What Information is covered in PCT Orientation for hospital position?

[cdsavannah59, CNA]

I have a 81/2 hour PCT Orientation scheduled soon for a Pct position I was hired for at a local hospital. Can someone please tell me what you did during your pct orientation so I can be prepared for what the day might be like. I have 2 orientations actually, General Orientation , which I pretty much have a idea what will be covered, but would appreciate your input on that as well, the next day is pct orientation and I was wondering if we took any testing such as medical terminology, etc.

[schnookimz]

General will be hospital rules and regs and maybe an overview of benefits.

Pct orientation is probably a skills check and anything particular that you'll need to know for hospital policy and standards.

[funtimes]

It could be computer training and going over what's expected of you during the rest of your orientation. You'll almost certainly have to take web inservices that cover things like infection control, charting, HIPAA, etc. Some of these might be in general orientation and others might be specific to PCT duties for the floor you work on, for instance glucometer testing or tracheostomy care.

It could also be a day to cover some skills. I had very little classroom or "lab" training for PCT skills when I started out. Most of it I learned on the job with an RN preceptor demonstrating and then supervising me. Its a stressful way to learn, as its not like you are going to be practicing on Manniquins a dozen times before doing something on a patient, like RN or CNA school. But hey, being a PCT is a stressful job so its a good way to break people in.

[icemanof92]

In my PCT orientation classroom wise as the other posters said it is a general overview of hospital policies and in my case a lot of customer service/AIDET training. Then there were a few days of PCT specific classroom instruction on various skills such as emptying foleys, hemovacs, JPs, assisting pt with assistive devices, finger sticks, etc. We were tested on our ability to manually take VS. Then the on the job training started where I had ten 8 hour shifts working with experienced PCTs on various floors. This honestly taught me next to nothing and was especially lacking in time management skills. I really learned how to do my job when I was on my own and it was swim or sink. Good luck!