Should I go to pct school or lpn school?

Nursing Students Technicians

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Hello everyone. Im.currently enrolled in community college to get my associates then originally transfer to a university to get my BSN, however I was introdiced to the lpn program. It only takes a year, from a technical school, and I will be able to transfer to the community college to get be a registered nurse. It is a lot less expensive than my initial plan.

But I was also thinking of going to school to be a patient care technician. I want experience in the hospital setting, many tell me just to go to lpn program and some advise me to go for the patient care technician, get my feet wet then apply fpr the lpn program in a year. I honestly love the thought of both paths because I have always wanted to care for patients. Any advice on what path I should consider?

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Specializes in Postpartum, Mother/Baby, Comm. Health, Geriatric.

I would say it depends on what population of patients you want to work with. LPN generally work more with a geriatric/pediatric population vs PCT/PCA usually work with the population of the department you work in. If you are sure you are going to get your BSN, get your LPN and you can build your career in the same place of employment.

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LPN is an actual nursing license with a standardized curriculum, clinicals and an NCLEX exam at the end, and an LPN program usually has prerequisites and entrance requirements, and some programs transfer directly into an ADN RN program(IE your first year of RN school is LPN school.)

PCT school is just a votech class resulting in no license or certification(that matters or is recognized). From what I've seen PCT classes aren't cheap or short either, so in my opinion you'd be better served spending your time and money on something else.

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Just like you, I also wanted to get into healthcare, so I became a CNA to get my feet wet. You ultimately want to become an RN so why not stay in the field and go for LPN? I did see you mentioned "hospital setting" which is what PCT can give you, since LPNs don't get hired in hospitals here. I am currently taking the steps to enroll into LPN program, since I found nursing to be a rewarding field. However, I don't plan on going into the LPN-RN bridge program.

Where are you planning to train for PCT? I noticed one has a PCT program, but their classes start till August. LPN starts in April, if you can get in of course. By the end of the PCT program you can sit for the CNA licensing exam.. and pretty much become a CNA.. I have heard that during your LPN training you also can take the CNA exam after their first block. My CNA training only took 5 weeks, but I guess as a PCT you can probably get licensed as a Phlebotomist and EKG tech. The website doesn't state, but that is my guess. I do find PCT to be a stepping stone, a very small one, to LPN-RN. You are young, and any training/certifications you can rack up under your belt is never a bad thing.

If you want the hospital setting, then PCT looks like the best choice. However, keep in mind that your ultimate goal is RN. The LPN program will get you to your goal as an RN faster if you can get in a program this year. Good luck in whatever you choose, healthcare is a wonderful field!

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The tech college I attended in Ga required CNA before the LPN program, And if you were on wait list to get admitted into LPN they had PCT available to further your skills after you complete CNA. My teacher explained that it was required to get CNA before LPN mostly she thinks because nurses in the past were hired that did not have any hands on skills when starting their jobs other then Clinical's which effected patient care. ( Also In my opinion one can be book smart but that is no help if you lack hands on skills). and that lead to the now requirement of CNA training as well for future nursing students. I say if your gonna be a nurse, investigate the shortest least expensive route to get there. if that means becoming a LPN first you can bridge over to RN while working as LPN. Also some hospitals will pay for you to further your education from LPN but you must agree to work for them afterwards for a certain amount of time. My sister was a LPN at a local hospital that paid for her to become a RN, she has been RN for over 12 years now.

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@shortguychris, Yes! The pct program allows you to be licensed in ekg and phlebotomy. Theres a lot of pluses when it comes to the pct, i was able to go to mcfatter today and the counselor told me that the pct articulates into the lpn program, so if i do decide to do pct, then i will have 160 hours or so under my belt once i go into the lpn program. I am leaning more towards the pct though because it is less expensive for me at the moment, knowing that the school doesn't allow student loans, itll be kind of a struggle to get all that money in, in the past, my school's financial aid did not give me one penny so i had to pay out of pocket. im still very young so im telling myself that theres no need to rush at all.

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PCT for sure.

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I would definitely get my feet wet with the PCT program first....

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You're young, go for the bsn, you can work as a tech after your first semester of clinicals.

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

Hospitals in my area rarely hire lpn's if ever. Lpn mainly go into nursing homes. The PCT program will more likely get you in the hospital setting either as a PCT, CNA or monitor tech and phelbotomy since they learn all that stuff. Get your state CNA license once you complete the PCT program

As for nursing route Ill stick to yr plan, get your associates and go for the BSN. Once you get in as a PCT some hospitals offer to help pay to get your BSN. The other routes seem cheaper but take longer to complete and in the end might be more costly. If you have the aide and comfort of living with yr parents, I go straight for the BSN with the PCT as a starter to help with tuition

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Specializes in OB.

You're so young! Go for the BSN!

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Specializes in Pschiatry.

I live in the tri-state area ,(West Virginia,Pennsylvania,and Ohio) and I was succored into taking a PCT Program. When I registered for it, the catalog said Medical Assistant. By the time of orientation, it had changed to PCT. I basically wasted 9 months and $6000.00 dollars. A PCT is a glorified CNA. There's nothing wrong with being a CNA but around here you can get a CNA Certification in about 2 months and most nursing homes offer them for free. Yes I have National Phlebotomy Certification, but that course by itself was $800.00 and only 8 weeks long. I can also be an EKG Technician but I got no certification (and very little training for it). The hospitals around here don't even hire PCT's nor do most of them know what they are. They just hire CNA's. At one hospital, the LPN's have been bumped down to ER Techs. Go for the RN degree.I have just been accepted into RN school and wish I had just applied there first and not wasted the time or money on PCT.

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