What's the difference?

I think it depends on what state you live in. I could be wrong, but I think PCT's usually work in hospitals and not so much nursing homes, whereas CNA's work mostly in nursing homes. I live in Oregon though where there are no PCT's. Here there are different level's of CNA's. I work in a hospital so I have a CNA II license in acute care. I have no idea what a developmental tech is though. Anybody else, please feel free to correct me!

It really depends on the institution and the state that you live in. Different institutions also have interchangeable terms.

To give you an example, I used to work as a PCNA (patient care nursing assistant). Actual CNA's (who are actually certified) were still just referred to as a PCNA. The hospital also utilized PCT's. What I could do as a PCNA:

* very basic patient care/AM care

* meeting pt needs/answer call lights

* feeding pts

* I&O

* blood sugars

* d/c IV's & foley catheters

* help with transporting pts

* admitting pts to telemetry (I worked on a tele floor)/hooking them up to the 5-lead

* simple, non-steril dressing changes

* ambulation

PCT's did all that, + they were allowed to draw blood and insert foleys.

I got a job as an NT (nurse tech) and at that hospital, the CNA's were just called NA's (nursing assistants). As a tech, I did all of the above, plus:

* blood draws

* blood cultures

* wound cultures

* foley cath insertion

* IV insertion

* tracheostomy suctioning/care

* sterile dressing changes

* enemas

We were not allowed to touch central lines. NA's were limited to what I mentioned above for when I worked as a PCNA. They were also not allowed to do blood sugars at that hospital.