RenalWEB Home Page    renalweb.groupee.net    RenalWEB Discussion Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Dialysis Technician Forums  Hop To Forums  Dialysis Technical Forum    Better Pay Rate Overall - PCT or Biomed?

Moderators: Dennis Todaro
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
-star Rating Rate It!  Login/Join 
<Salvakeps>
Posted
Just wanted to get some input on my current situation. I am a PCT at a clinic where the time clock is watched over like a hawk (where isn't it?) but I do get a good amount of OT hours here and there in certain situations. My FA and Biomed recommended me for a Biomed opening, as I do have machine and water system experience along with patient care. I take it that a Biomed would make a substantial amount more than a PCT, but would be very limited to the 40 hour work week. However, if I were to get a second PCT job, maybe my bi-weekly would be better off then.

Any suggestion on what road to take? I ask, not as a money hungry workaholic, but as a newlywed with children.

Thanks
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
Where I am as a bio-med, we basically get to make our own schedule to get our work done, but you also have to do quite a bit of your work after the clinics have shut down for the night and there are no patients there, so you can and most likely will put in some late nights.

We also have an on-call rotation, so you might get some early morning wake up calls and have to leave home extremly early if it can not be resolved over the phone.

And as you said, most companies watch the time clock like a hawk, ours is no different. We have to try to get it all done within 40 hours aweek.

Hope this helps.


Working mans PH'D
 
Posts: 49 | Location: Midwest | Registered: 30 August 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<TechManager>
Posted
I made the transition years ago. As with everything there are Pro's and con's. Biomed pays better, but the schedule is not set, this can be both a good and bad thing. Some people like regular hours. If you are self motivated and diciplined the flexibility of biomed is great!!
It has always been my experience that as long as you get the job done, and get 40 hours all is well. Lots of flexibility to take Johnny to the dentist, or the dog to the vet, just work later or go in earlier. If all is quiet sleep in one morning.
A part time job though, would be difficult. Along with flexibility comes the unpredictability, explain o your second job that you have to leave because you just had a chlorine breakthrough.

Just some food for thought!!
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<Bio-babe>
Posted
I've done both. Currently in bio-med. Pro's & con's as with any other position. I love what I'm doing now. Extremely flexible hours, a great group of guy's, substantially better pay. Check with your company & see if on call pay's extra. We try to keep to a 40hr. week, but s--- happens. On call pay will help, plus, mileage reimbursement for travel. It adds up really quickly if you cover more than one unit.
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<1.0>
Posted
this is gonna sound really harsh, don't take it that way,
a newly wed, with children..
don't quit your day job, if you truly love what you do, now, there are ways of 'moving up' PCT 2 if the company you work for has that position, you'll be training new hires, that's a little more money, just remember, your 'new hires' are a reflection of your work ethic, be firm, not harsh, get 'em out if it's not working out, early...
NANT certification,maybe will get you a little more, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER if you can swing it, go to school, get your LPN license, and work toward your RN license
if the company you work for won't help you , or drags their feet, go else where, good PCTs are a rare breed, and are very hard to find, and there are many other companies who would love to have you aboard
Lord knows, don't try to do biomed and pct, you'll get behing on you biomed job, everytime they're short staffed on the floor, you'll be called out, unless, of course your boss has a backbone, and will back you up.
Biomed and PCT positions are MUCH different than they appear to be, while it looks as if we're doing nothing, we're actually trying to plan our schedules for as much as a month ahead, for pms, controling the o.t. can be a huge headache, you'll have to look at a clinic with another set of eyes, looking for problems before they rear their heads (this is what we call preventative maintenance)
you have a schedule now, that's fixed, you get to go home when your 8/12 hour shift is over, you'll lose that in biomed, you don't go home until your job is done.
The transition is hard, I 've only seen one person make it, in 15+ years.
If you choose to take the biomed road,do yourself ONE favor, get away from the clinic you were pct at, and good luck with all your endeavors.
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<Village idiot>
Posted
Depends on the company you work for... when I was at FMC, the pay as a biomed was less than half that of a PCT. When I was at Gambro/DaVita, I was a little bit more than a PCT. It also depends on years of experience.
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
Being in Biomed (not dialysis dedicated biomed) means a lot of things that are not seen. Lots of paperwork, or computer work to document every hour, every part, every detail. There are projects, and that means meetings. There are PMs that must be done, and correctives, too. It's like a multi-tasking sideshow. This has to be done, while that must be address, while simultaneously keeping track of the other thing, too. Parts stock or order overnight and eat the shipping? Urgent thing one versus hot project 5, and gotta-get-er-done number 6. Budget figures in, too. Must finish project, but no OT is available.

Don't mean to sound negative. Love my job, love what I do. Rarely bored. It's not for everyone. To me, money means a lot less than my job satisfaction. Biomed pays the bills. I can't speak to the PCT thing, except that it would make me nuts.


