Medical Assistant vs. Patient Care

Choosing between a medical assistant and a patient care technician career training depends on your personal strengths and goals. Both roles involve working with patients, assisting nurses and doctors, and making a difference. But the similarities basically end there.

Medical assistants and patient care technicians have different duties, workplaces, and training requirements that might make one a better fit for you. This article will break down the differences between medical assistants and patient care technicians to help you choose the right path for your goals.

What is a Medical Assistant?

A medical assistant (MA) handles both administrative and clinical tasks in a healthcare facility, like a clinic or doctor’s office. They split their time between working with patients and managing office duties. With their versatile skills, medical assistants help keep facilities running smoothly.

What Does a Medical Assistant Do?

While no day looks the same for these professionals, some common medical assistant duties include:

• Greeting patients and recording their medical histories
• Monitoring patients’ vital signs
• Helping doctors during patient exams
• Collecting samples, like blood or saliva, for lab tests
• Administering medications under a doctor’s direction
• Answering phone calls
• Scheduling appointments
• Documenting information in patients’ medical records
• Completing insurance forms with proper medical coding

What is a Patient Care Technician?

A patient care technician (PCT) provides hands-on care to patients in a medical facility. They’re similar to nursing assistants and typically help patients with daily living activities, such as feeding and bathing. PCTs can also assist with basic treatments, like wound care.

What Does a Patient Care Technician Do?

The duties of a patient care technician often include:

• Helping patients with basic tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, toileting, and moving around
• Measuring patients’ vital signs
• Observing patients closely for changes in their conditions
• Drawing blood
• Monitoring supply inventories and equipment
• Providing support and information to patients and their loved ones

What’s the Difference Between a Medical Assistant vs. a Patient Care Technician?

While there’s some overlap between an MA and a PCT, they’re not the same. If you’re trying to decide between these two careers, it’s helpful to know the biggest differences between a patient care technician versus a medical assistant.

Focus and Scope of Work

Medical assistants have a broader scope of work, since they manage clinical and administrative tasks. During a typical day as an MA, you will prepare exam rooms, assess patients, help doctors with basic procedures, handle insurance claims, and schedule patient appointments.

Patient care technicians have a narrower focus in their work. During shifts, PCTs primarily focus on keeping patients comfortable and tending to their needs. As a PCT, you will typically serve meals, bathe and dress patients, administer medications, and change bandages or dressings.

Both jobs involve plenty of time with patients, but as an MA, you’ll also have administrative responsibilities to complete.

Work Environment

Both MAs and PCTs can work in different types of medical facilities. Over half of all medical assistants work in doctor’s offices, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Others work in hospitals and outpatient care centers. In facilities that stay open late or operate 24/7, like hospitals, medical assistants may work evenings, weekends, and holidays.

It’s less common for patient care technicians to work in doctor’s offices. Instead, they usually work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and nursing homes. In these settings, PCTs often work overnight, weekend, and holiday shifts.

Training

To become either an MA or a PCT, you need to complete formal education or supervised training. However, both careers offer a faster entry into the healthcare field than other professions, such as physician assistants and doctors.

The length of a medical assistant program can range anywhere from nine months to two years. In comparison, a patient care technician training program usually takes less than one year to complete.

Here’s how to become a medical assistant:

1. Earn your high school diploma.
2. Get on-the-job experience or enroll in an accredited medical assisting program at a career college.
3. Take medical assistant classes, such as medical terminology, clinical procedures, and medical office procedures.
4. Complete other requirements for graduation, like an externship.

The steps to becoming a patient care technician are similar:

1. Earn your high school diploma.
2. Get on-the-job experience or attend a patient care technician program at a community college or technical school.
3. Complete PCT classes, like medical terminology, patient care skills, and healthcare communication.
4. Meet other requirements for graduation, such as clinical training.

Certification

For both MAs and PCTs, certification requirements vary by state or jurisdiction. For example, medical assistants in California don’t need a license or certification to work. In the District of Columbia, patient care technicians need to pass the National Certified Patient Care Technician (NCPCT) exam and hold a license from the DC Board of Nursing.

Even in states without certification requirements, some employers may prefer to hire MAs or PCTs who have these credentials. Medical assistants can typically get certified through these organizations:

• American Association of Medical Assistants
• American Medical Certification Association
• National Center for Competency Testing
• National Healthcareer Association

PCTs commonly hold certifications from these organizations:

• American Medical Technologists
• National Healthcareer Association
• National Center for Competency Testing
• National Association for Health Professionals

Medical Assistant vs. Patient Care Technician: Which Career Path is Right for You?

The choice of whether to become a medical assistant or a patient care technician is up to you. If you enjoy multitasking and want to have variety in your workday, you may prefer working as a medical assistant. However, if you value time with patients over administrative work, a career as a patient care technician can be rewarding.

Keep in mind that both professions can be a stepping stone to other healthcare careers. For instance, American Career College alumna Shanna J. earned her medical assistant diploma in nine months and immediately started working as an MA. After a few years, she went back to school to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing and ultimately a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Shanna’s story shows how beginning as an MA can open doors to advanced nursing and leadership roles.

Start Your Journey to Becoming a Medical Assistant at ACC

Both medical assistants and patient care technicians make a difference in patients’ lives. As you consider which path to pursue, think carefully about what you enjoy doing and your future career goals.

If you’re leaning toward a career as a medical assistant, American Career College’s Medical Assistant program can help prepare you for the next steps in as little as 9 months. At ACC, you’ll learn from experienced faculty and get hands-on training through an accredited program. With a blended format offering online coursework and a weekend classes option, you can graduate with the skills you need to excel in this rewarding career.

Ready to start your healthcare career training? Reach out to request more information about ACC’s Medical Assistant program today!

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