Phlebotomy Students In Demand After 1-Semester Training

It’s lab time in ACC Professor Lois Wagoner’s phlebotomy technician class. Some of her students are drawing blood samples from each other, while others walk around to observe. The classroom is noisy, with frequent laughter and comments rising above the din. “That went in like butter,” one student assures her partner following a draw. Two student observers nod in agreement.

The air crackles with nervous energy. While it’s the middle of the semester on the college calendar, it’s the end of classes for Wagoner’s students. After today, they each will travel alone to hospitals and health clinics around the area to use their new skills in the real world, on real patients.

“It’s exciting,” says student Brittany Fuller. “We’ve already done a dozen sticks, and we’re going to do 100 more in hospitals and clinics.”

There’s so much to think about. You have to know how to do this because you’re dealing with real lives.

Wagoner has armed her students with tourniquets, gloves, needles, test tubes, and hours and hours of classroom lectures and hands-on practice.

“You should have seen our first draw. We were nervous and shaking,” Fuller says. “After the first couple of times, it was OK. After the first couple of weeks, it was nothing, piece of cake.”

Phlebotomy looks deceptively easy – stick in the needle, draw out the blood. In reality, there is risk to both workers and patients, from contaminated fluids, to incorrect blood matching, to even disabling injuries caused by poor technique.

“There’s so much to think about,” says student Vanessa Richardson. “You have to know how to do this because you’re dealing with real lives. You have to know how to handle specimens and blood and how to protect your patients and yourself.”

“The phlebotomy profession is very complex,” says Terry Kotrla, chair of the ACC Medical Laboratory Technology Program (MLT), which offers the phlebotomy certificate. “It takes one semester to learn the theory and skills to become trained as an entry-level phlebotomist.”

The phlebotomy certificate program gives a quick career choice for anyone wanting a stepping-stone into the healthcare industry, whether it’s in the clinical laboratory, nursing, paramedic, or other healthcare profession that involves drawing blood.

Besides the certificate option, phlebotomy is a required course for students seeking the two-year associate degree in medical laboratory technology. MLT graduates work in hospitals and medical labs, where they help diagnose illnesses by analyzing specimens and blood samples collected by the entry-level phlebotomists.

“The turnover rate for phlebotomy technicians is relatively high because many people use the training to get a job while they finish college,” Kotrla says. “Also, the demand keeps growing as new hospitals open and clinics expand or open.”

ACC is the only nationally approved Phlebotomy Technician Program in the state of Texas.

The ACC program is approved by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). Students who graduate from the program are immediately eligible to take the national certification exam.

“ACC is the only nationally approved Phlebotomy Technician Program in the state of Texas,” Kotrla says.

The training is fast and intensive. Students can earn their certificate in six to 16 weeks and graduate with the credentials and competence required to become a phlebotomy technician.

“The first day of class, students do three sticks on a demonstration arm so they can master the technique,” Professor Wagoner says, “but by the second day they do a live draw.”

Classes hold no more than 12 students, and faculty closely monitor students during each live draw. Students practice extensively on the demonstration arms before performing a live draw.

Wagoner’s students are eager to apply their new skills to advance their career goals.

Kenda Beebe wants to be a registered nurse. “I’m on the waiting list for the Associate Degree Nursing Program, and the advisors encouraged me to take the phlebotomy class. It’s not a part of the degree program, but it helps you professionally because it gives you more practice drawing blood.”

Tiffany Dobbs wants to be a paramedic, but she must leave ACC for a while. “I’m going to work as a phlebotomist full time and save money for college,” she says. “I wasn’t sure I’d like college, but this has been an awesome experience.”

Fuller will continue in the program and earn the associate degree. She wants to become a medical lab technician. “I like the whole ‘CSI’ thing, and my family is in the medical field,” she says. “I considered nursing or surgical tech, but they weren’t for me.”

After today, Wagoner’s students will spend three weeks in the field and complete at least 100 successful draws before they can graduate from ACC with a certificate in phlebotomy.

Local phlebotomy employers provide clinical opportunities for the students, with the ultimate goal being to hire them for open positions.

“Faculty tell students that the clinical rotation is the most important job interview they will have,” Kotrla says. “The program has an excellent reputation in the Austin area, and our graduates are sought after.”

Like butter indeed.

Students must complete all immunizations and under a criminal background screening to enter a Health Sciences program. Visit the Health Sciences Division website for information.