Patient Care Technician Training

A patient care technician works in the medical field alongside doctors, nurses, and other health care personnel to administer care in varying degrees. Let us go into a little detail about the duties of this profession and gives us a detailed account of what the training for this job involves.

• Their main job is to assist the nurses and doctors in every way possible.
• As they have direct contact with patients daily, they have to be extremely responsible.
• They take care of all the patient's needs―they first have to check them in and start the preliminary stages before the doctors and nurses can come in and administer proper care for them.

• They need to check the patient's histories so that they can provide the doctors with medical records which tells them about the kind of medicines that they can safely administer to the patients, and the course of treatment that should be started for them.

• They also set up charts that give details about the patient's ailments, allergies, previous illnesses, and the treatment that was administered for them.

• After the doctors and other medical professionals have made a diagnosis, they see to it that the follow-up is carried through. Which means that if there are tests, x-rays or scans involved as a follow through, they get the patients ready for the same.
• They then collect the reports and get them ready for the doctors to go through.

• They have to be there for the patients and take care of all their needs like changing bandages and dressings, changing their bed sheets, bringing them their food, and helping with their baths among other things.
• They have to also take up certain technical jobs like answering night calls and delivering messages, along with keeping a stock of supplies.

• They help carry forth the exercises that are meant to strengthen the patients. They help in their positioning and turning, and doing motion exercises.
• They help patients to and from ambulances and wheelchairs.

There are certain specialized programs that need to be undertaken to become a patient care technician. These programs are usually of a two year duration. 

These programs teach the medical students the proper communication skills, the complete information on what is involved in patient care, how to be disciplined in this field, how to control infection in patients, how to maintain high standards of medical safety, the complete guide to nutrition, everything about anatomy, and administering CPR among others. 

These courses are a combination of classroom knowledge and practical practice. They need to master certain clinical skills like blood collection, performing EKGs, and recording vital signs. They have to be able to take care of their patients and maintain the smooth functioning of the health care facility.

A specialized patient care technician may work for about 40 hours per week. The salary for this profession is also quite high. The nature of their job is such that they are required to do a lot of physical work at all times. They have to be handling patients and getting them out of the bed, helping them in and out of wheelchairs, and the like.

They also have to deal with heavy machinery and are constantly in touch with patients who may pass on the infection to them.

• Hospital
• Nursing home
• Rehabilitation centers
• Clinics

The job of a patient care technician is one that is in high demand and is ever growing. Now that you know what the training involves and what the duties that they have to perform are, you can make an informed decision of whether this is the job that you want to take up.