Education Essay Example on Creating a New Medical Course in Phlebotomy

Hello, my name is Michelle Stewart. I work for First Institute Training & Management as a Youth Development Recruiter and Instructor. Our school currently offers several different medical programs in Lake County Illinois. I am tasked with the job of creating a new medical course in Phlebotomy at our school. The reason I am asking all you, our current instructors and recruiters is to get an understanding of what our future students are looking for in a short term fast paced phlebotomy course. I am asking each of you to reach out to or current students and find out what they believe would benefit them the most with having this type of course offered versus a full medical assistant program only.

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I am looking for you to ask hard questions in regards to financial obligations. Would more of our students attend if financial aid was provided, or should we keep the cost of the course low enough so financial aid is not needed. I need to know your individual area job market for phlebotomist, are they in high demand in your area? Would each location have the resources for clinical rotation and coverage? Would this course benefit the population in your location? Should we offer day or night classes, maybe even both options?.

I am attaching a questionnaire with some additional questions most of them are open-ended meaning; please voice your opinion on what you think, along with information to back it up. The closed-ended questions, please tell me which one you believe would best benefit all involved. I appreciate each one of you for your time and effort in helping me gather the information needed to adequately implement this course at each of our locations.

Adequate healthcare services are often a problem in todays society, and these problems will only continue to grow especially in the area of phlebotomy. Many states are changing their laws making it mandatory for anyone who draws patients blood to be certified. In order to become certified, those candidates must obtain schooling to understand the anatomy, medical terminology and perform hands on clinical skills. Schools have different types of courses offered from quick clinical and certifications, to nine (9) month school training. I have interviewed several potential students and former students to gain an insight on if the program has enhanced their entry into the medical field. All agreed that without the schooling and the skill sets they have learned, they would not be able to perform a specialty such as phlebotomy. Another source I utilized from my survey was fellow instructors opinions. Out of the eight (8) instructors within our company, seven (7) responded and agree that we should offer a short, fast paced phlebotomy course in order to help our community provide excellent skills and patient care. With this course, we would have to offer different payment options, without allowing access to any government FAFSA funding. We are going to offer this class on a full time basis. The hours will be Monday Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm for 13 weeks. This time frame allows the students to receive all the fundamentals needed along with actual hands on experience in a laboratory setting to achieve the amount of phlebotomy sticks required to be able to sit for a national certification. We are currently researching which company we will use to obtain certifications; however, with more information I do believe we will use National Healthcare Association (NHA). Before we hold these courses, First Institute will be certifying each instructor in the field and ensuring that instructors already certified are up to date with their C.E.Us, and maintains current licensing within the scope of practice they teach. In addition, we are going to train our admissions reps throughout the company on the new and upcoming course that will be being offered starting January 2016.

Phlebotomy is considered as a process of disease treatment, which entails the act of removing or drawing blood from a patients circulatory system. The procedure is done by making an incision in a patients circulatory system to obtain a blood sample for analysis or diagnosis. It is also one of the most common medical procedures used in the treatment of patients, who exhibit certain blood disorders(Scerbo, Bliss, Schmidt & Thompson, 2006). Therapeutic phlebotomy is used to treat conditions such as polycythemia vera, which is a hematocrit disorder, which causes the elevation of red blood cell count or volume within a patients body. It is also used in treatment procedures of other diseases such as patients exhibiting pulmonary edema among others. The procedure is also used in the removal of blood during various medical campaigns such as blood drives and donations and can be used in procedures used to determine and analyze blood samples of patients.

For one to become a certified phlebotomist, one must have undergone the various certification procedures provided by the various states and medical bodies within any given region. One must have undergone and acquired a high school diploma, clinical practice and experience within this particular field of profession and must have passed the required examination grade administered by the relevant examining bodies Russell, 1999). Within the United States, one must have qualified the required certification courses that range from as low as four months to as long as a year. It is through these courses that they are made familiar with all the procedures entailing the circulatory system, human anatomy, specimen processing and required procedures performed in the lab. In addition to the above, one needs to have attained a specified amount of work experience in an actual hospital environment, either in a doctors office or nursing institution. It is through these environments, where both practical and written examinations are issued to ensure they are certified as qualified phlebotomists. The various certification boards such as American Certification Agency, the American Association of Phlebotomy Technicians, among others, conduct these certification exams. A non-accreditation from these agencies means that an individual cannot be certified as a qualified phlebotomist.

For the project to be considered as success, various objectives are to be met for any individual to be considered as a certified practitioner in the field of Phlebotomy. It is important to note that the workforce readiness goals are considered as one of the crucial objectives to be met by any individual. They entail the ability of an individual to demonstrate the various personal skills and qualities, as well as, the professional knowledge, people skills, technological skills to ensure that they obtain success in high demanding and life-sustaining careers. Other crucial objectives to be met within the project include the following;

Phlebotomy Technician (PT): One should be able to complete the approved course program and be able to demonstrate the needed mastery and efficiency in handling procedures for obtaining blood samples and processing them. In addition to the above, they also need to demonstrate the successful completion and documentation within practicum hours. Finally, they also need to demonstrate the needed qualities for them to be identified as certified Phlebotomists.

Acquire GED and Academic Skills (GED): For one to be a credentialed Phlebotomist, one should be able to earn a GED credential.

Professional Soft Skills (PSS): These are the skills needed for one to interact with people in a professional manner. They include skills like speaking with confidence, ensuring the service to a wide range of customers and having the need emotional intelligence used to handle customers. In addition to the above, they are also required to have the required teamwork attributes in order to facilitate working well with the needed different generations of the workforce.

Digital Literacy (DL): One should earn the Microsoft Digital Literacy Certificate, and be able to show proficiency with computer skills such as keyboard skills, internet security awareness, specific industry technological skills, file management among others.

Placement Tests (PT): An individual should be able to earn the required minimum scores in English and Math, within the placement tests provided by the state to bypass the developmental education classes that is offered in the various institutions of higher learning

Career Readiness Certificate (CRC): One should be able to earn the needed career readiness certificate or have the required score expected in the CRC.

Job Readiness (JR): One should be able to develop the necessary or needed skills utilized in employment, such as resume-writing, oral communication, listening skills, interviewing skills, time management skills among others.

21st Century Skills and Postsecondary Success Skills (21C): One should also be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills, creativity and innovation, as well as, flexibility within situations and different work environments. They also need to possess the needed skills, which encourage teamwork, diversity, collaboration awareness and communication among the workplace. In addition to the above, they also need t be aware of their personal development skills, and develop the needed awareness such as study habits in order to work well with the different personalities present within their working environment. The main aim of this is to provide the needed management skills to ensure balance within their work and social life.

It is essential for any Phlebotomist to have acquired the various skills and outcomes at the end of the program, to ensure that they are qualified and ready to work within the field, as deducted in the table below (Scerbo, Bliss, Schmidt & Thompson, 2006). The table consists of three sections, highlighting the various needed Phlebotomy Technician Content, Skills associated with the needed core competencies, as well as the professional soft skills for any technician cohort, and finally, the needed development skills required during one's college survival and professional development.