Patient Care Technician Schools in Los Angeles
Being a patient care technician is no easy job, but it is fulfilling and noble. This job is about caring for various patients and helping them return to their everyday lives. So, if you are someone with a compassionate heart and want to dedicate your life to taking care of others, PCT might be the best job for you. Mainly because it’s a job that’s in high demand.
If you are in Los Angeles, read this article to find out everything about becoming a PTC in this city.
Patient Care Technician Demand in Los Angeles
There are more than 3,000 job postings for patient care technicians in Los Angeles. Among them, about three hundred are part-time jobs, and about two hundred are positions under contract. So the demand is not at all low.
On the contrary, it is estimated that the need for patient care technicians will be at an all-time high within the next decade.
How to Become a Patient Care Technician in Los Angeles
It’s very easy to become a patient care technician. It’s one of the few ways you can enter the healthcare field within a condensed amount of time.
The entry-level jobs you can get after completing your education within a short time are all good. There aren’t many complications you have to go through to become a PCT in Los Angeles, California. All you have to do is complete the following steps:
Step 1
Complete your high school diploma: There are a bunch of universities and training institutes that will not make it mandatory for you to be a high school graduate to receive PCT training. But most will ask for it, and it will also help you when you look for jobs. So it is best to have a high school diploma, a GED, or an equivalent qualification if you want to enroll in a patient care technician training program, which is step 2.
Step 2
Complete a training program: Needless to say, this is the most important step. You must enroll in a Patient Care Technician specialized training program and complete the program with full attendance of the clinical hours. The program may last from eight months to two years, depending on the degree you are going for.
It’s important to note that not all universities out there might have a program available specifically for becoming a PCT. In that case, instead of removing those universities from your consideration, you can try for the Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA program instead.
There are plenty of similarities in the courses for both, except PCT has some additional courses like Phlebotomy and EKG. You can take those courses separately on the side or after completion of the CNA program. This will make you eligible for the post of a PCT.
Step 3
Take the certification exam: Once you have completed the program, you are eligible to take the state exam. The exam held by the National Health Association named CPCT/A is recommended. For this, you will need to be over 18 and show your proof of citizenship. Passing the exam will make you a Certified Patient Care Technician. It will also register you to the California Nurse Aide Registry, which is important if you want to apply for jobs within the state.
Step 4
Miscellaneous requirements: You must have a clean criminal record. You have to pass the drug screening test and the TB skin test. You’ll also need to have some health immunization tests done.
Patient Care Technician Salaries in Los Angeles
The average salary for a Patient Care Technician in Los Angeles, California is $42,904. This is 5% higher than the national average salary for a Patient Care Technician. Salaries typically start from $26,819 and go up to $60,636.
Patient Care Technicians in Los Angeles typically earn higher salaries than those in other parts of the state. This is due to the higher cost of living in the area. The average salary for a Patient Care Technician in Los Angeles is also higher than the average salary for a Patient Care Technician in the United States. This is likely due to the fact that Los Angeles is a major city with a large population of medical facilities, as well as the fact that Los Angeles is home to many large, well-known medical institutions.
Patient Care Technicians in Los Angeles typically have a variety of job duties, such as taking vital signs, providing patient education, and assisting doctors and nurses with patient care. These professionals must be detail-oriented, have good communication and teamwork skills, and be able to work with a variety of patients. They must also possess the ability to think quickly and effectively in order to provide the best possible care for their patients.
Online Patient Care Technician Schools in Los Angeles
Here are some of the best educational institutes offering courses for PCT, either physical or online:
Best American Healthcare University
The PCT training program of this university is nationally accredited and available both online and offline. If offline, the campus is in Riverside. You can complete the course within only six weeks and graduate with a patient care technician, EKG technician, and, if you are a CNA, acute care CNA certificates.
Healthcare Career College
The patient care technician program of this college has a duration of 11 months. It is a multi-skilled program with general education combined with laboratory procedures. The training will make you eligible for multiple job positions aside from PCT, like Medical Assistant, Nurse Assistant, and Home Health Aide, all in one. This will make you more equipped to get hired and work in a variety of out-patient or in-patient healthcare settings.
Loyola Marymount University
This university provides an online training program for those wishing to become Patient Care Technicians. The course is 100% online, and you can start at any time. It is designed with the objective of introducing you to patient care, legal issues in healthcare, standard precautions, and infection control. The best thing is that there are no prerequisites for completing the course, so anyone can take it. The total course duration is 300 hours, and the entire credit points needed is 30.
As you can see, being a PCT in Los Angeles is relatively easy, and there are some great universities you can take your education and training from. So just go ahead and pursue your goal!