AHSC 1400 - Patient Care Technician I

Credit hours: 3

Industry Certifications National Healthcareer Association’s Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant

Course Description:
This course focuses on the scope of practice of the Patient Care Technician (PCT) profession. Many times, PCTs perform many tasks in an inpatient setting to assist patients with activities of daily living. Students will study professionalism and bioethics. They learn about body systems, disease process, patient care such as bathing, oral care, bed making, dressing, grooming, skin care and toileting. Students will also learn how to help prevent patient falls, how to obtain patient vital signs, and how to use medical equipment such as automatic blood pressure machines, bed scales, and different types of monitoring devices. Students will learn how to use electronic medical record for charting patient intake and output as well as pertinent patient information. Students learn infection control and medical asepsis. Also covered will be range of motion, importance of patient rounding, and how to assist with patient ambulation and transfers.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:

Demonstrate characteristics of health care professionals
Define the scope of practice of the PCT
Demonstrate basic understanding of human anatomy and physiology
Recognize, identify, and describe functions of the body systems
Demonstrate knowledge of different disease processes
Make use of appropriate medical terminology in medical records
Develop techniques that will allow them to assist physicians with examinations
Demonstrate employability skills
Explain the principles of infection control