difference in getting PCT AND LPN

unimesh15 · Feb 11, 2015

Are the pay same for PCT AND LPN??? I am in NY.

roser13, ASN, RN · Feb 11, 2015

I know I am hearing the same. I am doing my Lpn and my friend told me they are licensed for dialysis and phlebotomist so but she is PCT.
She finished in 6 weeks unlike me part time program for 18 months and full time for 9 months.

I doubt that the PCT is "licensed" at all.

caliotter3 · Feb 11, 2015

I doubt that the PCT is "licensed" at all.

Licensed in what?

roser13, ASN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

Licensed in what?

According to OP, her friend who is in training to be a PCT, will be "licensed" in dialysis and phlebotomy.

danielle2000, MSN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

Though LPN are licensed and PCTs are not some facilities tend to treat LPNs in that matter. I was one for 4 years and it was hard at times how they would down play your scope of practice.

caliotter3 · Feb 12, 2015

According to OP, her friend who is in training to be a PCT, will be "licensed" in dialysis and phlebotomy.

Really? What is the professional title, the scope of practice, etc. Where can we find their "license" number? How does a member of the public verify this "license" or lodge a complaint against the license? And why don't we see any discussion about these "licenses", like we see about the license "Registered Nurse" or the license "Licensed Practical Nurse". I think somebody is mixing up their terminology.

roser13, ASN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

Really? What is the professional title, the scope of practice, etc. Where can we find their "license" number? How does a member of the public verify this "license" or lodge a complaint against the license? And why don't we see any discussion about these "licenses", like we see about the license "Registered Nurse" or the license "Licensed Practical Nurse". I think somebody is mixing up their terminology.

Well, that was my point.

Loo17 · Feb 12, 2015

I know I am hearing the same. I am doing my Lpn and my friend told me they are licensed for dialysis and phlebotomist so but she is PCT.
She finished in 6 weeks unlike me part time program for 18 months and full time for 9 months.

A 6 week class is more likely a CNA/PCT course. In New England a PCT makes roughly $15/hr in a hospital versus an LPN in a nursing home in the low $20's. The hospital where I work does not employ LPN's.

I think your friend is trying to make her job sound different than it is.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Feb 12, 2015

I know I am hearing the same. I am doing my Lpn and my friend told me they are licensed for dialysis and phlebotomist so but she is PCT.
She finished in 6 weeks unlike me part time program for 18 months and full time for 9 months.

As far as I know, neither Phlebotomists nor dialysis technicians require licensure to perform their jobs. Hospitals and clinics can provide on the job training for these roles. Your friend may indeed have taken a vocational course on these things, but she is using the word "licensed" in an incorrect manner.

If you're asking if you should quit your LPN program and transfer to a PCT program because it's shorter, I think that's a bad idea. In the vast majority of cases, LPNs make substantially more than PCTs. Especially if you work as an LPN in LTC. And that pay gap will only grow as you become more experienced.

And those extra months (less than a year) difference are really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

Last hospital I worked at, the pcts were former cnas, they did pt care, drsg changes, iv starts, ekgs, hung tube fdgs, that sort of thing.

CNAs starting IVs? And doing dressing changes? These are nursing responsibilities.

I've seen CNAs ( PCTs) take out IVs in ER, if the patient is to be discharged, and nothing was infusing thru the IV cath... But starting IV -- never.

jilliebean · Feb 12, 2015

CNAs starting IVs? And doing dressing changes? These are nursing responsibilities.
I've seen CNAs ( PCTs) take out IVs in ER, if the patient is to be discharged, and nothing was infusing thru the IV cath... But starting IV -- never.

maybe I should clarify to say that they were heplocks, nothing infusing. Here is another thread on what PCTs could do a diifferent facilities.

https://allnurses.com/patient-care-technician/pct-nurse-tech-318115-page5.html

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 12, 2015

CA & LA require licensure/state certification of phlebotomists (or at least they used to). Other companies encourage certification such as CPT (certified phlebotomy tech) but not required by state dept of health