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Career Library

Entry Points

Patient Care Technician (PCT)

CNA care plus technical skills like phlebotomy and EKGs — usually in a hospital rather than long-term care.

Years after high school

Under 1

Degree

Certificate

Entrance exam

None

Median pay

BLS does not publish a standalone Patient Care Technician occupation. PCT scope and pay vary substantially by employer; this profile therefore avoids re-labeling nursing-assistant or medical-assistant wages as a PCT median.

What the job is actually like

Everything a CNA does, plus drawing blood, running EKGs, and sometimes assisting with dialysis. Because the work is usually in hospitals, you see more acute illness and work alongside a broader care team than in a nursing home.

The path

  1. 01CNA certification or an equivalent nursing assistant program
  2. 02PCT program adding phlebotomy, EKG, and specimen collection
  3. 03Employer or national certification, which varies

Good fit if

  • You want acute hospital exposure before committing to a longer path
  • You want more technical skills than a CNA role offers
  • You learn best by doing rather than studying first

Think twice if

  • You want a nationally consistent role — duties and pay vary a lot by employer
  • The physical demands of CNA work would be a problem
  • You want a long-term career rather than a bridge

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Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

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All salary figures here are median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 — the most recent full national dataset. 'Median' means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Three things to keep in mind: (1) pay varies enormously by state, city, setting, and experience — a nurse in California and a nurse in rural Alabama earn very different salaries; (2) training lengths are typical, not guaranteed, and programs differ; (3) these numbers change every year. Always verify current figures at bls.gov/ooh before making a decision. For context, the BLS median wage for all U.S. occupations was $50,980, while healthcare practitioner and technical occupations had a median of $86,530 — one of the reasons health care is such a stable field.