Houston is one of the largest healthcare centers in the country, giving Patient Care Technician students access to training programs ranging from short hybrid courses to comprehensive programs combining CNA, phlebotomy, EKG, and clinical experience.
Several Houston schools offer dedicated PCT programs, so students do not have to rely solely on Medical Assistant or CNA training as an alternative.
Patient Care Technicians annual average salary in Texas is $33,533 - ABOVE U.S. AVERAGE!
#1 Smithwood Medical Institute
Smithwood Medical Institute offers a dedicated Patient Care Technician program at its Southwest Freeway campus in Houston.
The program is designed as a comprehensive route for students who want CNA, phlebotomy, and EKG skills within a single curriculum.
About the Program
The program consists of 300 clock hours completed over 20 weeks.
Training is divided into several areas covering nurse aide skills, phlebotomy, EKG procedures, and clinical experience.
Students learn how to take vital signs, provide basic bedside care, assist patients with everyday activities, collect blood specimens, perform EKG procedures, follow infection-control standards, and communicate with members of a healthcare team.
A 40-hour clinical externship is included. Students who already hold a current CNA credential may be able to receive credit for the nurse aide portion of the program.
Applicants must generally be at least 17 years old and have a high school diploma or GED.
Tuition
The tuition breakdown is:
- Registration fee: $300
- Tuition and books: $5,370
- State certification exam: $130
- Total program cost: $5,800
Payment plans and tuition assistance options may be available.
Length
The program takes 20 weeks and includes 300 clock hours.
Address: 7737 Southwest Freeway, Suite 780, Houston, TX 77074
#2 Victorious Healthcare Academy
Victorious Healthcare Academy offers an affordable hybrid Patient Care Technician program from its Houston campus on NW Central Drive.
About the Program
The PCT course combines online learning with practical healthcare instruction.
Students prepare for duties commonly performed in hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, and other patient-care environments.
Victorious also offers CNA, phlebotomy, EKG, Medical Assistant, and Medication Aide training, giving students several options for adding credentials later.
The PCT program consists of 200 hours.
Recent Houston schedules have offered daytime cohorts running for approximately 12 weeks.
Applicants generally need identification, a Social Security card, proof of education such as a high school diploma, GED, or transcript, and a background check.
Tuition
Patient Care Technician tuition is $2,050.
The required textbook costs another $100, bringing the basic education cost to approximately $2,150.
For students comparing shorter alternatives, Victorious also charges approximately $750 for CNA training and $750 for phlebotomy training, before books and applicable exam fees.
Length
The PCT program contains 200 hours and typically takes about 12 weeks.
Address: 5615 NW Central Drive, Suite C 105, Houston, TX 77092
#3 American Medical Institute
American Medical Institute has operated in Houston for decades and offers a substantial PCT program at its Cook Road campus.
About the Program
This is one of the longer dedicated Patient Care Technician programs in Houston.
Students complete 600 hours of classroom, laboratory, and clinical instruction.
Training includes:
- Patient-care techniques
- Medical terminology
- EKG
- Phlebotomy
- Laboratory procedures
- Medical records
- Healthcare law and ethics
- BLS and ACLS concepts
Care of patients at different stages of life
The program is available in English and Spanish.
Spanish-speaking students can also receive assistance improving healthcare-related English skills.
Students who previously completed an approved Nurse Aide program may receive 100 hours of credit, reducing the amount of PCT coursework they need to complete.
Graduates can pursue credentials related to CNA, EKG, phlebotomy, and patient care.
Tuition
The current registered cost of the 600-hour Patient Care Technician program is approximately $6,150.
Students who qualify for the 100-hour Nurse Aide credit may receive a corresponding reduction in their program cost.
Length
The full program takes approximately 18 3/4 weeks, or a little under 5 months.
Address: 6902 Cook Road, Houston, TX 77072
#4 Providence Vocational
Providence Vocational is located on Westheimer Road in Houston and offers an interesting PCT pathway for students who want to build several individual healthcare credentials.
About the Program
Providence offers Nurse Aide, phlebotomy, EKG, and Patient Care Technician training.
Its full combined Patient Care Technician pathway consists of approximately 381 hours and incorporates the skills needed to perform broader patient-care duties.
The school also offers a short PCT course for students who have already completed Nurse Aide, phlebotomy, and EKG training.
This can be particularly useful for CNAs who gradually earned separate certifications and now want to add a PCT credential.
Morning and evening classes are available.
Tuition
The complete combined PCT program has a registered cost of approximately $4,190.
Students who already have the required Nurse Aide, phlebotomy, and EKG preparation can take the shorter PCT course for approximately:
- Registration fee: $100
- Tuition and supplies: $325
- Textbook: $25
- Exam: $135
- Total: $585
The $585 option is not a complete beginner PCT program.
Prior Nurse Aide, phlebotomy, and EKG training are required.
Length
The complete combined program contains approximately 381 hours.
The advanced PCT portion for students who already meet the prerequisites takes approximately 6 weeks.
Address: 13155 Westheimer Road, Suite 133, Houston, TX 77077.
#5 Bell Tech Career Institute
Bell Tech Career Institute is located on Richmond Avenue in west Houston and offers both Patient Care Technician and Nurse Aide programs.
About the Program
Bell Tech’s PCT program is unusually extensive for its price.
