Patient Care Assistant/Technician

Patient care technicians/assistants work under the supervision of nursing or medical staff to provide basic patient care in a variety of settings, including clinics, hospitals, urgent care medical facilities, wound care centers, nursing homes, home care agencies or long-term care facilities and physician’s offices.

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals rely on patient care technicians/assistants to assist with the critical day-to-day care of patients.

The routine tasks of a PCT include:

responding to patient calls and requests for assistance
bathing and dressing patients
assisting with personal hygiene
serving meals
monitoring/recording vital signs

PCTs are required to observe, record and report temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rates, a patient’s physical, mental, and emotional condition.

A patient care technician must also be able to perform electrocardiograms (EKGs), collect blood samples (phlebotomy) and perform other clinical duties.

HB 1508 Notice

This program may lead to an occupational license for which a prior criminal history may make a student ineligible.

For more information please visit dcccd.edu/hb1508.

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