How can I become a Phlebotomist? Wondering if I need to become an M.A.?

Answer 1

A master's in drawing blood? I hope you're kidding. Presently there is no licensing requirement for phlebotomists. Most phlebotomists are trained on the job when they transition over from other health care careers. Only California and Louisiana have training and certification standards for phlebotomists. Nevertheless, an increasing number of phlebotomists received their training from:

1 year phlebotomy programs which are offered at vocational/technical schools

2 year phlebotomy programs are offered at community colleges awarding associate's degrees

Uniformed services, such as the Army medics and their EMT's

As you can see, the requirements are not high.

To look for a school, go to this link:
www.naacls.org/search/programs.asp

Answer 2

By MA do you mean Master of Arts or Medical Assistant?

For a master's, it'd be an MS and the related field is Medical Laboratory Technology. The MS is a very high degree level for a phlebotomist - a technical college program should be more than sufficient.

A medical assistant could be trained as a phlebotomist but the phlebotomist wouldn't necessarily need to be trained as a medical assistant (though it wouldn't hurt).

Answer 3

I work as a radiology tech. at a hospital, and some of my friends are phlebotomists. 3 of them went to the 2 year college here and 2 others didn't go to school for it at all. They were trained on the job. Not much difference in their pay either! PS.....in Kansas they only pay phlebotomists about 10 - 12 dollars per hour. Almost not worth it, unless you really like that kind of stuff.

Answer 4

Where I live, the local technical school (2 year diplomas or less) has a phlebotomist program. A Master's degree to learn how to puncture blood vessels and draw blood would be overkill, to say the least.