Patient Care Tech/CNA-same thing?

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Ok so I am in the process of getting my CNA license and after I get certified I was wanting to transfer to a hospital and work as a patient care tech. I have been told that a patient care tech and a CNA are the same thing and I have also been told that they are not. Does anyone know the real answer to this? If they are not the same thing what other certifications do you need to be a patient care tech?

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Specializes in long term care, oncology.

hi- you can work as a patient care tech as long as you have your cna certificate. i just got hired as a patient care tech at one of my local hospitals in the oncology department. they are going to train me on ekg's as well.

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Specializes in ER, OB.

I think it depends where you live. Around here (Indiana) PCT's are CNA's with a few extra responsibilites that they are taught on the job (like: inserting caths, doing blood draws, EKGs, or other things like that). Wish you the best with getting into a hospital. :)

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I live in FL and I was a non-certified nursing assistant and just got my PCT. It can vary from place to place on what the difference is. Where I work, the 2 things I can do now that I couldn't do before was insert/remove foleys and remove IV reseals. Also, I got a $2/hr raise in pay.

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thank you all for your input i really appreciate it!!! :)

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It depends... due to the economy Hospitals are trying to get more for their buck, so instead of just hiring CNA's that have limited responsibilities, they are hiring PCT's that can do more, like EKG's, phlebotomy, insert/remove catheter's, etc. Sometimes the pay difference is like $1-2 more than CNA's. Depending on the floor you are on and the Hospital you are at, it will vary. Good Luck!

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Depends where you live.

I haven't really seen hospitals utilize CNA's (or STNA's here in OH) in my area - they will hire those with an STNA certification already, but generally they are just called nursing assistants. At my old job, we were called PCNA's (patient care nursing assistants).

When I was a PCNA, I could do basic patient care, I/O's, admit pts on tele and hook up all of their wires/etc, get blood sugars, and d/c IV's/foleys and do simple (non-sterile) dressing changes. The nursing assistants at my current job can only do basic patient care, I/O's and if you're in the critical care or telemetry units, you can admit pts on tele.

Patient Care Techs (PCT's) at my old job could do everything a PCNA could do + do blood draws and insert foleys.

I am a nursing student technician (NST). To be an NST at my hospital, you have to be in nursing school with at least 1 year of experience. They pretty much let me do everything except pass meds and do assessments, although there is sort of a gray area with assessments because we are allowed to do dressing changes (both sterile and non-sterile) and you have to assess the wound bed. I can draw blood, insert IV's, insert foleys, administer enemas, do blood/wound cultures...in critical care units, they have me prime and hang tube feeing bags in the morning and I'm also allowed to suction patients with trachs or vents if they need to be suctioned. I truely love my job because it is such a wonderful experience.

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I live in FL and I was a non-certified nursing assistant and just got my PCT. It can vary from place to place on what the difference is. Where I work, the 2 things I can do now that I couldn't do before was insert/remove foleys and remove IV reseals. Also, I got a $2/hr raise in pay.

If you don't mind me asking what part of FL do you work? and is it a hospital or LTC?

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Specializes in Emergency.

Melosaur,

Could you provide any tips on getting the PCT position? Did you nursing grades count, did you apply online directly to the hospital or did you apply in person?

Thanks

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I'm in Chicago suburbs. Same thing here. Hospitals call them PCT or PCA usually but the requirement is a CNA on state registry or 1 year complete of nursing school.

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removed - information outdated

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So I have a question if I go and get my CNA and work and do that then do a program that is phlebotmy and EKG training then I am PCT?

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