The healthcare industry is one in which you’re sure to find employment even with just a certification.
One position you could consider is that of a patient care technician, PCT for short, in New York.
Read this guide to find out what you need to do!
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- Patient Care Technician Job Description and Duties in New York
- Patient Care Technician Job Requirements in New York
- Patient Care Technician Education in New York
- Patient Care Technician Certification in New York
- Patient Care Technician Employment and Salary in New York
- Additional Information for Patient Care Technician in New York
Patient Care Technician Job Description and Duties in New York
One of the first things to know about this job is that it is very similar to that of a nursing assistant.
Most often than not, PCTs work without being supervised, unlike the nursing assistants.
Here’s a list of some of the duties you’re expected to complete:
- Bathing and feeding the patients
- Catheter care
- Maintaining patient rooms clean
- Vital sign monitoring
- Performing phlebotomy procedures
- Talking to the patients’ families
- Escorting patients to various places for further investigations
Obviously, these will change from patient to patient.
Patient Care Technician Job Requirements in New York
Everyone knows that each job has a specific set of skills a person must possess to get hired.
Candidates for a patient care tech position need to:
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Have good communication skills
- Be detail-oriented
- Be compassionate
- Have a clean criminal background
- Be certified
- Have physical stamina
You can’t get hired if you’re not listed in the state’s Nurse Aide Registry.
Patient Care Technician Education in New York
Generally speaking, no certification is issued without the individual graduating from a training course.
New York has many schools to choose from with programs for PCTs, all listed below.
Top 18 Schools in New York
| School Name | Address |
|---|---|
| ABC Training Center | 50 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY 10468 |
| Access Institute | 8002 Kew Gardens Road, SC1, Kew Gardens, NY 11415 |
| Access Careers | 474 Fulton Avenue, Suite 201 Hempstead, NY 11550 |
| Bronx HHA and PCA free training | 2488 Grand Concourse Suite 329 Bronx, NY 10458 |
| Brooklyn HHA and PCA free training | 833 Flatbush Avenue On Linden Blvd Brooklyn, NY 11226 |
| Career Training Institute | 57th Street, New York, NY Westchester Ave, White Plains NY |
| Hostos Community College | 500 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10451 |
| Hudson Valley Career Training | 263 Route 17K, Suite 201 Newburgh, NY 12550 |
| Kingsborough Community College | 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY 11235-2398 |
| Medgar Evers College | 1650 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 |
| New Age Training | 145 West 30th Street 8th Floor New York, NY 10001 |
| New York Medical Career Training Center | 500 8th Ave, 5th Fl B/W 35 & 36 Street, New York NY 10018 |
| New York Medical Training Center | 36-09 Main Street 5th Floor Flushing, New York 11354 |
| Phoenix Training Center | 540 East 180th Street Suite 201(2nd floor) Bronx New York 10457 |
| Queens HHA and PCA free training | 91-31 Queens Blvd, Suite 409, Elmhurst, NY 11373 |
| School of Allied Health | 545 8th Ave. New York, NY 10001 |
| The Manhattan Institute | 255 Fith Avenue New York, New York 10016 |
| York College | 94 - 20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11451 |
Attending a training program in a different state is also possible if these schools don’t offer the credential you want.
Certifications take about a year to obtain while an Associates’ degree, for instance, takes at least 2 years to complete.
All the programs also have clinical practice hours included.
As a student, you must attend all these practice hours if you want to graduate.
When enrolling in a course, you’ll usually be asked to:
- Have a clean criminal record
- Passed a drug screening test
- Passed a TB skin test
- Have the following health immunizations done:
- MMR
- Varicella
- Hepatitis B
- Flu
- Tetanus
Here are some of the classes you’ll attend, either as theory, practice, or a combination of both:
- Providing patient safety
- Providing basic care
- Medical terminology and abbreviations
- Basic infection control procedures and techniques
- The structure and function of body systems
- Identifying and reporting changes in the patient’s condition
- Monitoring and recording bodily functions
- CPR
- First aide techniques
- Drawing blood
- Inserting catheters
Patient Care Technician Certification in New York
Those seeking certification will have to pass the certification examination.
The National Healthcare Association (or shortly NHA) offers the best certificate for a patient care tech.
Individuals will have to sign up to take the test.
These are the conditions to register for the exam:
- Are over the age of 18
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Graduate from a specialized training program
- Paid the exam fee – $149
- Show proof of citizenship or nationality
- Submit a set of fingerprints
NHA accepts in some cases the replacement of the education with 1 year of experience in the field.
You should ask your school if the exam fee is included in the tuition, to avoid paying it twice.
The exam itself has a duration of close to 2 hours and you must answer a total of 120 questions.
Patient Care Technician Employment and Salary in New York
Studying the working conditions in the facility you’ll be working, will give you a better idea of your life as a PCT.
These are the facilities where PCTs are employed by the most:
- Hospitals,
- Clinics,
- Rehabilitation centers,
- Long term care and assisted living facilities,
- Hospices
- Home care
In New York, salaries are generally higher than in other states.
The average salary of a patient cate technician in New York is $36,000 per year.
While the highest salary is possibly earned in New York City, other cities also offer the possibility of better pay.
Annual Salary Range:Average Salary of Patient Care Technicians in New York
| City Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| New York | $41,081 |
| Hempstead | $37,437 |
| Brookhaven | $37,233 |
| Islip | $37,301 |
| Oyster Bay | $39,008 |
| Buffalo | $32,657 |
| Babylon | $37,301 |
| Rochester | $33,663 |
| Huntington | $39,008 |
| Yonkers | $39,362 |
Regional Salary in New York
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 3,810 | $39,670 | $19.07 | $45,620 | $34,520 |
| Binghamton, NY | 1,300 | $37,060 | $17.82 | $42,990 | $31,650 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | 4,760 | $39,030 | $18.77 | $45,560 | $33,540 |
| Elmira, NY | 370 | $36,490 | $17.54 | $41,870 | $32,180 |
| Glens Falls, NY | 510 | $39,300 | $18.9 | $46,080 | $35,230 |
| Ithaca, NY | 360 | $42,340 | $20.35 | $47,170 | $35,860 |
| Kingston, NY | 360 | $40,210 | $19.33 | $45,410 | $35,190 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 80,540 | $47,450 | $22.81 | $56,780 | $38,700 |
| Rochester, NY | 4,730 | $39,970 | $19.22 | $45,080 | $34,190 |
| Syracuse, NY | 2,950 | $39,460 | $18.97 | $46,370 | $33,770 |
| Utica-Rome, NY | 1,490 | $37,890 | $18.22 | $44,370 | $34,010 |
| Watertown-Fort Drum, NY | 240 | $37,030 | $17.8 | $45,290 | $32,040 |
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Additional Information for Patient Care Technician in New York
These are some resources that can help you when you need extra information for instance, about the exam dates:
- New York Nurse Aide Registry
- Bureau of Professional Credentialing
- National Health Association
