How to Become a Patient Care Technician in Arizona

A patient care technician, shortly known as PTC, might seem like a pretty identical job to that of a nurse, or maybe a medical assistant. There are definitely similarities in the duties of either group of people, but a PTC will usually be in charge of a wider range of activities related to the hospital. So if you become a PTC, you will have a big responsibility on your shoulders. But that also means you will become an irreplaceable asset to the hospital and an important member of the healthcare industry.

And if you are in Arizona, chasing your dream of becoming a patient care technician is no trouble at all.

Popular Patient Care Tech Cities in Arizona

Mesa

Phoenix

Tucson

Requirements for Becoming a Patient Care Technician in Arizona

You must have a high school diploma or GED. You cannot enter any patient care technician training program without that.

You can choose a school of your choice and enter a Patient Care Technician training program from there to receive specialized education and training for the job. If you enter a general school, you can continue normal education alongside the program. There are also online programs available. If the school you’re going to doesn’t have a PCT program, you can look for a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program instead, which covers much of the PCT program as well. The time period of the programs may vary depending on the school and the type of diploma, but the shortest ones will usually be only a few months.

Once you complete the training, you have to take the certification exam that the NHA arranges to get CPCT/A certification. This exam lasts 1 hour and 50 minutes, during which you will have to answer 100 test questions and 20 pretest ones. You need to graduate from the specialized training program to sit for this exam, but one year of experience in the field can replace that.

You must be registered at the Arizona Nurse Aide Registry. This registry requires you to graduate from a Nurse Aid training course first and then pass the exam. So you will have to do this along with the CPCT/A certification exam.

You must have a clean criminal background.

Patient Care Technician Classes in Arizona

Luckily for you, there are tons of good schools available in Arizona that can provide you with PCT training programs. Here are some of the best ones you can check out first-

Arizona Medical Training Institute: One of the best medical institutes in the state, Arizona Medical Training Institute is a vocational healthcare institute located in Mesa. They are offering a wide range of programs for you. They have courses dedicated to healthcare training with CNA, Phlebotomy, Caregiver, PCT, EKG programs, and more. Daytome, evening, and weekend classes are available.