As the demand for phlebotomist grows, the number of schools offering phlebotomy courses has also grown. The complete program can run anywhere from four to twenty-four months depending on the school and the type of certification they offer. While specific classes may vary from school to school, these are the basic phlebotomy courses that students will be required to take.

Phlebotomy Basics

Every phlebotomy certification program will start students off with learning the basic concepts of phlebotomy. They will be taught how collection and preparation of the blood is done and the techniques to safely handle blood. Students learn what all of the medical tools involved with phlebotomy are and how to use and maintain them. A course on medical ethics will be involved showing students the proper way to conduct themselves.

Human Anatomy

To be able to accurately draw blood and take other specimens, a student will need to know how the body and its systems work. Students will take in-depth courses in human anatomy including the bones, muscles and nerves. They will learn about the different systems that are working in the body, specifically the respiratory system, the nervous system and the muscular system. Blood and cell composition are other important phlebotomy courses taught.

Medical Terminology

Due to the need for phlebotomist to be in contact with many physicians, it is vital that students learn medical terminology. The course will cover the many different root words found in medical terms, as well as their prefixes and suffixes. These will be very detailed and lecture-based classes, where a lot of memorization is necessary. These skills will help minimize the amount of errors that students will make when they are out on the field.

Communication Skills

Students will take a course or two geared toward advancing their interpersonal communication skills.  They will learn proper techniques on how to talk to their patients and how to calm them down to make blood collection easier. They will learn how to gather medical history from their patients and learn what they can and cannot say to patients. Students will also learn the importance of confidentiality and the repercussions of saying too much.

Lab Safety Procedures

These phlebotomy courses are taught to show students the rules and regulations that are to be followed when working in any laboratory. These skills will help to protect both the students and the patients and will ensure proper blood and specimen collection is done. Most of these procedures are universal throughout the medical industry and will be used by the students no matter what type of environment they choose to work in after school.

Phlebotomy Clinical

Phlebotomy clinical is usually the last course taken in the program and cannot be taken until many of the other courses have been satisfactorily completed. The clinical will give students hand-on training as they take actual blood samples from patients, under direct supervision. Great care is taken to ensure that students are collecting the blood correctly and preparing it properly to be transported.

All of these phlebotomy courses work together to provide students with an overall understanding of phlebotomy. Upon graduation from the program, they will have the skills that are needed to become a good phlebotomist. Some states do not specifically require certification to be a phlebotomist, but many labs and hospital will only hire those who have been properly trained.