PCT and CNA whats the difference

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Hey guys, well I went to my local vocational school and I notice that they offer 2 programs CNA and patient care tech. The CNA program is only 4wks and much cheaper and the PCT is 6 months $1100. I started looking for jobs in that field and most employers (hospitals) ask for either PCT or CNA to do the same job. Why would you go to a PCT program over CNA they seem like its the same thing. I also notice that the PCT program description says that you train to be a CNA, HHA (Home Health Aid) certified and a little of EKG and phlebotomy but not certified. I was thinking of just doing the CNA 4wks and then get certified for EKG and phlebotomy which takes another 5 months...What do you think?

to FLIGHTNURSE2BE...

I am a cna and I am going to be moving to fl in a couple months and I'm getting so confused trying to apply for a job in a hospital because I don't see any jobs available for cnas but there's a bunch for pcts and the requirements for the pct job is to have a cna certificate so I'm confused as to whether the pct job is the cna job but different title. Would you know offhand which hospitals only want cnas or only want pcts? Or which will offer education to cnas for the ekgs and phlebotomy?

1 Votes
ygashjr27 said:
to FLIGHTNURSE2BE...

I am a cna and I am going to be moving to fl in a couple months and I'm getting so confused trying to apply for a job in a hospital because I don't see any jobs available for cnas but there's a bunch for pcts and the requirements for the pct job is to have a cna certificate so I'm confused as to whether the pct job is the cna job but different title. Would you know offhand which hospitals only want cnas or only want pcts? Or which will offer education to cnas for the ekgs and phlebotomy?

A PCT and a CNA are almost the same thing, except a PCT works in a hospital and has additional training and job duties. When a hospital advertises for PCT's they are usually looking for CNA's with experience. In my experience a hospital in Florida will tell you what they want in their job posting. If they want someone with EKG and Phleb certification, they'll state it. If they want specifically candidates who have been through a PCT program, they will say that too although I don't know if that happens in Florida the way it does in New York. But the basic requirements to become a PCT in a hospital in Florida, as per the placement ads, is about a years experience as a CNA. In my opinion it can't hurt to get PCT, EKG, or Phleb training on your own if only to make yourself more competitive.

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So if you take a PCT training program, you're qualified to take the CNA exam?

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg.

In my state, there's no such thing as a PCT. CNA's who work in hospitals may or may not get additional training in EKG/phlebotomy, depending on which department they work in. I know there are some CNA's in the ER who have some additional training, but the rest are just CNA's.

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bsnwnab said:
So if you take a PCT training program, you're qualified to take the CNA exam?

You should be. Being a CNA is the core part of being a PCT so I wouldn't know how any PCT program could avoid preparing their students for the CNA test.

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I went from being a CNA to a PCT because I moved to a different unit in the hospital. I was already EKG trained because I worked on a telemetry unit. I was already a monitor tech for the same reason. The unit I was hired on to work as a PCT hired me specifically to pull arterial lines because most of our patient population comes from the cath lab with lines in. So yes I can do more than a CNA. They trained me to pull lines and also to do unit secretary work.

Shannon

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Specializes in CNA med-surg.

In my hospital I am a CNA and soon I will train in the hospital to be a PCT. This means I will rotate between CNA work, Telemetry (watching heart monitors), and unit secretary. It is the same as CNA but more training and a bit higher pay. I would say go for PCT, especially if you want a hospital job over a skilled nursing or LTC job.

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Specializes in medical surgical.

Where I work we have PCTs-if certified they get a bonus every 3 month.

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Specializes in Float.
If if you want to be a lpn or rn go for cna. If this is the end of your educational plans go PCT :)

In my experience, being a PCT prepares you more for RN/LPN education because of the scope of practice. We do more procedures which will help tremedously during Nursing school lab/clinical procedures. The lessons are invaluable already. I'm on the Immune System in A&P II and the material comes together more for me because of the visual aids (pts) available to me. :)

You should be. Being a CNA is the core part of being a PCT so I wouldn't know how any PCT program could avoid preparing their students for the CNA test.

Where I work we have PCTs-if certified they get a bonus every 3 month

There is national certification for PCT's. Check out this link. I think it's more vaulable than CNA certifications again because of the scope of practice.

http://www.nhanow.com/

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I didn't really think of it when signing up (look at my username) but I guess I'm more of a PCT than a CNA. However my CNA training is one license I have and "PCT" is kind of like a quick way of signifying that I'm trained and certified to do some additional things like blood sugars, foleys, lab draws, nare swabs. And where I work PCTs can put orders into the computers and check off non-medication things from the charts.

When people ask me what my job is, or I write it on the board, I always put CNA because PCT seems kind of iffy to me. It means too many different things in different places and as far as I know it's not regulated.

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PhoenixTech said:

There is national certification for PCT's. Check out this link. I think it's more vaulable than CNA certifications again because of the scope of practice.

http://www.nhanow.com/

I recognize the differences between a PCT and CNA and I'm glad that somebody is trying to standardize it, but I wonder how common the certification is, because this is the first I've heard of it. I went to a community college for my CNA and my PCT was all on the job training and I never got a certification for PCT, but I did get a handful of certifications for some of the things I learned on the job like phlebotomy.

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