On Thursday, April 8th, PCT (patient care technician) students had the opportunity to attend a business professional interview at the HCA Pearland Training Center, in hopes of receiving a job offer. The after math of the interview was a huge success and many people are now being given the chance to start their healthcare careers straight out of high school.
Clear Lake High School is just one of the schools in CCISD that offers the patient care technician program. The program prepares and certifies students to perform healthcare related tasks under their scope of practice as a PCT. Some of these tasks include keeping patient rooms clean and organized, monitoring patient health and measuring vital signs, feeding, bathing, and dressing patients, maintaining accurate patient records, and so much more. The program is an amazing opportunity to get your foot in the door of the healthcare world, and it teaches you so much in regard to both the physical and emotional aspects of taking care of patients.
HCA Houston Healthcare hospitals partner with the senior classes in PCT and offer students to be able to apply, interview, and essentially work as soon as they turn 18. HCA has something called their StarTech program, which according to them, is a “unique, educational opportunity designed to meet the needs for Patient Care Technicians in our HCA healthcare Hospital. The paid five-week (5) program combines classroom interactive lectures, skills, electronic health record training/practice and hands-on clinical training. Upon completion, the unlicensed Patient Care Technicians are equipped with the knowledge and skill set to care for the patients in the acute care hospital setting.” If you are already licensed or not yet licensed, it is still required for all pre-employees to complete this program.
These opportunities should genuinely be cherished because for those who are interested in the healthcare field, these programs offer all the resources you need to land a job at a hospital, right after high school. The PCT program is fast paced with many concepts taught throughout the year, so it is definitely not something to take lightly, however it is not impossible to get through and it is so worth it in the end.
