Welcome to the realm of Patient Care Technicians, where your commitment to patient welfare is more than just a job; it’s a heartfelt profession. It’s a chance to combine compassion with expertise to create a deep and lasting impact on the lives of patients and their loved ones.
Patient Care Technicians support nurses, doctors, and other medical staff in caring for patients with physical and mental health concerns. Patient Care Technicians are employed in a wide range of healthcare settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, assisted living communities, and more. Under the supervision of nursing staff and a larger care team, Patient Care Technicians directly support patients during hospital stays and medical visits.
Patient Care Technicians hold a wide range of responsibilities, including:
By providing vital support to patients and medical staff, Patient Care Technicians streamline the delivery of medical care and improve the patient’s overall comfort and experience.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of nursing assistants and orderlies, including Patient Care Technicians, is projected to grow by a remarkable 4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations. Healthcare is shifting towards patient-centric care, emphasizing the overall patient experience. Patient Care Technicians are at the forefront of delivering compassionate, personalized care that enhances patient well-being and satisfaction. In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the role of a Patient Care Technician is emerging as a critical force in patient care, and the outlook for the next decade is exceptionally promising.
See the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report for Patient Care Technicians
The healthcare industry is currently undergoing major changes in the way patient care is provided. This restructuring has resulted in the introduction of a new category of healthcare workers trained to perform a variety of patient care services. Patient Care Technicians must possess the technical skills necessary to service complex patient personal care issues including the implementation of selected portions of a specific care plan that may include rehabilitation services, basic bedside care, collection of laboratory specimens, Phlebotomy, and EKGs. They work alongside doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers to oversee and monitor patients. This Patient Care Technician program will provide students with the basic medical knowledge and hands-on skills necessary to perform or obtain technical diagnostic testing and perform direct patient care.
Our training program is a journey that equips you with the skills, knowledge, and empathy needed to excel as a Patient Care Technician.
Students who allocate 8 to 10 hours per week to their studies will complete this program in approximately 3 months. It is an online program so if a student can allocate more time or can pick things up faster than the average student you are welcome to accelerate completion. Our Instructors are here to mentor, monitor, explain the curriculum, where necessary, answer questions, and provide feedback to students on their work and assignments.
Students completing this program can sit for the Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A) certification exam administered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
The all-inclusive program fee covers everything a student needs to successfully complete the Patient Care Technician program, including:
This program qualifies for the MyCAA Tuition Assistance Program sponsored by the Department of Defense—a program designed for military spouses.
Upon completing the online training program, a student is eligible* for our optional Patient Care Technician Externship. The Patient Care Technician Externship is a standard 40-hour unpaid rotation. The purpose of the Externship is two-fold: to give each student hands-on instruction and practice conducting a variety of procedures with supervision and to connect each student with a potential employer in their local market.
As a participant in this Patient Care Technician Clinical Externship, you must agree to provide a resume to your assigned Externship Coordinator no less than three weeks following initial contact. Failure to provide such a resume will result in students not participating in the externship opportunity. In addition, the following terms and conditions apply to the Externship:
By participating in this process, students are entering into an unpaid volunteer clinical externship opportunity which, at no time, constitutes an employee-employer relationship. The facility is under no obligation to continue your clinical experience, nor should you maintain these expectations.
*Students who wish to participate in this course’s optional clinical externship portion must complete their program with a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam and course average, spending at least 50 hours in the course. All externship placements are subject to the availability, scheduling, and staffing needs of the externship sites.
We will coordinate an externship for each eligible student at a healthcare organization in their local area. In over eight years of providing this service, we have not had an instance where we could not do this—pandemic or no pandemic. With this said, we cannot guarantee a placement due to circumstances outside our control which include a lack of healthcare organizations located in a rural area, acts of God, situations where healthcare organizations have curtailed their operations due to a pandemic or other cause or in situations where a student chooses not to meet the outlined requirements.
