The program is a cluster of classes that will prepare students to enter an acute care setting in a healthcare field, such as a hospital, and hit the ground running. The classes are:
- CNA (5 credit hours)
- Principles of Phlebotomy (4 credit hours)
- Phlebotomy Clinical Practicum (1 credit hour)
- EKG Technician (4 credit hours)
Once students complete the program, they will be able to sit for certifications for each course, and then sit for the National Healthcareer Association Patient Care Technician certification test for a total of 4 different certifications that are all proctored here on the PCC campus.
If a student doesn’t want to take all of the courses, or decides they don’t need all of the certifications, they can simply choose the class that they feel is right for them. They don’t all have to be taken all together.
Principles of Phlebotomy:
Principles of Phlebotomy is a 10 week hybrid course where the theory portion is all online, and there are 2 eight hour lab days that will typically be scheduled on a weekend. It is a 4 credit hour course in total. In this course, students learn the practice of phlebotomy. They are provided with the knowledge and necessary skills to perform a variety of blood collection methods using proper techniques and precautions. Emphasis will be placed on infection prevention, universal precautions, proper patient identification, specimen acquisition, handling, and processing. Quality assurance, professional conduct, and federal regulatory issues will be covered as well. The lab days will consist of practice performing blood draws on our IV arm simulators and possibly on each other. This course is a CTE course.
Once completed, the student will be a more desired candidate for a job in a lab rather than someone without having taken the course.
Clinical Practicum:
The student has the option to complete the clinical practicum simultaneously with the Principles of Phlebotomy course. The clinical students must perform a minimum of 100 successful venipunctures and 8 successful skin punctures. Students will be scheduled for a minimum of 112 up to a maximum of 120 hours of clinical. Students who successfully complete the Phlebotomy Clinical Practicum will be awarded a certificate of completion and be eligible to take a national certification exam through the National Healthcareer Association. The certification test is proctored on the PCC campus. Students do have to be the age of 18 to take the certification test.
EKG Technician:
The EKG technician course is a 10 week, 4 credit hour hybrid course that will provide 38 hours classroom, 20 hours of lab and clinical. Students will complete 10 successful EKG and interpretation before they can sit for the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) examination. Students must have a High School diploma or a GED to be able to sit for the NHA certification test. This course is also considered a CTE course.
