jgreer425

No one ?

I am trying to get my PCT so that I can get my foot in the door in the healthcare industry. I have searched endlessly online, and have only come up with a few PCT programs around Atlanta. Medix and Everest are around 13k, and that just seems outrageous. I talked to my boyfriends dad, a PCT, who said he would never pay that much and that it should only be around 2k total. I am starting a CNA program today at Covenant CNA in Atlanta. They offer a CNA-PCT bridge class, but I'm not convinced this school is that great. It's a hole-in-the-wall school based in an old office building. From what I've heard, a PCT should combine CNA/PCT, Plem, EKG, CPR, and maybe even first aid. The one at Covenant doesn't cover EKG or first aid, according to the website. That and none of the exams are based in the price, so I'm looking around 2.5k total, which I suppose isn't that bad. I just want to know if there are other options that I'm not finding? Or if 13k is actually reasonable for what I get. ANY help is appreciated!

I signed up for a CNA class today. 600 dollars, 4 weeks, and they have a 100% pass rate for the state exam. The thing is, I'm really concerned that you get what you pay for. I went to junior college at the cheapest college in the southeast. I got a terrible education and had a terrible experience. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with the nursing program. When I first went searching for cna and pct programs in the Atlanta area, I came across a school called 'Medix College.' The program lasts 9 or 10 months and covers cna/pct plus phlebotomy, EKG, CPR, and first aid certifications. It has something like 300 combined hours for clinicals and a 2 month externship at St. Joseph's hospital. The cost of the state exams are included in the tuition. Most of their grads get jobs at st joes when they graduate (I called the hospitals HR and confirmed this, but the HR rep couldn't confirm the externship). There are many classrooms, RN's teach the classes, and they have a lot of labs. Big problem? It's 13,000 dollars. Which seems just a tiny bit ridiculous, but now I'm wondering if maybe it's not that bad, since you get what you pay for. This cna school I enrolled in (Covenant CNA) will get me cna and CPR certified. I have to pay for the state exams, the books are rented to me, and it's based out of an office building, with 1 classroom and one bed / dummy enclosed by a cubicle. There are maybe 20 clinical hours at a local nursing home, and the pct program has 60 hours (I believe...and I don't think the pct clinicals are at a hospital). The PCT program they offer is 1200 if you bridge from CNA to PCT. It's made me very nervous that perhaps I'm making the same mistake over again; am I sacrificing a good education just so I can not take out a student loan? I would really appreciate any help you can give. I'm freaking out about this, when it's probably no big deal. The college I'm at now (Chattahoochee Technical College) has an lpn program and an associates RN program. The RN program is much harder to get into, so I was thinking maybe I'd get my lpn from the technical college, and then go to a 4 year school for my bsn. Does that sound like a step in the right direction? I was thinking the more experience and certifications I get, and the more clinical hours I have, the better I look to potential employers. Is this the case? I seriously have NO IDEA about anything to do with nursing, except that it is what I want to do. I want to help people and make a difference. I have tried talking to advisors (from the junior college), and no one seemed to know the answer to these questions. If anyone has any remarks on either Covenant CNA or Medix College, please tell me. I feel hopelessly lost!