Rozina Aziz What is a nurse technician? How to become a nurse technician, nurse technician abilities, typical wage, and employment forecast for nursing technicians are all covered in this article.
What Is a Nurse Technician?
The nurse technician position involves supporting patient care. Nursing students may consider this role as an additional job opportunity. Performing patient monitoring and recording vital signs are common duties.
Nursing technicians carry out additional duties in patient care, including assisting with hygiene, nutrition, clothing and personal grooming. The supervision of a registered nurse is required for this job. Some individuals working in this role seek career advancement opportunities within the medical industry.
What does a nurse technician do?
Several responsibilities are under the purview of a nurse technician. Inpatient and outpatient care facilities, hospitals, and clinics are just a few locations where they deal with patients directly. Observing patients, collecting vital signs, and giving prescriptions are just a few of their primary responsibilities.
Nursing technicians take on a super important role in ensuring their patients are feeling fresh and clean as a daisy, while also lending a helping hand in wound care and keeping the operation room spick and span. Not only that, but they’re also masters at conveying medical issues to their nursing comrades and getting rooms prepped for admissions with swift expertise.
As a nurse technician, you’re not only responsible for your patient’s well-being, but also for keeping their surroundings spick and span. This means changing sheets, fixing the bed, tidying meal trays and ensuring your fellow healthcare heroes have a pristine environment to work their magic in!
If patients leave their room for surgery or a test, the nursing technician may walk with them to ensure their safety and arrival at the correct spot. Some nursing technologists help with laboratory testing, including the collection and labeling of specimens, and they can help with evaluation and treatment.
What are the responsibilities of a Nurse Technician?
Below are samples of duties listed on actual nurse technician resumes, representing those common for people in this profession.
- Maintain facility-wide memory unity.
- Under trained nurses’ direct Supervision, provide prompt, high-quality treatment to patients undergoing rehabilitation.
- Help patients with activities of daily living such as bathing, transferring, ambulating, changing bed sheets, skincare, etc.
- Assist and service patients with activities of daily living (ADL) in a way conducive to their safety and comfort.
- Provide postoperative patients with the tools they need to regain their feet and the emotional support they need to recover successfully.
- Pick up the patient before the operation.
- Work in a busy med-surge unit.
- Empty the bedpans and replace the soiled sheets.
- Take care of the urinal, bedpan, and emesis bags.
- Administer drugs orally, intramuscularly (I.M.), or subcutaneously (S.C.).
- Conduct patient testing and record the results in the appropriate sections of the EMR or other professional systems.
- Comprehensive training in team building, care management, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Conduct physical examinations, do T.B. skin tests, draw blood, and dispense prescriptions.
- Prepare or set up traction as ordered by doctors and can assess patients while in traction.
- Prepare and deliver medication following doctor’s directions through peg tube, rectally, I.M. and P.O.
How to become a nurse technician?
Here are some of the steps to becoming a successful nurse technician
Explore Nurse Technician Education:
One of the first things to think about if you want to become a nurse technician is how much schooling you will need. According to our research, a bachelor’s degree is held by 39.2 percent of nurse technicians.
When it comes to educational requirement, we did some snooping and found out that only 3.5% of nurse technicians are rocking a masters degree. But don’t sweat it – if you’re looking to break into the nurse technician scene, all you need is a high school diploma or GED (although some bosses do have a soft spot for those with a bachelor’s degree).
Improve Your Skills as a Nurse Technician:
It would help if you acquired nurse technician abilities to succeed in your job search. Here are some abilities typically needed in nurse technician job descriptions:
- Patients
- CPR
- Vital Signs
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing Homes
- Care to patient
- Customer Service
- Direct Supervision
- Security of Patients
- IV (intravenous line)
- Telemetry
- Phlebotomy
- Compassion
- Oncology
Complete the Necessary Training or Internship:
On-the-job training for nurse technicians often lasts less than a month. New nurse technicians receive training tailored to their position and employer during this period. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics statistics and data from real nurse technician resumes, the figure below indicates how long it takes to obtain competency as a nurse technician.
Get the Required Permits and Certifications:
A bachelor’s degree is typically optional to become a licensed nurse technician. Yet, in most places, you need to pass an exam before you can call yourself a licensed nurse technician. A license to work as a nurse technician is required in 25 states. The list of states is provided below.
Get Your Qualification as a Nursing Aides:
Certifications can demonstrate to potential employers that you have the fundamental skills necessary for the job. They can also help you stand out as a potential job candidate. Even though employers don’t demand a certification, having one may help you stand out in an application.
In addition, the certification process might equip you with new abilities that can be applied in the workplace. We discovered the most common certificates for nurse technicians. Among nurse technicians, the Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) credential is by far the most popular; however, the Medical Assistant (MA) credential is also common.
- Certified Nurse Aide (CNA)
- Medical Assistant
- Phlebotomy Technician Certification (CPT)
- Nurse Technician with Certification (CNT)
- Basics of Life Support (BLS)
- Emergency medical technician (EMT)
- Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC)
- Pharmacy Technician Certification (CPhT)
Prepare Your Resume:
After you have researched the qualifications and duties of the position, you may go on to the next step: writing your resume. A resume might take hours, days, or even weeks to complete. No problem; we made a resume builder with examples of skills, job descriptions, and executive summaries to help you out.
Job Postings for Nurse Technicians:
It’s time to start looking for a new job now that your résumé is ready. For a successful job search, take into account the following advice:
- Browse employment boards for suitable openings.
- Do what you can to tap into your established network of industry contacts.
- Make direct contact with employers who interest you.
What are the average salary and job prospects of a nurse technician?
The median annual compensation for a nurse technician is $33,005, based on an average hourly wage of $15.87. Together with that, the average salary for a nurse technician is around $40,000. This equates to a difference of $10,000 between the salaries of the highest and lowest-paid nurse technologists.
The United States Department of Labor Statistics classifies nursing technicians as assistants and orderlies. The projected 8% increase in demand for nursing technicians between 2020 and 2030 bodes well for the profession’s future.
FAQ’s
What is the role of technical nursing?
Checks patients in, helps get patient histories, takes vitals, helps make charts, and helps with medical examinations.
What is the salary of a nurse technician in New York City?
As of January 26, 2023, the median annual wage for a Nurse Technician in the Big Apple is $39,386, while the range is frequently $35,798 to $44,248.
What distinguishes a nurse from a nurse technician?
A nurse technician is either a student in a nursing program or who has graduated from such a program but still needs to hold a registered nurse’s license. The nursing program in which you are enrolled or have completed must be a program that would lead to licensing as a nurse.
What exactly does a hospital tech do?
Hospital Laboratory Technicians carry out or oversee the execution of a wide range of technical processes in a hospital laboratory or other facility directly involved in patient care and other related tasks as needed.
What is the difference between MLT and nursing?
In Nursing, it is generally required to take care of patients, whereas MLT technicians are compelled to complete numerous tests provided by the clinics/doctors. Medical Lab Technology offers diverse employment positions such as MRI Technician, Orthopedic Technician, etc., based upon the specialism.
