PCTs giving injections!

Nursing Students Technicians

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I have seen so many posts on here saying that PCTs are giving injections and even starting IVs!! I live in Texas and have NEVER heard of this. Some PCTs here get trained in phlebotomy & EKG but that's about it. I would love to be able to do those things!! Does anyone know if giving I injections and starting IVs is allowed in Texas? Maybe I'm just out of the loop?

First of all...what in the world is an UNLICENSED LPN...that is kinda funny. I think that was coming from a student who was already calling themselves a LPN, just not licensed yet...LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE, but leave off the license and you just have a tech who happens to be going to school.

I am an ER Tech and have been for over 21 years. I really have had no need to become a RN or even a LPN. I have gone to school but never finished because it was too much to go fulltime and work fulltime. I have been doing it so long that I actually earn a nice size check and in fact, more than some of our nurses here.

Now...I am not a Medic. I am just an ER TEch. My duties include but not limited to: Starting and DCing IVs. Inserting and DCing Foleys. Drawing labs either by straight sticking or while inserting IVs. EKGs and EKG monitor tech. Wound dressings, splints, accuchecks, VS, general care and stocking. I have been doing it for so long that I am the one that gets called on to start the difficult sticks. RNs just dont do enough of them and have lost any skills they might have had at one time. I started out years of drawing labs before I was allowed under the hospitals umbrella to do them ONLY in the ER and not on the regular floors. We are not allowed to hang fluids, just flush IVs with 10cc of saline. Maintaining it is the RNs job. We dont use heparin... I was trained 20 years ago after one year as a CNA, in most of the duties I do today at a local college under the Patient Care Tech program in Arizona and was shown foleys and dressing changes, lab draws and ekgs....no IVs. I did this for 10 years before going to a hospital that allowed the techs in the ER to start IVs in the ER only...after 9 years, I have gained a lot of experience as a IV starter and can truthfully say that I am better than any nurse in our department. I think there is a fear that we are taking duties away from a RN. I get asked to put a pt. back on O2 after getting back from bathroom, but that is considered a medication and is not in the scope of practice unless I was a licensed nurse but if I said I couldn't, the RNs would look at me funny and still expect me to...odd....lol

If they want to take this responsibility away from me, it will just make my day easier and the RNs job harder.

Nuff said.

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Specializes in ER/ICU.
I work as a PCT in a ED and we insert and d/c foleys do wound care, splint, EKGs, some patient teaching such as crutches, d/c IVs, and so on. About the only thing we don't do is start IVs or draw blood but our nurses RARELY draw blood either it is generally done by the lab. We also can not do anything concerning meds. We also change a lot of beds and take out a lot of garbages as well as stock rooms, pass linens, and constantly clean lol. I will occasionally do vitals on new patients and take a brief history or report from the EMTs if we are REALLY busy. I am not sure if the other PCTs do this or not, I actually have to be careful that the nurses don't ask me to do things that are far outside my scope b/c they know I am a nursing student and an unlicensed LPN. I don't thing they do it intentionally and more often than not they are actually just trying to teach me new things but sometimes I am not sure they are fully aware of what I am supposed to and not supposed to do. I will say this though, as a student I have learned 200x as much in a week of work as a PCT than in a year of clinicals. If there are any other nursing students considering working as a PCT...DO IT![/quote'] Not sure why the emts are giving report to a tech. That is considered abandonment since they are transferring care to a lower level provider. Ultimately it's on them, but I'm a paramedic and I would not do that. Doesn't matter how busy the ER is. That's just not going to happen.

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In NC, you have to be a CNA 2 to insert a foley, I don't really know about the giving injections or starting IVs cause the RN's do that. I have only been able to prick a finger for blood sugars and that is about as close to a sharp I get. I guess it really depends on the state laws, and I would ask instructors that teach the program if that is allowed. Ask a RN too, she may know.

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I think paramedics working in ERs as techs should be able to start IVs and hang at least NS or LR draw blood and do EKGs considering they can and do these in a MOVING ambulance. I wonder how many RNs can do an IV in the back of an ambulance going down a bumpy road at 50-70mph with very little space. I guarantee they aren't there to take away the nurses job but to help make their jobs easier. Some of them like working in the ER for various reasons, I mean some ERs get a lot of interesting patients and offer great learning experiences.

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First of all...what in the world is an UNLICENSED LPN...that is kinda funny. I think that was coming from a student who was already calling themselves a LPN, just not licensed yet...LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE, but leave off the license and you just have a tech who happens to be going to school.

I am an ER Tech and have been for over 21 years. I really have had no need to become a RN or even a LPN. I have gone to school but never finished because it was too much to go fulltime and work fulltime. I have been doing it so long that I actually earn a nice size check and in fact, more than some of our nurses here.

Now...I am not a Medic. I am just an ER TEch. My duties include but not limited to: Starting and DCing IVs. Inserting and DCing Foleys. Drawing labs either by straight sticking or while inserting IVs. EKGs and EKG monitor tech. Wound dressings, splints, accuchecks, VS, general care and stocking. I have been doing it for so long that I am the one that gets called on to start the difficult sticks. RNs just dont do enough of them and have lost any skills they might have had at one time. I started out years of drawing labs before I was allowed under the hospitals umbrella to do them ONLY in the ER and not on the regular floors. We are not allowed to hang fluids, just flush IVs with 10cc of saline. Maintaining it is the RNs job. We dont use heparin... I was trained 20 years ago after one year as a CNA, in most of the duties I do today at a local college under the Patient Care Tech program in Arizona and was shown foleys and dressing changes, lab draws and ekgs....no IVs. I did this for 10 years before going to a hospital that allowed the techs in the ER to start IVs in the ER only...after 9 years, I have gained a lot of experience as a IV starter and can truthfully say that I am better than any nurse in our department. I think there is a fear that we are taking duties away from a RN. I get asked to put a pt. back on O2 after getting back from bathroom, but that is considered a medication and is not in the scope of practice unless I was a licensed nurse but if I said I couldn't, the RNs would look at me funny and still expect me to...odd....lol

If they want to take this responsibility away from me, it will just make my day easier and the RNs job harder.

Nuff said.

I started in the USAF in 99' as a medic and after getting out and a few yrs later ended up in the ER. I'm in TX and did the same as you (I was required to get a cert for IV's and took an IV therapy course). I LOVED my job! Then I transferred to another facility (owned by the same corporation) and wow, there PCT's in the ER were housekeeping who also did splits...and sat the the "initial triage" (lol the "what brings u in?", vitals, blah blah). The pay was way lower but I understood that. I did foley's at the previous ER but I'm unsure if that is actually something in the SOP...it was left up to the RN's and what thy were comfortable with. The pay there was amazing and I always left feeling appreciated and that I had helped make the pt an RN's have a better day. Going back for my RN and hope I have the same experience.

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In my hospital we insert/dc foleys, Start/DC IVs and draw blood. The Nurses performed the Medication Injections. We do simple dressing changes with the supervision of the Nurse. As far as EKG's, we have a EKG tech.

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I am a PCT. We is everything with Foleys, work with IVs, Blood draws, EKGs, and specialized floors techs are able to use Art Lines. PCTs never give injections, they cannot give meds. Even if they are med trained, it will be for pills and not injections.

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