Biomed Boy
 
Posts: 87 | Registered: 13 February 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<Idiot Police>
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by 1.0:
this is gonna sound really harsh, don't take it that way,
a newly wed, with children..
don't quit your day job, if you truly love what you do, now, there are ways of 'moving up' PCT 2 if the company you work for has that position, you'll be training new hires, that's a little more money, just remember, your 'new hires' are a reflection of your work ethic, be firm, not harsh, get 'em out if it's not working out, early...
NANT certification,maybe will get you a little more, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER if you can swing it, go to school, get your LPN license, and work toward your RN license
if the company you work for won't help you , or drags their feet, go else where, good PCTs are a rare breed, and are very hard to find, and there are many other companies who would love to have you aboard
Lord knows, don't try to do biomed and pct, you'll get behing on you biomed job, everytime they're short staffed on the floor, you'll be called out, unless, of course your boss has a backbone, and will back you up.
Biomed and PCT positions are MUCH different than they appear to be, while it looks as if we're doing nothing, we're actually trying to plan our schedules for as much as a month ahead, for pms, controling the o.t. can be a huge headache, you'll have to look at a clinic with another set of eyes, looking for problems before they rear their heads (this is what we call preventative maintenance)
you have a schedule now, that's fixed, you get to go home when your 8/12 hour shift is over, you'll lose that in biomed, you don't go home until your job is done.
The transition is hard, I 've only seen one person make it, in 15+ years.
If you choose to take the biomed road,do yourself ONE favor, get away from the clinic you were pct at, and good luck with all your endeavors.


Not only does your reply sound harsh, it sounds outrageously stupid. The transition is only hard if you are not the right candidate. When approached by administrative staff asking if you would be interested in transitioning into the bio-med arena, odds are you have already proven that your competency and technical abilities are at least one step ahead of the rest.

Transitioning from patient care to bio med is often preferred by management, as the person repairing and maintaining the equipment has an intimate knowledge of how it is being used on the treatment floor. The bio-med that transitions from patient care can more clearly identify with the needs of the patients and staff. When he or she has been a user of the equipment, they tend to be more maticulate with detail as to how PMs and repairs are performed.

And furthermore, in my equal 15+ years, I have seen dozens of technicians transition to the back from patient care. Myself, for starters, and 4 of the technicians that work with me.
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
1st-People have different opinions based on their life experiences and just because they are different from your own opinions doesn't make them stupid ("outrageously stupid").
2nd-Salvakeps, if you are doing it strictly for the money, stay a pct and take the part-time job as a pct as you mentioned. If you have mechanical dexterity and ability and enjoy a challenge, take the biomed job.
To answer your question now, I don't know where the village idiot worked at for fmc-but I started out a couple more dollars an hour than a pct, now I make about double that in 12 years. Good luck in whatever decision you make.
 
Posts: 85 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: 23 January 2006Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
Is this true the ceiling pay for PCT is $18 eventhough he/she have 10 or more years of patient care?
This may explain a big difference in pay compare to a biomed person.
 
Posts: 223 | Registered: 16 February 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
This would depend on the policy of the company you work for.

Chuck
 
Posts: 875 | Location: Baltimore, MD USA | Registered: 24 October 2001Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
<Tech>
Posted
That sounds about right for FMC techs, if I was informed correctly biomed is low 20's unless a position in management comes open.
 
Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Posted Hide Post
I don't know where you guys are working but here is a little info from a 11 year biomed.
I started in Biomed with no experience, jumped from a completely different career.
I did many years of OT with different jobs and it just got me deeper in debt and away from my kid who is now 22 and I missed most of her life working. Almost seems like a life on drugs (I wasn't) because most of that blew by tryignt o make the big bucks.
I dont know what a PCT makes or what you really do at a clinic. I am a biomed in a hospital in Florida and the going rate with some time in, is getting 20-25/hr plus OT and callpay. Florida is not a high paying area but our HR does regular market surveys. Close to 80k for me and no, I am not management.
You may love what you do and it is good that you don't need the money. That means you can choose your career path by heart and not pocketbook.
A biomed in a hospital gets to work on many different types of equipment and not just dialysis. Try lab analyzers, patient monitoring, EKG stuff, XRAY, defibs, nursecall systems, and the list goes on.
I did the job where you work on the same thing over and over and you get good at but you know what you are doing tomorrow. Good for the anal person but not for me.
I would say find your priorities, look for benefits and enjoy it, you only get one time around.
 
Posts: 41 | Registered: 04 October 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
PB
Posted Hide Post
chettrick

VERY well put


One Love, One God and Only One Way
 
Posts: 219 | Location: Indiana | Registered: 25 August 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
 Previous Topic | Next Topic powered by eve community  
 

RenalWEB Home Page    renalweb.groupee.net    RenalWEB Discussion Forums  Hop To Forum Categories  Dialysis Technician Forums  Hop To Forums  Dialysis Technical Forum    Better Pay Rate Overall - PCT or Biomed?

Copyright RenalWEB 2008