- Top 37 Schools in Texas
- Average Salary of Patient Care Technicians in Texas
- Regional Salary in Texas
Patient Care Technician Job Description and Duties in Texas
If you plan on becoming a patient care tech in Texas, you will have some main job tasks each day.
Generally, your main duty will be aiding patients, clinic personnel, and the family of the patients you are assigned.
However, you should also be ready to perform a variety of other job tasks.
Typically, your daily duties will be:
- 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
PCTs work unsupervised, so you will have to get some skills in order to complete your daily tasks.
Patient Care Technician Job Requirements in Texas
To get hired for your first job, you need to prove the following:
- 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 will also need to be listed on the Texas Nurse Aide Registry.
Sometimes, having some experience from working in the field can be demanded or a plus in the hiring process.
Patient Care Technician Education in Texas
The easiest way to develop the needed skills is to join a training program.
These training programs for patient care techs are generally offered by many schools in Texas.
So, you should search for a school that is closer to your location.
Some of the facilities offering programs in Texas are listed here.
Top 37 Schools in Texas
| School Name | Address |
|---|---|
| Alpha Career Institute | 1115 E. Pioneer Pkwy # 112, Arlington, TX 76010 |
| American Medical Institute INC | Building 2 6902 Cook Road Houston, TX 77072 |
| BAH Career Training | 2433 Goldfinch Lane Garland, TX 75042 |
| BAH Career Training | 203 E Camp Wisdom Rd, Suite A Duncanville, TX 75116 |
| Brightwood College | 6410 McPherson Road Laredo, TX 78041 |
| Brightwood College | 711 East Airtex Drive Houston, TX 77073 |
| Brookhaven College | 3939 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch, Dallas, TX 75244-4997 |
| Career Centers of Texas Campus | 1620 South Padre Island Drive, Suite 600 Corpus Christi, TX 78416 |
| Dallas Career Institue | 8061 Walnut Hill Lane #912 Dallas, Texas 75231 |
| Excel Learning Center | 111 Rayburn Dr., Suite 101 San Antonio, TX 78221 |
| Excel Learning Center | 3218 NorthWestern Dr. San Antonio, TX 78238 |
| Excel Learning Center | 3 Butterfield Trail El Paso, TX 79906 |
| Excel Learning Center | 1220 Lomaland Suite G-6 El Paso, TX 79907-1400 |
| Houston Community College | 3100 Main St., Houston TX 77002, |
| Houston Community College | 1900 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030 |
| Houston Community College | 1300 Holman Street Houston, TX 77004 |
| Houston Community College | 555 Community College Drive, Houston, TX 77013 |
| Houston Community College | 6815 Rustic Street, Houston, TX 77087 |
| Houston Community College | 5407 Gulfton Drive, Houston, TX 77081 |
| Kaplan College | 620 South Padre Island Drive, Suite 600 Corpus Christi, TX 78416 |
| Key Access Institute | 9800 Centre Parkway, Suite 530 Houston, Texas 77036 |
| Lone Star College System | 30555 Tomball Parkway Tomball, TX 77375 |
| Lone Star College System | 2700 W W Thorne Dr, Houston, Texas 77073 |
| Lone Star College System | 9191 Barker Cypress Road Cypress, TX 77433 |
| South Texas College | 3201 W. Pecan McAllen, Texas 78501 |
| South Texas Vocational Technical Institute | 2419 E. Haggar Ave Weslaco, TX 78596 |
| South Texas Training Center | 5460 Springfield # 111 Laredo, TX 78041 |
| South Texas Training Center | 213 E. Ferguson Pharr, TX 78577 |
| South Texas Training Center | 1901 W. Hwy 77 San Benito, TX 78586 |
| Teamwork Services | 307 East Pioneer Parkway Grand Prairie, TX 75051 |
| Texas School of Business | 711 East Airtex Drive, Houston, Texas 77073 |
| The University of Texas | 1851 Crosspoint, Suite 1270 Houston, TX 77054-3709 |
| The University of Texas | 9390 Research Blvd., Kaleido II, Ste. 300 Austin, TX 78759 |
| The University of Texas | 140 West Mitchell Street Arlington, TX 76010 |
| Trinity Valley Community College | 100 Cardinal Drive Athens, TX 75751 |
| Trinity Valley Community College | 800 Hwy. 243 West Kaufman, Texas 75142 |
| Valley Grande Institute | 345 S. Texas Blvd Weslaco, TX 78596 |
The program you enroll in will last for several months.
Some programs also last for an entire year or more, even 2 to 3 years.
This is mostly the case for Associate’s degree programs that also provide better credentials.
To join a program, you have 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
The courses you will join include theory hours, but also lab practice.
Usually, you will take the following classes:
- 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 Texas
Passing an NHA exam is essential if you want to get a certification.
To join the exam, you need to:
- Are over the age of 18
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Graduated from a specialized training program
- Paid the exam fee – $149
- Showed proof of citizenship or nationality
- Submitted a set of fingerprints
If you join a program, you don’t need any extra experience.
However, those who did not complete a program need to have a year of experience in the field.
The certification exam features 100 questions and lasts for around 2 hours.
First, candidates need to answer 20 pre-test questions.
Patient Care Technician Employment and Salary in Texas
Getting certified will allow you to be hired in a facility of your choice.
Some of the facilities that hire PCTs include:
- Hospitals,
- Clinics,
- Rehabilitation centers,
- Long term care and assisted living facilities,
- Hospices
- Home care
In Texas, the median salary for a patient care tech is about $33,533 yearly.
You will be able to get a higher salary if you live in a bigger city compared to a rural area, such as Houston for instance.
Annual Salary Range:
