Phlebotomy Certificate

Phlebotomy Certificate at Harper College

Be on the front lines of health care

Program facts  Education icon

  • Credit hours: 8
  • Stackable to degree: No
  • Potential job outcomes: 
    Phlebotomist

Prepare for immediate entry into a phlebotomy career with this 8-credit-hour certificate program, which will teach you the techniques, procedures and safety precautions of drawing blood from patients or donors for diagnostic testing. After graduating from this program, you’ll be ready to begin a phlebotomist career in a wide variety of health care settings such as hospitals, hospital laboratories, physician offices, clinics, blood banks, commercial laboratories or other similar facilities.

Training consists of a mixture of lectures, on-site student laboratories and a clinical internship at a local health care facility. Other focus areas of study include ethical and legal responsibilities, safe practices and effective communication skills.

Courses for this program are offered at Harper's main campus in Palatine, as well as the Learning and Career Center (LCC) in Prospect Heights.

Certificate program requirements

Program Overview

This 8 credit-hour certificate program consists of lectures, student laboratories and a clinical internship arranged in a local health care facility. This certificate is useful for a number of health care professionals interested in developing the skills and techniques involved in the collection of blood from patients or donors for diagnostic testing. In addition, ethical and legal responsibilities, effective communication skills and safe practices are studied. Phlebotomists are employed in hospitals, hospital laboratories, physician offices, clinics, blood banks, commercial laboratories, or similar facilities. Phlebotomy has become a fast-growing health occupation and is considered a profession with a standardized educational curriculum and accepted routes for national certification. NOTE: All students wishing to sit for the national certification exam must have earned a High School Diploma or equivalency. Proof of high school graduation or GED is required before registering for PHB102.

Required:

A grade of C or better in all HSC and PHB courses is required for all students.

Number Course Title Credits
HSC 112 2

Description: Emphasizes the origin and the basic structure of medical words, including prefixes, suffixes, word roots, combining forms and plurals. Offers pronunciation, spelling, and definition of medical terms based on the body systems approach. Emphasis on rendering a professional vocabulary required for work in the health care field.

PHB 101 4

Description: Includes the role of the phlebotomist, infection control and safety in the workplace, venipuncture collection equipment and supplies, skin puncture collection procedures, specimen handling, basic laboratory tests, quality assurance, communication skills and professionalism. Includes 40 successful micro and macro blood draws.

Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in HSC 112 with a grade of C or better.

PHB 102 2

Description: Consists of 120 clinical hours of supervised phlebotomy practice at a local health care facility. The internship rotation schedule is arranged on an individual basis. Special registration permit for registering for the internship is required. NOTE: Possession of a current Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for the Health Care Provider certification card and completion of State of Illinois criminal background check, drug screen, and the program's health requirements are required prior to placement in the internship. All students wishing to sit for the national certification exam must have earned a high school diploma or equivalency. Proof of high school graduation or GED is required before registering for PHB102.

Prerequisite: HSC 112 and PHB 101 with grades of C or better.

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Next steps

For more information about starting your career in phlebotomy, contact Admission Outreach at 847.925.6700 or submit a request information form. You can also apply online.

Please note: This program is not financial aid eligible.