Career and Salary Outlook of Patient Care Technician
By: Amit Kothiyal
Submitted: 2009-10-23 07:26:58 | Word Count: 514
Over the past few years, patient care technician has emerged as one of the most demanding professions in the health care industry. Though the job of a patient care technician is very similar to that of a nursing assistant, but it includes more responsibility. In addition to taking care of patients in hospitals and nursing homes, these medical professionals are equally responsible for acquiring information on the patients' vital signs and carrying out normal every day activities such as gathering samples of blood from the patient.
Patient care technicians are often one of the key members of a medical team that spends most of the time with patients. In fact, in most of the occasions they are the professionals whom patients can contact first. These days patient care technicians also known as patient care assistants are recognized as the major or key players of a growing health care industry in the United States and often called admitting interviewers. Adding to this, if we look at the present scenario there are plenty of job opportunities available in this field and have a wide variety of possible locations for employment. An individual after earning a degree in patient care technician can work in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, or even in physician offices.
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The employment prospect for patient care techs also looks to be very good for the near future. As per various leading health care industry experts, around 21% to 35% growth in the job market is expected over the next decade because of the rapidly aging population. In addition to this, according to information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the outlook for employment in the industry also seems to be excellent and around 647,000 new jobs from 2006-2016 in the wider field of nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, which includes these technicians, is expected to rise. Moreover, a major employer for patient care techs will be nursing homes and long term care facilities for people with chronic illnesses and disabling conditions.
In terms of salaries, this is one of the most favored professions that offer decent salary, as patient care technicians earn more than nursing assistants. The average salary for a patient care technician is between $23,000 and $46,000 depending on experience and location. Nevertheless, as a first-year certified patient care technician, you can expect to begin earning around $23,000 a year for full-time work. Though with more job experience, shift differential pay and holiday pay, some technicians can earn as much as $30,000 annually.
The present scenario creates a very positive and secured future for patient care technicians. Today as the role of the patient care technicians continues to evolve, the demand for such professionals are going to increase and with this increase one can expect the further jump in salary margin.
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