Clinical tech

[Jenn1228]

Hello I have a question, how do you get the experience to be a clinical tech? Do you need to be a cna first for them to let you in the position? I know on all the jobs I see it says you have to have phlebotomy and clinical tech experience.

But yet this girl I know, worked in the cafeteria at the hospital for about 6 months and on her break she would always talk to these nurses and she ended up getting a clinical tech job in which she has no exp. She does not know phlebotomy and does not have cna. So I was just wondering does anyone know how do you luck up and get those positions. Or the main question is how do you get clinical tech exp so you can apply for those jobs?

[jbarge01]

I'm not sure how it works in Florida, but in Michigan a person can attend a technical school or community college to become a patient care tech, which if I understand correctly is what you are referring to. I personally took this program before entering nursing school, basically it consists of patient care, phlebotomy, ekg's, and catheter insertion. I did have to be a cna to enroll in the PCT program, but at the school that i went to, they pretty much combined the classes, and for the CNA and PCT it was only 6 weeks of school.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I'm in north Texas. There's a trade school in Dallas that trains people to become PCTs (patient care technicians) in order to work in hospitals. Perhaps a Florida trade school might offer similar training.

[Jenn1228]

Thanks for your help, but yeah my friend of course I don't know where she is going with it if she does not plan to learn anymore. But she is a clinical tech she says in pedatric ICU at arnold palmer here in orlando and she says all she does is stock the carts for the nurses and she will feed the babies in the nursery. She does not know how to draw blood or even take blood pressure. So I was just curious how you would get in a position like that, I guess just knowing someone.

Thanks for all your answers.

[rgroyer1RNBSN, BSN, RN]

My hospital will hire a clinic tech and train them if they have 4 or more months of cna or emt exp.