In most of the western United States there are no laws that govern Phlebotomy or Phlebotomists. What that means is that there is no real “certification or licensing” required by law to draw blood in a healthcare setting. The State Board of Medicine allows each individual facility to use their own judgment in how they want their Phlebotomists trained. Most facilities require you have completed a training course before they will consider hiring an individual. This saves them the cost and the time it takes to train someone on the job. Nurses and other licensed medical providers are required by law to take a Phlebotomy class taught in their nursing program before completing their degree. This leaves a large loop hole for Labs and other facilities to hire and train their own Phlebotomists.
The United States government and State Medical Boards are working together to implement a Board of Plebotomists in each individual state. At that time, anyone who has been trained and is employed as a Phlebotomist will be exempt to the new laws and regulations. All new Phlebotomists will be required to take an accredited class at a University charging a large fee and taking more time than needed to be trained to work as a Phlebotomist. Many technical colleges are starting to offer these classes now. In reality, their certification will have no more value than any other training program until these laws are passed. The National Certification Program, as of now, only regulates large, government owned hospitals and facilities which we do not have here in the Northwest. So if you are planning on living in another area of the country other than the Northwest and practicing Phlebotomy, we recommend you take a Nationally Certified program.
– What You Get –
In our program you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.” This tells potential employers that you have successfully completed a Phlebotomy training course in both theory and technique. When they are ready to hire someone they will hire you over someone without any training at all, saving them time and money. Select facilities ask potential employees for a certain amount of hours or draw time. This can be obtained by job shadowing any working Phlebotomist or obtaining an internship at any licensed, insured lab.