Psych Tech= Psychiatric Nurse...?

[kalevra, BSN, RN]

I was informed earlier that in order to bring in more people to a school's Psych Tech program, they have begun to market the classes as "Psychiatric Nursing Technician".

Originally the classes fell under the Psych-Tech designation. I honestly think that they are trying to confuse people into thinking they are nurses just so they can fill seats. This reminds me of the whole CNA are nurses discussions.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Let me guess? This must be a for-profit trade school.

Anyhow, what they're doing is legal. It might not be ethical or transparently honest, but it is still legal. They know that so many people still want to jump on the 'nursing' bandwagon, so they're simply catering to the masses by including 'nursing' in the title of the training program.

I would hope the prospective students do some research on what a psych tech really is, as well as their typical job duties, description, employment outlook, pay, and so on.

CNA programs are not training licensed nurses, but 'nursing' is still legally in the title. It's the same situation with the psych tech program, which is not a protected title by law.

BTW, I once worked at a psychiatric facility where the staffing coordinator's official job title was "nursing coordinator," even though she was not a licensed nurse at all.