(Also see Medical Laboratory Technology)
Department Chair: Christine Hoang, 847.376.7063, choang@oakton.edu
Program Coordinator: Kyung Jung, 847.635.1684, kjung@oakton.edu
The goal of the Phlebotomy Certificate program is to train individuals to perform phlebotomy procedures, the collection of blood for diagnostic testing. The curriculum at Oakton is in compliance with standardized educational curricula and accepted routes for national certification, in preparation for qualification by national and state agencies. This certificate is of value to health care professionals, including nurses.
This is a limited enrollment program. For more information, contact the department chair or health career specialist at 847.635.1844.
Admission Requirements
- High school graduation or High School Equivalency Certificate1.
- Foreign high school graduates or students with foreign college credits need to send English translated copies of their transcripts to Educational Perspectives, www.edperspective.org/oakton. Students with foreign college credit should request a catalog match.
- Cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0 or higher.
- Satisfactory interview with MLT faculty.
Those admitted will be required to submit a current and complete physical examination record before registering in MLT 204.
Students are eligible to take the clinical practicum (MLT 204) after MLT 105 and MLT 107 are successfully completed, both with a grade of C or better. The practicum is three weeks of full-time hours (40 hours per week for a minimum total of 120 hours). Dates, time and location are set up with the department chair.
- 1
As of January 1, 2023, the High School Equivalency Certificate became the State of Illinois High School Diploma. High School Equivalency credentials received prior to that date remain valid.
Health Career curricula are governed by specific objectives, rules and regulations formulated by the College, accrediting bodies and participating clinical facilities. Students should familiarize themselves with these standards. Students should also be aware that failure to maintain satisfactory progress in technical courses may significantly delay completion of the curriculum or may result in the student being dropped from the curriculum. Each student’s right to participation in the clinical portion of the curriculum is also contingent upon compliance with the rules of the clinical facility. The clinical facility has sole discretion to determine when its rules have been violated.
Clinical placements require a health assessment, certain immunizations, yearly vaccines, substance abuse testing, criminal background check, specific skill certification (i.e., CPR/BLS) and health insurance. The requirements represent an additional cost to the student.
All Oakton College Health Career students in a program with a clinical component must have “clear” criminal background checks and drug screens in order to participate in any and all clinical components of any health career program courses.
To comply with state statutes and clinical affiliation agreements, and to provide a safe environment for students, employees, and patients cared for by students, those accepted into Oakton’s health career programs will be required to complete a criminal background check and drug screening through a company contracted by the College. Health Career students will be charged a fee for this service.
Timelines for completing criminal background checks and drug screens may vary among the various programs. Deadline dates for each program will be provided by the individual department chairs at the time of a student’s acceptance into a health career program.
Students without a clear criminal background check and/or clear drug screen will not be allowed to enroll in clinical practicum courses or attend clinical programs. This would further necessitate that the student withdraws from the health career program at that time.
Students who refuse a criminal background check and/or drug screen will not be considered “clear” and will not be authorized to participate in the clinical component of the health career program, necessitating withdrawal from the program at that time. Individual results of student background checks and drug screens are considered confidential.
Determination of whether or not a student can participate in the clinical component of a particular health career program will be communicated to the respective department chairs by the Background Check/Drug Screen vendor. Students may view their personal results on the vendor’s website.
Phlebotomy Certificate
10 Semester Credit Hours; Curriculum: 0281
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Courses for a Certificate | ||
| HIT 104 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| MLT 105 | Introduction to Health Care Issues | 1 |
| MLT 107 | Phlebotomy | 4 |
| MLT 204 | Phlebotomy Practicum | 2 |
| Total Hours | 10 | |
Phlebotomy Certificate Pathway
10 Semester Credit Hours; Curriculum: 0281
For more information on recommended courses or program specific advising, contact the health career specialist at 847.635.1844.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester One (Fall or Spring) | Hours | |
| HIT 104 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| MLT 105 | Introduction to Health Care Issues | 1 |
| MLT 107 | Phlebotomy | 4 |
| Hours | 8 | |
| Semester Two (Spring or Summer) | ||
| MLT 204 | Phlebotomy Practicum | 2 |
| Hours | 2 | |
| Total Hours | 10 | |
At entry level, the phlebotomist will possess the following competencies:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the health care delivery system and medical terminology.
- Demonstrate knowledge of infection control and safety.
- Demonstrate basic understanding of the anatomy and physiology of body systems and anatomic terminology in order to relate major areas of the clinical laboratory to general pathologic conditions associated with the body systems.
- Demonstrate basic understanding of age specific or psycho‐social considerations involved in the performance of phlebotomy procedures on various age groups of patients.
- Demonstrate understanding of the importance of specimen collection and specimen integrity in the delivery of patient care.
- Demonstrate knowledge of collection equipment, various types of additives used, special precautions necessary and substances that can interfere in clinical analysis of blood constituents.
- Follow standard operating procedures to collect specimens via venipuncture and capillary (dermal) puncture.
- Demonstrate understanding of requisitioning, specimen transport and specimen processing.
- Demonstrate understanding of quality assurance and quality control in phlebotomy.
- Communicate (verbally and nonverbally) effectively and appropriately in the workplace.
Phlebotomy Certificate Courses
Course presents medical terminology through study of medical word roots, prefixes and suffixes. Focus on relationships among symptomatic, disease, and procedural terms.
Course introduces field of health care, with focus on hospital and laboratory organization. Content includes professional ethics, legal and regulatory issues, communication skills and OSHA requirements.
Course provides in-depth study of current phlebotomy techniques. Focus is on skills necessary to properly obtain blood specimens for laboratory testing. Content includes safety precautions, collection equipment, venipuncture and skin puncture techniques, and special collection procedures.
Fee: $60
Course consists of 120 contact hours (15 eight hour days) of supervised practice in phlebotomy at assigned clinical affiliation site. Practicum provides opportunity to observe and gain proficiency in skin punctures, venipuncture and special collection techniques.
Fee: $50