How to hire a patient care technician

How to hire a patient care technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step patient care technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a patient care technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new patient care technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a patient care technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your patient care technician job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a patient care technician for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A patient care technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, patient care technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of patient care technicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Patient Care Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Patient Care Technician	Psychiatric technicians and aides care for people who have mental illness and developmental disabilities. Technicians typically provide therapeutic care and monitor their patients’ conditions... Show more	$11-20
   Patient Sitter	The primary job of a patient sitter is to provide patients with care and companionship. You will be responsible for a few duties that always include supervising patients, assisting them with basic personal hygiene and care, and monitoring their vital signs... Show more	$10-19
   Patient Escort	A patient escort assists health care staff in providing patient care by managing a patient's immediate needs. Typical duties that you will perform include organizing and coordinating the transport of patients, assisting patients in personal hygiene such as dressing and bathing, and engaging with patients... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Vital Signs
   • Phlebotomy
   • CPR
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Customer Service
   • Blood Pressure
   • Direct Supervision
   • Patient Rooms
   • Patient Treatment
   • EKG
   • Medical Equipment
   • Patient Care
   • Catheter

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage care and prepare medical records, transcription and supply orders.
   • Manage daily care of high acuity patients with neurological trauma/disorders and post-surgery.
   • Qualify to perform patient care responsibilities on catheter patients.
   • Transport patients using wheelchairs and stretchers and assist patients to ambulate safely.
   • Assist with transferring patients in and out of wheelchairs, recliners, and stretchers.
   • Apply protective restraints safely and appropriately, assist in the admission, discharge and transfer of patients as needed.

   More patient care technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your patient care technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A patient care technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a patient care technician in Florida may be lower than in Vermont, and an entry-level patient care technician usually earns less than a senior-level patient care technician. Additionally, a patient care technician with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average patient care technician salary

   $15.77hourly

   $32,806 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level patient care technician salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average patient care technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Hampshire	$38,927	$19
   2	North Dakota	$36,502	$18
   3	New York	$35,667	$17
   4	Colorado	$35,433	$17
   5	New Jersey	$34,412	$17
   6	Minnesota	$33,993	$16
   7	Illinois	$33,696	$16
   8	Kansas	$33,426	$16
   9	Arizona	$33,218	$16
   10	Texas	$33,035	$16
   11	West Virginia	$32,493	$16
   12	Arkansas	$32,275	$16
   13	District of Columbia	$31,903	$15
   14	Utah	$30,540	$15
   15	Iowa	$30,229	$15
   16	Tennessee	$29,460	$14
   17	Pennsylvania	$29,386	$14
   18	South Dakota	$29,324	$14
   19	Ohio	$29,320	$14
   20	Florida	$28,896	$14

   Average patient care technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$42,717	$20.54	4
   2	Massachusetts General Hospital	$42,717	$20.54	1
   3	Nantucket Cottage Hospital	$41,634	$20.02
   4	Student Conservation Association	$41,159	$19.79	1
   5	Emanate Health	$40,638	$19.54	7
   6	Cottage Health	$40,519	$19.48	47
   7	Sutter Health	$40,493	$19.47	193
   8	WakeMed	$39,646	$19.06	1
   9	Hancock Wellness	$39,331	$18.91	8
   10	HCA Healthcare	$38,933	$18.72	1,783
   11	Children's of Alabama	$38,807	$18.66	6
   12	Southern California Hospitals	$38,377	$18.45	11
   13	Prime Healthcare	$38,236	$18.38	143
   14	Tenet Healthcare	$38,210	$18.37	594
   15	Dignity Health	$38,187	$18.36	329
   16	Cook Children's Medical Center	$38,038	$18.29	9
   17	HealthTronics	$37,868	$18.21	5
   18	Arkansas Children's Hospital	$37,817	$18.18	25
   19	Cancer Treatment Centers of America	$37,805	$18.18	6
   20	DaVita Kidney Care	$37,731	$18.14	1,404

4. Writing a patient care technician job description

   A patient care technician job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a patient care technician job description:

   Patient care technician job description example

   The 4T Older Adult/Geriatric Unit is dedicated to providing the highest quality, most compassionate care to patients and their families. With our family-like culture, nurses are supported, empowered and inspired to deliver the finest care possible with expertise and compassion. We are always looking for gifted, dedicated nursing professionals to join our team and make a real difference in our hospital and throughout the community. This is a 16-bed unit offering care for a diverse population of older adults, age 65 years and older. Our major diagnoses include: Dementia/Acute Confusion, Syncope, Pneumonia/CHF/Stroke, UTI, ESRD requiring Hemodialysis or Peritoneal, Dialysis, Continuous Bladder Irrigation, Acute Care Cardiac/Telemetry, Intermittent BIPAP at HS and PRN during the day.
   
   Provides nursing assistance and patient care to provide for the comfort, safety and personal needs of patients. Assists patients with activities of daily living and performs procedures for physical hygiene and comfort of patients. Performs duties with the construct of a unit-based, self-directed patient care team while sharing various tasks with other licensed and non-licensed members.
   
   REQUIRED 1. Listed as a CNA on the Georgia Registry OR a. Graduate of a U.S. Military Medic course OR b. Enrolled in a School of Nursing and has completed one (1) full semester of clinical rotations OR c. Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing or Medical Degree program d. GPN or EMT with one year experience with relevant training and experience 2. One year patient care experience in a hospital or acute care setting. 3. Current BLS card (CPR) 4. Patient Care Techs hired under the legacy Gwinnett Patient Care Tech job description are deemed qualified for the Northside Patient Care Tech II position. Grandfathered employees will be given 180 days from 10.01.2021 to complete additional training identified by the Clinical Education Department. PREFERRED 1. Graduate of an accredited Nursing Assistant Course.
   License/Certification Requirements: Yes
   
   Work Hours: 7p-7a
   
   Weekend Requirements: Yes
   
   On-Call Requirements: No

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right patient care technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with patient care technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit patient care technicians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find patient care technician candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with patient care technician candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new patient care technician

   Once you have selected a candidate for the patient care technician position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new patient care technician first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a patient care technician?