The Role of the Patient Care Technician

Definition and Role of the Patient Care Technician

• Patient Care Technician (PCT) Defined: PCTs are skilled healthcare workers who perform assigned tasks such as measuring vital signs and providing or assisting with personal care.

• Key Responsibilities:

  • Measuring vital signs.

  • Providing or assisting with personal care.

  • Drawing blood.

  • Performing simple tests at a patient’s bedside.

  • Conducting electrocardiograms ($EKGs$), which is a test of heart electrical activity.

• Supervision: PCTs work under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional, which is usually a registered nurse ($RN$).

Key Material 1-1: Essential Tasks of the Patient Care Technician

• Admissions and Room Preparation: Assisting with admitting new patients to units and preparing the room prior to their arrival.

• Personal Care: Assisting patients with bathing, grooming, and elimination.

• Vital Signs: Measuring temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

• Patient Mobility:

  • Transferring patients (e.g., from a bed to a gurney/stretcher or from a gurney back to a bed).

  • Assisting with range of motion exercises and ambulation.

• Testing and Clinical Procedures:

  • Assisting with timed tests and specimen collections, such as $24\text{-hour}$ urine tests.

  • Drawing blood.

  • Conducting point-of-care tests.

  • Conducting $EKGs$ and setting up other types of cardiac monitoring.

• Surgical Support:

  • Helping to prepare patients for surgery.

  • Caring for patients after surgery.

  • Setting up and maintaining a sterile field for procedures and operations.

• Equipment and Supplies:

  • Caring for supplies and equipment.

  • Making beds and changing linens on beds.

• Advanced Clinical Tasks: Removing $IVs$.

Healthcare Settings and Environments

• Inpatient Facility: Facilities where patients spend at least $1\text{ night}$ while receiving care. These include traditional hospitals and specialty hospitals.

• Outpatient Facility: These include medical offices, urgent care clinics, specialty clinics, and same-day surgery centers.

• Long-Term Care (LTC): Care given in long-term care facilities for people who need $24\text{-hour}$ skilled care.

• Assisted Living Facility: A residence for people who do not need $24\text{-hour}$ skilled care but do require some help with daily care.

• Home Health Care: Health care that is provided in a person’s home.

• Specialized Facilities:

  • Specialty hospitals.

  • Skilled nursing facilities.

  • Rehabilitation centers.

  • Inpatient mental health facilities.

The Healthcare Team: Roles and Professional Qualifications

• Patient Care Technician (PCT): An unlicensed healthcare worker who performs assigned tasks and spends much of their time working directly with patients.

• Registered Nurse (RN): A licensed healthcare professional who coordinates, manages, and provides skilled nursing care.

• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN): A licensed healthcare professional who administers medications and gives treatments.

• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN): Licensed professionals who can make diagnoses and prescribe medication. There are four types:

  • Nurse Practitioner ($NP$).

  • Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist ($CRNA$).

  • Certified Nurse Midwife ($CNM$).

  • Clinical Nurse Specialist ($CNS$).

• Physician or Doctor (MD or DO [Doctor of Osteopathy]): A licensed healthcare professional who diagnoses disease or disability and prescribes treatment and medication.

• Physician Assistant (PA): A licensed healthcare professional who works together with a doctor to diagnose and prescribe medication and/or treatments.

• Pharmacists (RPh): A licensed healthcare professional who prepares and dispenses prescribed medications.

• Physical Therapist (PT or DPT): A licensed healthcare professional who evaluates a person and develops a treatment plan to increase movement, improve circulation, promote healing, reduce pain, prevent disability, and regain or maintain mobility.

• Occupational Therapist (OT): A licensed healthcare professional who helps patients to learn to adapt to a disability.

Principles of Care, Delegation, and Chain of Command

• Person-Centered Care: A type of care that places the emphasis on the person needing care and the person’s individuality and capabilities.

• Chain of Command: The line of authority within a facility.

• Liability: A legal term that means someone can be held responsible for harming someone else.

• Scope of Practice: The roles, responsibilities, and procedures that are within the knowledge, training, and legal definition of a profession. Everything PCTs do must be assigned by a licensed healthcare provider.

• Delegation: Transferring responsibility to a person for a specific task.

Professionalism and Interpersonal Qualities

• Professional: Having to do with work or a job.

• Personal: Relating to life outside one’s job, such as family, friends, and home life.

• Professionalism: The act of behaving properly when working.

• Policy: A course of action that should be taken every time a certain situation occurs.

• Procedure: A method, or way, of doing something.

• Confidential: Private.

• Empathy: Identifying with the feelings of others.

• Sympathy: Sharing in the feelings and difficulties of others.

• Compassionate: Being caring, concerned, considerate, empathetic, and understanding.

• Tactful: Showing sensitivity and having a sense of what is appropriate when dealing with others.

• Conscientious: Guided by a sense of right and wrong; principled.

Key Material 1-3: Qualities of a Professional PCT

• Compassionate.

• Honest.

• Tactful.

• Conscientious.

• Dependable.

• Organized.

• Respectful.

• Unprejudiced.

• Proactive.

Key Definitions and Clinical Terminology

• Point-of-Care Tests: A test that can be performed at the patient’s bedside; fingerstick blood glucose testing is an example.

• Charting: Documenting information and observations about patients.

• Dementia: A general term that refers to a serious, progressive loss of mental abilities such as thinking, remembering, reasoning, and communicating.

• Continuing Education (CE): In health care, education that keeps healthcare workers up-to-date on changes that affect their jobs.

Certification and Vocational Standards

• Certification Requirements: Students must understand the specific requirements of the agency they use for $PCT$ certification.

• Accreditation: It is vital to ensure a certifying agency is accredited; obtaining a certificate from a non-accredited agency can negatively impact a healthcare worker's career.

• Renewal: Workers must know the steps required to renew their certification within their specific agency.

• Grooming and Appearance: Professional guidelines on page $9$ of the Hartman textbook address safety, efficiency, patient comfort, and patient trust.

Questions & Discussion

• Patient Experience: Have you been a patient in a hospital before? Did a patient care technician help you? What tasks did they do?

• Facility Experience: Do you have any family members who live in a long-term care facility? Have you ever visited a long-term care facility? How did you feel about the facility and the staff?

• Career Appeal: Think about each of the care settings (hospitals, specialty clinics, etc.). Which is most appealing? What challenges would be involved? What benefits?

• Care Team Roles: How can each member of the care team provide patient-centered care? What does the care team member do? How do they improve safety? What education do they have? How does a $PCT$ work with them?

• Ethics and Legal Protection: How does following the chain of command and scope of practice protect patients, $PCTs$, and facilities?

• Professional Boundaries: How can a $PCT$ have a professional relationship with a patient? or an employer?

• Professional Observation: What are examples of professional behavior you have seen from healthcare workers? Have you ever been treated unprofessionally, and how did it make you feel?

• Skills Application: How can a $PCT$ show qualities like being compassionate, honest, or proactive on the job? How can a $PCT$ best manage time management scenarios?

• Appearance Standards: Which grooming guidelines relate to safety and efficiency? Which relate to patient trust? Are these guidelines fair?

• Certification Process: Why is accreditation important? What happens if you use a non-accredited agency? How do you find out about renewal rules?