• Helping others as a patient care technician.Nurse image by Maria Bell from Fotolia.com
  
  Patient care technicians are an integral part of the health care industry and are in high demand in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. The decision to pursue a career as a patient care technician should be tempered with a fair amount of knowledge about the industry, qualifications and educational requirements to fulfill the job title.
  
  

Work Environment

• Patient care technicians work in a variety of environments including nursing homes, hospitals, hospice centers, long-term-care facilities and assisted-living facilities. As a patient care technician you would be a part of a medical team consisting of doctors and nurses that help to manage the day-to-day needs of a patient in the aforementioned environments.
  
  

Job Responsibilities

• According to the Education Portal report on the responsibilities of patient care technicians, if you pursue a career in this field you will be required to perform a variety of functions including checking pulse and blood pressure, giving respiratory aide, cleaning and bathing patients, turning bedridden patients and recording treatment.
  
  

Education Requirements

• You will need a high school diploma or GED to qualify for the minimum requirements for a patient care technician position. In addition to minimum education requirements most states require both supervised clinical practicum hours as well as classroom hours to be considered eligible for employment in most health care environments. Most employers require certification from a technical institute or college.
  
  

Outlook and Pay

• The employment outlook for patient care technicians was promising as of 2010. The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a steady increase in patient care technician positions; "647,000 new jobs from 2006-2016 in the wider field of nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, which includes patient care technicians." Patient care technicians typically make anywhere from $8-$12 hourly depending upon experience.