Phlebotomy Class

[blastereosloud]

Hi all, I've been working for my ambulance company for almost a year now, however I'm thinking of moving into the hospital to work as an ER tech, but also want to further pursue other career options that aren't far from my career path of firefighter (I might eventually, maybe, go to medic school, MAYBE). I've decided to take an accelerated 6 day phlebotomy course at Regan Career Institute and was just wondering if anyone here has heard anything about them good or bad that you can share with me as some feedback. I haven't paid for the class yet but it does start in August and they fill up quickly. If anyone has feedback on them, I'd greatly appreciate hearing (reading it)

 

[firecoins]

Not familiar but I would be cautious of any for profit schools. They overpromise and overcharge.

 

[MRSA]

I took a phlebotomy course at my community college. 6 days?! That's INSANE. I've heard of courses that charge 2 grand to get it done in two weeks but even THAT was difficult to hear.

There's a LOT to cover in phlebotomy class. You need time and patience. You need your clinical hours too. I really don't recommend going through a class that fast unless you've already taken a phlebotomy class and need a refresher. Seriously. That's way too fastly paced. Maybe you're a genius and can do it no problem!

But seriously. I don't recommend it :\

You've gotta learn the order of draw, what tubes go to what test for the CLS, you gotta learn about the veins and the circulatory system (again) It's a lot to take in :C

BTW my class was 5 months. We had to have 50 sticks and 10 blood sugars. We did four hour time slots twice a week. We got anywhere between 3-6 people done each time. My school was four hours twice a week.

 

[CANDawg]

Not familiar but I would be cautious of any for profit schools. They overpromise and overcharge.

I would say it depends on the school. Where I'm from you can do your EMR/EMT/Medic training at either a for-profit school or a provincially recognized college/technical school. After doing a TON of research, I found the for-profit schools had much better reviews and higher pass rates on the registration test than the local colleges. (Part of this was because the colleges carried the same pass fail standard of 50% to EMS training as they enforced on all other degrees and diplomas they offered. Private schools seem to set a higher standard and hold their students to higher expectations.) Price wise they were pretty close to the same, even cheaper in a couple cases.

All that said, definitely do your research, and don't go on price alone.

 

[Level1pedstech]

I took a phlebotomy course at my community college. 6 days?! That's INSANE. I've heard of courses that charge 2 grand to get it done in two weeks but even THAT was difficult to hear.

There's a LOT to cover in phlebotomy class. You need time and patience. You need your clinical hours too. I really don't recommend going through a class that fast unless you've already taken a phlebotomy class and need a refresher. Seriously. That's way too fastly paced. Maybe you're a genius and can do it no problem!

But seriously. I don't recommend it :\

You've gotta learn the order of draw, what tubes go to what test for the CLS, you gotta learn about the veins and the circulatory system (again) It's a lot to take in :C

BTW my class was 5 months. We had to have 50 sticks and 10 blood sugars. We did four hour time slots twice a week. We got anywhere between 3-6 people done each time. My school was four hours twice a week.

The level one traums center where I worked gave ER techs a two hour class for drawing labs. Then it was practice with a lab tech at the out patient draw station until you felt comfortable then out on the floor you went. Drawing labs is not rocket science and as far as being a genius well I dont know about that. Most of these types of courses are meant to seperates well meaning people from their hard earned cash. I would say scam but I dont want to cross that line.

Never have understood those long drawn out courses especially for phlebotomy trust me its a waste of time,a requirement maybe but its sure not needed to do the job. Im sure the over achievers will howl in disagreement but they howl at anything that does not have a degree attached to it. Now for things like regular lines,ABG's and central line placement maybe a little more than two hours but seriously 5 months good god I could be a super medic in 12.

Trust me after six years in the ER I can tell you drawing labs and cultures in the ER or anywhere else is all about practice and more practice. A little bookwork and a lot of hands on with real patients is how it should be done. You could easily get 10 sticks a shift at any halfway busy ER,how many do you think you need to be "overachiever" approved? Also do you know much time and training RN's are getting on phlebotomy in school? Most get very little training in IV starts let alone phlebotomy they learn it on the floor,first in clinicals then as new hire nurses.

Most hospitals will want to run you thru their in house lab draw program anyway so its always best to do your home work before you go dropping a chunk of change on a phlebotomy course or any other health care related training.

 

[Level1pedstech]

Hi all, I've been working for my ambulance company for almost a year now, however I'm thinking of moving into the hospital to work as an ER tech, but also want to further pursue other career options that aren't far from my career path of firefighter (I might eventually, maybe, go to medic school, MAYBE). I've decided to take an accelerated 6 day phlebotomy course at Regan Career Institute and was just wondering if anyone here has heard anything about them good or bad that you can share with me as some feedback. I haven't paid for the class yet but it does start in August and they fill up quickly. If anyone has feedback on them, I'd greatly appreciate hearing (reading it)

The market for ER techs is tough here in So Cal and everywhere else. Having the phlebotomy cert might help but you need to look at your ROI (return on investment). I have six years of level one peds and adult ER tech experience along with 10 years of FF/EMT and Im not getting any call backs for interviews for the few application I have put in. Am I really pushing hard and pounding the pavement ,no because I already have a very good paying full time job but I can tell you that most ER managers want people with experience. Its not as tough as getting a paid fire gig but its not to far behind.

There is alot of truth in the statement "its who you know" when it comes to ER work. Every person in the ER has ten friends that would love to tech,if you add in those applying from the outside you get an idea of how hard it really is. If your already in the field you have networking available to you,use it when you can. Get to know your ER charge RN's and techs. And please be careful with laying out your hard earned cash on programs or courses that may never be of any use to you.

 

[blastereosloud]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After talking to the CCT nurses I work with and a few other people I've decided to just bite the bullet and take the class. I'm going to try to look at the cost of tuition as an investment.

 

[Level1pedstech]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After talking to the CCT nurses I work with and a few other people I've decided to just bite the bullet and take the class. I'm going to try to look at the cost of tuition as an investment.

Good to see you ran the idea past a few people who could offer some good advice and that you have taken your ROI into consideration. Remember a cert is a cert no matter if its one obtained in two weeks or one that takes five months.

People love to slam accelerated learning programs but not everyone needs to have their face buried in a book for months because they need to " understand the science". Many of us are much better suited to jumping in and getting our hands dirty after a minimal amount of didactic dribble. Of course for higher level providers its different but then again so is the ROI.

Also before you drop your hard earned cabbage be sure your getting a certificate of completion that the ER's are going to accept. Good luck and happy sticking!

 

[abel22]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After talking to the CCT nurses I work with and a few other people I've decided to just bite the bullet and take the class. I'm going to try to look at the cost of tuition as an investment.

Looking back, I would love to hear what your experience was... would you recommend this school/program to others?

 

[MonkeyArrow]

Looking back, I would love to hear what your experience was... would you recommend this school/program to others?

Just a heads-up. This post is three years old and the OP last visited the website in 2012.