A Day in the Life of a Patient Care Technician

A Day in the Life of a Patient Care Technician in New York

If you’re the type of person who lives to help people in need, the job of Patient Care Technician may be an ideal position for you. Patient Care Technicians are on the front lines of individual, personalized caregiving, assisting doctors and nurses in meeting the day-to-day needs of a wide variety of patients.

A twenty-two percent projected increase in PCT jobs over the next five years means that now is the time to seek out PCT training in NYC so you can start your career in the medical field and stake your claim in the job market.

Beginning the Shift

Most Patient Care Technicians are employed by nursing homes and hospitals, which operate twenty-four hours a day. This means that shifts might begin at any time, allowing you the flexibility to work whatever type of schedule is best for you.

PCTs spend more one-on-one time with patients than doctors and nurses, and they will assist with bedding and bandage changes as well as making sure patients are prepped for any surgeries or other procedures on the schedule. This means bathing, shaving, changing clothes, and wheeling patients to and from x-rays or other appointments within the hospital or medical facility.

Essentially, as a Personal Care Technician, you are the one carrying out the bulk of patient interactions, asking questions and getting to know your patients on a personal level while marking any changes in their needs or condition on the chart for implementation by doctors and nurses.

Patient Care Technicians in New York

During the Shift

The day-to-day tasks of Patient Care Technicians will vary greatly between job postings, and each facility will present unique challenges and on-the-job learning opportunities. PCTs make sure patients receive the appropriate meals at the appropriate times, monitoring food intake and nutrition. PCTs will also administer medications and take any blood or stool samples requested by doctors for testing purposes.

For bedridden patients, PCTs will be the ones checking every day to make sure that skin issues such as rashes and bedsores are kept at bay. They may also be asked to help with dialysis and other types of specialized procedures, which require additional training. Patient Care Technicians assist doctors with all types of tests and scans, so phlebotomy and EKG certification is a good idea for anyone looking to launch a career in patient care.

End of the Shift

Ultimately, the job of the Patient Care Technician is to create a friendly, personable, professional rapport in order to make a difference in the lives of patients. This extends beyond medical care; PCTs are responsible for making sure each patient’s room is clean, well-organized, and fully supplied with everything the patient and doctors need for quality care. Clean linens and clothing for patients, as well as general upkeep and tidiness of the patient’s space, all fall within the purview of the Patient Care Technician.

Patient Care Technicians need to be kind, compassionate, courteous, and able to develop personal connections with people during difficult times in their lives. As the first line of interaction, the PCT is an absolutely crucial element of any medical facility’s staff.