Patient Care Technician

Nursing is hard work, and there are lots of things a Nurse needs to keep an eye on to help a patient improve. Good thing they have the Patient Care Technician to help out.

A Patient Care Technician works under the supervision and direction of Registered Nurses, doing anything they need done. This means your daily responsibilities as a Patient Care Technician can range from the mundane (like cleaning or feeding patients) to the more complex (like drawing blood or giving EKGs).

You can find work anywhere that Nurses are employed. For example, you might work in a hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, or clinic. Consequently, there are also lots of options when it comes to the types of patients you want to help.

This job is a sort of stepping stone between the Nursing Aide and Registered Nurse positions. You have some education that lets you take part in different medical procedures. But for the most part, you do the jobs that no one else wants to do.

You spend your days catering to patients and their needs. You answer patient calls; feed, clothe, and bathe them; make beds; and help patients walk around. You also get to take and monitor vital signs, help with exams, set up rooms before procedures, and observe patients when they do their rehab activities.

If this sounds a lot like a Patient Care Associate, you’re not far off. The two jobs are close and sometimes used interchangeably. The big difference is as a Technician, you go through more training and are given more medically difficult jobs.