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toc Career interview with a PCT (Patient Care Technician)

‘Lee’ is a Patient Care Technician is divorced, 60 year old white female with 30 years of experience in the Medical field. Lee is a Florida certified Patient Care Technician field, Registered Medical Assistant and a Florida Certified Phlebotomist. Wikipedia lumps Patient Care Technicians into a larger field of ‘Unlicensed assistive personnel’ (UAP). Medical Assistants are [|registered R.M.A. or certified C.M.A.] In Florida, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are required to have formal training and pass a state certification test. Phlebotomists (in Florida) are required to have formal training or expedited training with CNA certification, and pass a state certification test. The Terms CNA and PCT are virtually interchangeable although the PCT has slightly more education. Lee became a patient care technician before licensing boards existed in most states governing their education and accreditation. At the present, there are no federal regulations or guidelines governing the licensing of patient care technicians. Individual states regulate the education and accreditation of Patient care technicians although these regulations vary slightly from state they are relatively uniform. Lee said she didn’t aspire to become an LPN or RN. She just didn’t want the additional responsibilities. Although, she quietly mentioned her deep fear of being unable to pass the college level courses. If I understood her meaning, she wanted there to be a way of transitioning from CNA to RN without formal education, an idea I strongly disagree with. She did make two points: Lee routinely interacted with <range type="comment" id="516664982_3">Doctors, Nurses, Nurse Managers</range id="516664982_3"> and other medically licensed professionals. She describes her position as extremely rewarding and satisfying although it comes with a great deal of stress, ungrateful, aggressive, and disrespectful patients and patient family members, over-demanding Doctors and demeaning Nurses. She forgot to mention “low wages for very hard-busy work”. Lee commented about some patients with whom she had befriended during their hospitalization and also being with patients diagnosed as terminal. She lamented her greatest satisfaction came while working Oncology. Family member of patients who had died would come by, sent gifts, or letters thanking her for her tireless work and gentle care during their family members last days, allowing the deceased to die with dignity. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Lee commented as she gained seniority and began to train new personnel “she observed the younger or technicians just out of school scurrying around like cock roaches in the light” as they attempted to keep up with her while she trained them. Some were lazy or apathetic; others were unable to cope with her operational tempo. Lee illustrated that over the years she had developed her own system for doing all of her work in the least amount of time with as little energy as possible. Lee said without her system “She wouldn’t have been able to do this job for 30 years!” This correlates with our //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"><range type="comment" id="516664982_4">textbook page 423 ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">MID-LIFE CAREER ISSUES //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12px;">.</range id="516664982_4"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Lee seemed upset and disappointed with the amount (or lack) of respect she was given from professionally licensed staff at hospitals she had worked in the past. She almost became obsessed in describing the indignity and lack of help and support she felt from her supposed “co-workers”. From the nurses ignoring her reports of problems with patients, then being proved right time and time again. Having nurses seem disinterested in their position or acting as they were inconvenienced at having to get up to attend to a patient as though the RN after their name meant they did not have to get involved. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Post interview I found the following article during an internet search, it is almost <range type="comment" id="516664982_5">‘verbatim’</range id="516664982_5"> of the way Lee spoke about her position as a Patient Care Technician. <range type="comment" id="516664982_12">See [|8 frustrating things about being a CNA] and on Science Daily’s website, </range id="516664982_12">a study that draws a parallel with Lee’s strongly held beliefs about her profession. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In a study conducted in 2009 by the <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Gerontological <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> Society of America of Certified Nursing Assistants showed: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The Journal article: Why Do They Stay? Job tenure among Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes -The Gerontologist, 2008, suggests: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">As the baby boomer generation (<range type="comment" id="516664982_6">born1946 to1964</range id="516664982_6">) becomes older, the United States will see a greater demand for CNAs. As market forces demand more and more CNAs should force an increase in wages for highly skilled CNAs. Unfortunately current wages have remained stagnant with little change even as the cost of living continues to rise. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The attitudes of Certified Medical Professionals towards their CNAs have changed very little over the last two decades. Unfortunately the underappreciated and overworked CNAs will have to rely on their own personal rewards and feelings of accomplishment as payment enough. One day soon the low census of Certified Nursing Assistants and greater demand may see the CNAs finally getting the recognition, respect, and salary they truly deserve.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">She strongly believed that ALL RNs and Nurse Mangers be required to have a minimum 6 months hands on experience as a CNA. - I agree <range type="comment" id="516664982_2">with whole heartedly</range id="516664982_2">.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><range type="comment" id="516664982_10">She couldn’t understand why after 20+ years of hands on working experience her hourly rate was still under $13.00 per hour.</range id="516664982_10">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Half of the CNAs incurred at least 1 work related injury in the previous year
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">1 in 3 received some kind of means tested public assistance
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">92% were Female
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Nearly ½ without medical insurance claimed they could not afford their employer sponsored plan (This study was done prior to the Affordable Health Care Act) **this statistic may be outdated** (Senior Policy Analyst Marie Squillace, 2009)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Tenure of CNAs was hypothesized to be motivated by the extrinsic rewards of their job, initial training and mentoring, reasons for being a CNA, organizational culture, and personal, facility, and market characteristics **(Wiener, Squillace, Anderson, & Khatutsky, 2008)**

Senior Policy Analyst Marie Squillace, P. (2009, May 14). //Nursing Assistant Workforce Facing Financial, Health Challenges//. Retrieved from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514111408.htm Wiener, J. M., Squillace, M. R., Anderson, W. L., & Khatutsky, G. (2008). Why Do They Stay? Job Tenure Among Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes. //Oxford Journals - The Gerontologist// //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">Wikipedia //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14.6667px;">. (2014, July). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_care_technician

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