Patient
care technicians provide various aspects of patient care under the direct supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Doctor. They provide communication, comfort, and safety for the patient and typically have more clinical responsibility and technical skills than nursing aides. They assist patients with walking, bathing, eating, dressing, and getting in and out of bed, wheelchairs, and stretchers. Other duties may include taking and recording temperature, pulse, weight, and respiration rate, and obtaining specimens as directed by the medical staff. They may also prepare rooms and sterilize equipment, and escort patients to examining rooms and to surgery. Those with more technical skills and experience have
more patient care responsibilities and receive a higher salary. PCTs/PCAs seem to share a job description with certified nursing assistants; however, there is no uniform requirement for certification of PCTs/PCAs, as there is for certified nursing assistants. Some states do not recognize PCTs/PCAs as functionally separate from certified nursing assistants and require certification regardless of job title. Even so, the trained PCT/PCA who has passed one or two of the available certification examinations will earn a significantly higher wage.