Patient Care Technician

Get your start in healthcare by learning how to provide basic health care and support to patients as a patient care technician. Prepare for a career in healthcare within as few as two semesters with this certificate program.

Students may start with this program and go to work while they continue in another healthcare field.
Upon completion, students will be eligible to take the national certification exam.

female patient care technician talking to female patient

Program Requirements
Earnings & Outlook
Cost

Patient Care Technician Certificate

The patient care tech program provides students with the training needed to provide basic care to patients in a hospital or nursing home setting. Upon completion, students will be eligible to take the national certification exam.

Note: This program includes a ground-based component, such as an internship or clinical experience. Your student success navigator can help you better understand the requirements.

Sample Courses

This course leads to certification in First Aid through the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR and AED course. The course will prepare students to recognize when an emergency situation exists and how to properly care for the patient until professional help arrives.

This course will consist of an overview of the cardiovascular system, proper documentation, and vital signs, along with HIPAA compliance and infection control in the clinical setting. The main focus of this course will be on how to perform and analyze an EKG and recognize various arrhythmias. Students will also learn about exercise electrocardiography and how to perform ambulatory monitoring. The course will also include extensive instruction on cardiovascular pharmacology.

This course will prepare students for performing phlebotomy procedures in a variety of health care settings. Students will learn about the roles and responsibilities of the phlebotomist which will include infection control procedures, legal and ethics issues, working with special populations and situations, and proper specimen collection and handling procedures. The focus will be on performing venipuncture and capillary procedures properly to obtain specimens for various laboratory testing.

Certificate Details

Earnings

Average pay is about $31,000 per year, or about $15 per hour.

Outlook

Healthcare careers are very much in demand today. Patient care technicians should see a job growth rate of 9 percent in the coming years.

Certificate

Jackson County

If you reside in Jackson county, Michigan.

$7,634

In Michigan

If you reside in the state of Michigan.

$8,301

Out of Michigan

If you reside outside the state of Michigan.

$10,186

Estimated program costs include tuition, fees and digital textbooks based on 2022-2023 tuition rates. Please note that these costs are only estimates and an individualized financial plan will be created when a student meets with their Student Success Navigator.

GO AFTER YOUR GOALS. WE CAN HELP YOU GET THERE.

We’re here to support you and answer your questions!

Get Started