job Outlook for Patient Care Technicians
Working as a patient care technician could be a great job opportunity because employment in this position is expected to grow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics website tells us that employment for this type of position is expected to increase 11 percent from 2016 to 2026. This is faster than the average growth.
This employment growth shows the demand there will be for people in this line of work. This demand is driven by the aging baby boomer population, which means more people are moving into long-term care facilities. Working as a patient care technician is a position worth considering as it could give you excellent career opportunities in the future. Also, when it comes to salary, you can expect a median annual wage of about $27,520 as a patient care technician according to BLS.gov. That estimate is from May 2017.
However, to work as a patient care technician, you will need some medical knowledge such as knowing how to execute basic medical procedures like checking vitals and performing CPR. You can learn these things and more through a patient care technician program or school.
Attending a Patient Care Technician Program
You can attend a patient care program that will train you for an entry-level position working in patient care in a hospital, nursing home, rehab facility, or as a home health care aid. A patient care technician program will provide you with the knowledge and experience to succeed in this field.
Here at FVI School of Nursing and Technology, we have a patient care technician program that you can complete in as little as eight months, and it includes theory hours as well as externship hours. This means you will learn all about the fundamentals of patient care and get real-world experience by doing a patient care clinical.
In this program, you will learn many skills that focus on helping patients in long-term care facilities. For example, you will learn how to draw blood and care for wounds properly, perform catheterizations, and correctly conduct an ECG. As you can see, your schooling will take you through theory, but will also provide you with some hands-on medical training.
If you would like to learn more about the FVI School of Nursing and Technology’s patient care technician program, you can click here. This could be a fantastic option to start a career in healthcare.
For more information about graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website: https://fvi.edu/consumer-information/.
