The Nursing Professional Development (NPD) team evaluated the onboarding process for patient care technicians (PCTs) through interviews and workflow observations. The assessment revealed significant variations in the backgrounds, training, and work experience of Patient Care Technicians, with only two out of the seven most recently hired Patient Care Technicians having adult acute care inpatient experience.
A trial of Patient Care Technician-specific initial skills training during PCSO, attended by five transfer Patient Care Technicians, led to modifications based on feedback, making the training more hands-on. The revised training now includes practical demonstrations of essential tasks. As of December 1, 2024, eight new or transferred Patient Care Technicians have completed this training. The feedback from orientees post-training evaluation indicated that they found the sessions to be very informative and appreciated the hands-on experience. The next steps involve training Patient Care Technician Champions as dedicated trainers and implementing a standardized onboarding process with regular check-ins to ensure progress and support. The project’s goal is to better prepare Patient Care Technicians to deliver safe and quality patient care.