Patient Care Tech Jobs Are Increasing

Since the Health and Medical Industry is growing at lightning speed in the 2010s, with huge increases further expected at least until the year 2050, technicians and technologists are becoming more greatly in demand. Not only are they needed in hospitals, but also in nursing homes, retirement centers, clinics, and will be added to the Aerospace Industry as privatized commercial and passenger space travel increases.

In Autumn 2012, the frist passenger tickets were offered ot the moon, at $750 million, but with plans for lunar bases, near-earth asteroid mining, and Mars exploration on the drawing boards across NASA Commercial Crew's 63+ companies, healthcare in space is only a few floating steps away.

New aerospace companies are added to this group regularly and NASA is planning more work than much of the public has taken the time to become aware.

All branches of the military benefit from the work of patient cars techs, as do patient in hyperbaric clinics recovering from the bends or using hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) for dozens of conditions.

Increasing Pay Ranges

By early 2012, the US national average salary for a Patient Care Tech was $40,900 plus benefits.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the job title Certified Nursing Aides (no PCT is listed) will increase in number of new jobs by at least 20% or 302,000 new jobs between 2010 to 2020. On December 10, 2012 over 549,000 open jobs were listed across the Internet for the USA.

Pay Ranges

It is easy to find the pay ranges for most occupations by accessing salary.con and search for the pay range of a specific job title for a specific city. For instance, the average salary for Patient Care Technicians in a few of the major cities listed above are in the following list.

When looking up salaries for a PCT and unable to find results for that job title, try "Certified Nursing Aide." PCT is one of the newer job titles in the 2000s and 2010s and many job descriptions require the PCT to be a Certified Nursing Aide (CNA). The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups CNAs together with Attendants and Orderlies, but the salaries of the two latter job titles are lower.

Average Salaries in USA:

• National average: $40,900 + benefits
• Houston: $33,143
• Greensboro: $40,900
• St. Louis: $40,900
• Atlanta: $36,375
• San Francisco: $40,000

Salary Finders

• Salary Calculator - CBsalary

  CBsalary offers a free salary calculator, job and salary advice, and information on wages by job type and location. CBsalary offers a free salary calculator. Find wage compensation by job types.

• How to Negotiate Your Salary

  The American Association of University Women found that men are over four times as likely to negotiate a salary for a new job as are women.

Best Locations for Work

Nearly half a million patient care tech and similar positions were advertised across all sources on the Internet for America in 2012 and have risen in number since that time. The locations listing the highest demand for these workers are the following:

1. TEXAS Is Number One: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso
2. Greensboro NC
3. St. Louis MO
4. Atlanta GA
5. San Francisco CA
6. Louisville KY
7. Baltimore MD
8. New York NY
9. Orlando FL
10. Birmingham AL
11. Phoenix AZ

General Pay Ranges and Education Requirements to date:

Pay ranges advertised fall between $20,000 - $60,000 at the end of 2012, with education requirements being at least a High School Diploma or GED, or an Associate's Degree with Certification for these advertised jobs. Some Certification programs are less than two years in length.

Patient Care Technicians in one department of a major Cancer Center follow this job description:

This Center's Patient Care Tech or PCT must be a multi-skilled healthcare professional that is able to work interdependently and on a team with other healthcare professionals in providing consistent high-quality healthcare to patients as individuals. He or she is appropriately educated and trained to perform both 1) administrative and 2) clinical tasks in a health and medical environment, including both inpatient and outpatient settings. Further:

• The PCT provides general assistance to and support of any nursing staff in healthcare related tasks and protocol.
• The PCT provides initial patient triage and registration.
• The PCT provides individual patient care within the scope of their training, including obtaining vital signs, giving enemas, and making file updates about the medications of all asigned patients.
• The PCT places correct documents into patient charts and ensures that charts are complete and fully prepared before each yse.
• The PCT assists physicians with minor procedures and medical examinations as requested.
• The PCT prepares examination rooms and restocks supplies.
• Thge PCT coordinates additional tasks and activities as directed.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Training and Certifications as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) or PCT
• Previous experience required of at least one (1) year directly related to the duties and responsibilities lited above.
• Must have excellent customer service skills for individualized patient care.
• Must have CPR Certification.
• Must have excellent, accurate computer skills.

I have seen PCT curricula of anywhere from 12 hours to 300 hours of classes, but in most cases this is four months or less of academic study. Hands-on clinical experience is also given.

The Mayo Clinic has an excellent 4-month curricula for a Dialysis PCT, which includes:

1. Hemodialysis principles (blood dialysis in cases of kidney failure, etc.)
2. Hemodialysis equipment
3. Composition of dialysis substances
4. Infection control
5. Hemodialysis access
6. Water treatment

Also included are:

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Therapeutic Communication Skills
• Ethical and Legal Issues
• Professionalism
• Teamwork
• Time Management
• General Medical Procedures and Terminology
• Renal Anatomy and Physiology
• Elements of Renal Disease
• Addressing Psychological Aspects of Chronic Illness
• Drug Dose Calculation
• Patient Monitoring
• Safety Precautions and Procedures

For more details about this curriculum, see Mayo Clinics PCT