How to Become a PCT in Utah

Becoming a patient care technician in Utah comes both with sacrifices and benefits.

Some of the sacrifices are the time and effort you must put into your job, while one of the benefits is that you can easily get hired.

Read this guide if you’re interested in a healthcare job!

Patient Care Technician Job Description and Duties in Utah

Many patient care techs are confused with certified nurse aides.

While this could be true, there is at least one big difference in the supervision department, as the PCTs don’t need it.

Typically, the duties of a patient care tech 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 Utah

There aren’t many requirements to get hired as a PCT in Utah.

You’ll usually have 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
• Be listed in the Utah Nurse Aide Registry.

Patient Care Technician Education in Utah

Certification comes easier for those who graduate from a training program.

Unfortunately, Utah is one of the few states where these courses are not available.

You’ll have to choose a class offered in a different part of the country, instead.

PCTs can choose from at least 3 types of credentials:

• Certificate
• Associates’ degree
• Bachelors’ degree

Each of these credentials has a different duration.

The shortest is the certificate program that can take around a year to complete.

Many of the institutions have limited spots for these courses.

To increase your chances of being accepted, you need 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 types of classes you’ll attend are both theory and lab practice.

To graduate, you can’t miss any lab practice hours.

Here are some of the classes that future patient care techs need:

• 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 Utah

To get your certification, you’ll need to pass an exam.

NHA offers the test that most employers prefer.

To take this exam, you need to:

• Be over the age of 18
• Have a high school diploma or GED
• Have graduated from a specialized training program
• Pay the exam fee – $149
• Show proof of citizenship or nationality
• Submit a set of fingerprints

If you didn’t graduate from a training program, you can accumulate a year of experience instead.

For the exam, you have 1 hour and 50 minutes to answer 100 questions.

You’ll also have to answer 20 pretest questions.

Patient Care Technician Employment and Salary in Utah

Certification will surely help you get hired faster.

Patient care techs work mostly for:

• Hospitals,
• Clinics,
• Rehabilitation centers,
• Long term care and assisted living facilities,
• Hospices
• Home care

In Utah, the average salary a PCT can earn is $32,353 a year.

If you want a higher salary, you can earn it in cities like St. George or Salt Lake City.

Regional Salary in Utah

Additional Information for Patient Care Technician in Utah

These next resources can help out when seeking more classes or employment:

• Utah Nurse Aide Registry
• National Health Association