New healthcare program coming to Gwinnett Tech's N. Fulton campus

A new program for students looking to get their break in the healthcare field is coming to Gwinnett Technical College’s north Fulton campus.

Starting next spring, Gwinnett Tech's Alpharetta campus will offer a Patient Care Assistant Certificate program, school officials announced earlier this week.

The program would last for one semester and provide students an avenue for hands-on healthcare experience through clinical training and in field labs like the Roswell Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, according to the school.

Patient care assistants typically work in hospitals or nursing homes to give technical care to the sick and injured. Their duties can range from taking vital signs and helping patients with personal, day-to-day rehabilitation.

But there is a shortage of these kind of healthcare workers nowadays, said Indira Tyler, Gwinnett Tech’s dean of nursing sciences.

"PCAs are the foundation of nursing today," she said. “The need for these positions is great among all healthcare providers. This is an excellent place for people to start to determine if they really want a career in healthcare.”

Interested students can apply at Gwinnetttech.edu/enrollment/. Hurry though, because the priority application deadline for the spring semester is Nov. 3.