How to Become a Phlebotomist
The job of a phlebotomist is to take blood for testing procedures or donations. This is typically done in a hospital or medical setting under the request of a doctor. Even though drawing blood is the main job of these professionals, they also have other tasks like patient consulting, keeping patient records up to date, blood prep work, keeping tools sterile, checking patient vitals and following safety procedures. These are all tasks that they are responsible for as well. This professional career can introduce you to the medical field without having to spend very much time in training like with some other health care positions. The majority of the time, there is no certification required for this position in order to practice. The only exception would be for Louisiana or California as these states do mandate that a health care professional cannot draw blood unless they are certified. In most places it is not required although, it is likely that you will have a hard time finding an employer that will hire you without your certification. This means that if you want to find a good position, you will have to follow the training procedures to become certified and work as a phlebotomist.
To get your certification you will have to attend a training school and get approved by one of these 3 agencies:
- American Society for Clinical Pathology,
- Association of Phlebotomy Technicians or
- National Phlebotomy Association.
Each agency has their own requirements as to under what conditions they will certify you and they include:
- A high school degree or GED
- A number of class training hours ranging from 40 to 160
- Clinical training hours of at least 120
- An internship
- sufficient venipunctures
- skin pricks
This means that you will have to finish your training and meet all requirements before you can become certified. The accredited training program can be no less than 200 course hours. The programs are typically offered by medical training schools and colleges and last for 1-2 semesters or 1 year in order to get a diploma or certificate. Make sure that when you sign up for your training that it is from a school that is accredited and meets internship requirements or it won’t count for anything. At the end of your training, you will have to take a state exam and pass it in order to get your certification. You can skip the formal training and still get certified if you have at least 6 months of hands on experience with phlebotomy.
Having the certification can mean a better position and better pay. It also speaks very nicely of you on a resume because it lets the prospective employer know that you are truly qualified to fit the position.
Working as a phlebotomist offers a salary on a yearly basis of around $24,350. This can be even more with extra training, experience and depending on position and location as well. The typical work week in this position is 40 hours.