It consists of 750 clock hours of classroom-based training.
The curriculum is designed to prepare students for direct patient-care responsibilities and builds on nursing-assistant skills.
Students can prepare for work in hospitals, nursing facilities, home healthcare organizations, and other environments where healthcare workers assist patients with everyday needs.
Bell Tech also operates a 120-hour Nurse Aide program, making the school useful for students who are not ready to commit to the longer PCT curriculum.
Tuition
The Patient Care Technician program costs approximately $3,000 for 750 hours of training.
The separate Nurse Aide program costs approximately $900 for 120 hours.
Because $3,000 is comparatively low for a 750-hour program, students should ask exactly what is included in that amount and whether books, uniforms, examinations, background checks, and clinical expenses are additional.
Length
The PCT curriculum contains 750 clock hours.
Actual calendar length depends on the number of classroom hours scheduled each week.
Address: 12000 Richmond Ave. Ste 130. Houston, TX 77082
#6 The University of Houston
The University of Houston offers an online Patient Care Technician career-training program for students who need a flexible schedule.
About the Program
This is a 325-hour online program that students complete asynchronously.
There are no regularly scheduled classroom meetings, making it suitable for students who are already working or cannot attend a Houston campus every day.
The curriculum covers direct patient care, healthcare terminology, safety, communication, basic nursing concepts, legal and ethical responsibilities, and working with patients in different healthcare settings.
Students receive introductory instruction in EKG and phlebotomy.
However, separate EKG or phlebotomy certification may still be required by employers for students who want to perform those procedures independently.
The program prepares eligible graduates for the NHA Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant examination, and an exam voucher is included in tuition.
Tuition
The current program price is $3,095.
The regular listed price is $3,340, meaning the current discounted cost is $245 lower.
Because this is a non-credit career-training program, traditional FAFSA and Pell Grant funding generally do not apply.
Monthly financing and certain workforce funding options may be available.
Length
The program contains 325 course hours.
Students receive up to 12 months to complete it, although motivated students can finish considerably faster because the coursework is self-paced.
Address: 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77204
Schools Summary Table
| Rank | School | |
|---|---|---|
| | #1 | Smithwood Medical Institute |
| | #2 | Victorious Healthcare Academy |
| | #3 | American Medical Institute |
| | #4 | Providence Vocational |
| | #5 | Bell Tech Career Institute |
| | #6 | The University of Houston |
Texas Salary by Metro Area
This table provides a breakdown of average salaries by metro area, showing how wages differ across regions within the state using recent BLS data.
| Metro Area | Employed | Avg. Annual | Avg. Hourly | Top 10% | Bottom 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene, TX | 840 | $34,160 | $16.42 | $38,490 | $28,420 |
| Amarillo, TX | 1,080 | $36,270 | $17.44 | $46,990 | $29,820 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 5,920 | $38,850 | $18.68 | $45,360 | $33,190 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 1,060 | $33,420 | $16.07 | $38,000 | $29,340 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 1,110 | $30,710 | $14.76 | $36,990 | $24,420 |
| College Station-Bryan, TX | 780 | $33,990 | $16.34 | $40,290 | $29,620 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 1,450 | $34,990 | $16.82 | $41,600 | $29,860 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 23,280 | $39,100 | $18.80 | $47,420 | $33,480 |
| Eagle Pass, TX | 160 | $30,240 | $14.54 | $35,010 | $24,680 |
| El Paso, TX | 2,200 | $34,140 | $16.41 | $40,370 | $28,420 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 19,510 | $39,040 | $18.77 | $46,160 | $31,360 |
| Killeen-Temple, TX | 1,520 | $36,730 | $17.66 | $46,420 | $29,710 |
| Laredo, TX | 590 | $31,380 | $15.09 | $38,150 | $22,990 |
| Longview, TX | 830 | $33,080 | $15.90 | $38,750 | $28,870 |
| Lubbock, TX | 1,380 | $33,320 | $16.02 | $40,300 | $28,740 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 2,250 | $32,580 | $15.66 | $38,820 | $26,250 |
| Midland, TX | 430 | $38,260 | $18.39 | $46,740 | $31,410 |
| Odessa, TX | 400 | $36,120 | $17.37 | $43,680 | $29,690 |
| San Angelo, TX | 460 | $33,870 | $16.28 | $37,570 | $29,330 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 6,910 | $36,410 | $17.50 | $44,590 | $29,920 |
| Sherman-Denison, TX | 570 | $34,200 | $16.44 | $37,560 | $30,030 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 780 | $32,200 | $15.48 | $39,790 | $23,890 |
| Tyler, TX | 1,480 | $34,430 | $16.55 | $41,300 | $29,620 |
| Victoria, TX | 460 | $33,090 | $15.91 | $40,440 | $27,070 |
| Waco, TX | 1,420 | $36,250 | $17.43 | $43,150 | $29,800 |
| Wichita Falls, TX | 810 | $35,220 | $16.93 | $42,670 | $29,380 |
* Employment conditions may vary by location.
Schools by City in Texas
- Austin, TX7 Schools
- Brownsville, TX8 Schools
- Dallas, TX9 Schools
- El Paso, TX7 Schools
- Fort Worth, TX8 Schools
- Houston, TX6 Schools
- McAllen, TX7 Schools
- San Antonio, TX7 Schools
