Phlebotomy Training Centers provide professional training instruction in every aspect of Phlebotomy, and prepares you to pass the national exam to get certified. California’s Phlebotomy training sets the standards for Phlebotomy across the United States. A Phlebotomy Course is completed in with approximately 84 hours. Centers do tend to hold weekend classes. Phlebotomy classes are taught by accredited certified professionals. These training centers give you tools to a successful career in Phlebotomy as well as knowledge to advance you in your new career. A directory for Phlebotomy training schools, their locations and prerequisites are available online.
There are many different programs that enable you to get Phlebotomist training. You can attend a tech school as well as receive education on the actual job. There are some states that do not require you to have certification. (California and Louisiana are the only states that require you to have certification if you are not a doctor, nurse or clinical lab technician). The pre-requirements for Phlebotomist training can be different from one training institution to the next. Most training centers will require a copy of your high school diploma or a diploma equivalent. You may also have to know how to handle body fluids without being uncomfortable.
Training centers offer continuing education courses for current Phlebotomists which will not only further advance their current knowledge, but allow them to renew any certificates they currently hold. For continuing education students, classes are approved by the Board of Vocational Nurses and Psychiatric Technicians, their County Emergency Medical Association and/or the Department of Radiologic Health. Costs for continuing education students can range from $10 – $20 per continuing education unit (or CEU). Paramedics, EMTs, Doctors, Physician’s Assistants, Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners are among several professionals who are eligible for continuing education.
There are three bodies of certification through which you can get certified as a Phlebotomist:-
- The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) – which requires a high school diploma or equivalent, 120 training hours (hands on training), 100 successful blood collections (unaided) and 40 complete classroom hours.
- The Association of Phlebotomy Technicians (APT) – which requires 5 successfully completed skin punctures, a current membership with APT, 100 successfully completed venipunctures and a completed accredited Phlebotomy training program.
- The National Phlebotomy Association (NPA) – requires that you attend a phlebotomy training program to qualify for their certification. That training program would have to include the venipuncture techniques, a clinical practical internship (hands on) and 160 classroom hours (this in additional to the clinical practical internship).
It is best when choosing a Phlebotomy training, to find out if the program meets the requirements of these associations.
There are some Phlebotomy programs that will gear you up to work as a phlebotomist, instead of prepping you for the certification exam. You can volunteer at nursing homes, hospitals or doctors’ offices if your training program does not offer a clinical practical internship. Certifications are not always required; however they are becoming more demanding. Fulfill your certification requirements, pass the national Phlebotomist exam and become a licensed Phlebotomist. Although this is only a requirement in two states, other states may soon follow suit.