Overview
About the Program
Phlebotomy Technicians draw blood for tests, transfusions, research, or blood donations. Medical Laboratory Assistants are able to perform a variety of tasks within the medical laboratory including waived and point-of-care testing and quality assurance. They typically work in hospitals, medical and diagnostic laboratories, blood donor centers, physician offices, and other health care facilities.
The demand for certified Phlebotomists is growing much faster than average. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics this field is projected to grow 25% through 2024. (BLS January 2016) The External Certificate Exam is available through the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Registry.
Career Pathways: Medical Assistant ATS Degree, Medical Laboratory Technology AAS Degree, Nursing AAS Degree.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the health care delivery system, medical terminology and basic understanding of anatomy and physiology and anatomic terminology.
- Demonstrate basic understanding of age specific or psycho-social considerations involved in the performance of phlebotomy procedures on various age groups of patients.
- Follow standard operating procedures to collect specimens via venipuncture and capillary puncture.
- Prepare blood and body fluid specimens for analysis according to standard operating procedure.
- Prepare/reconstitute reagents, standards and controls according to standard operating procedure.
- Follow established quality assurance and quality control protocol
- Demonstrate knowledge of aseptic techniques, infection control, and safety in the collection and processing of specimens that minimizes risk to patients, self, and others.
- Perform CLIA-waived and Point-of-Care testing, perform patient screenings, and vital sign measurements.
- Identify and report potential pre-analytical errors that may occur during specimen collection, labeling, transporting and processing.
- Apply knowledge of local, federal, and state health care legislation such as proper documentation and reporting, performing within legal and ethical boundaries, and applying HIPAA rules in regard to privacy and release of information.
- Recognize and problem solve situations related to the medical lab environment.
- Demonstrate professional conduct and apply legal, social, and ethical responsibilities within the health care environment.
Certification
Students who complete the program are eligible to take the PBT certification exam (Route 2) offered by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists website www.ascp.org/. Eligibility for the Medical Laboratory Assistant certification requires PBT certification and one year of full-time experience as a lab assistant (Route 5) through ASCP.
Occupational Certification Opportunities
Application Requirements – Limited Enrollment
- MTC Application for Admission including application fee and final high school transcript.
- A minimum 2.0 accumulative grade point average (on 4 scale) in high school or college-level courses (whichever is most recent).
- Successful completion of the ACT or Basic Skills Assessment (Next Generation ACCUPLACER) in reading, writing, mathematics (statistics pathway) and Technology Skills Test (TST). College foundation courses are available to help you meet specialized program admission requirements. College transfer credit may also be used with a grade of C or better.
- Completed Phlebotomy/Medical Laboratory Assistant application packet available by request or online on MTC’s website.
- Completion of successful criminal background check and successful drug screen. Students admitted into the program are required to submit to a criminal background check facilitated by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and identification. Students with certain felony, misdemeanor, or drug-related arrests will be ineligible for admission into the program.
- Applicant must read the Medical Science Student Handbook. A listing of requirements, policies, and procedures for the program is available in the Student Handbook located on MTC’s website.
Career Opportunities
Curriculum
The following is a typical course sequence for completing this program. The actual time needed to complete the program will vary according to each student’s individual needs.
First Semester
Second Semester
| ALH1140 | Healthcare Issues:Medical Law and Ethics | 1 |
| ALH1150 | Healthcare Issues: Patient Communication | 1 |
| ENG1000 | English Composition I | 3 |
| MLT1030 | Phlebotomy Theory and Techniques | 2 |
| MLT1060 | Advanced Medical Laboratory Techniques | 2 |
| PSY1100 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
Third Semester
| MLT1400 | Phlebotomy Practicum and Seminar | 2 |
| SCI1100 | Basic Anatomy & Physiology | 4 |
Total Credit Hours: 30