The Laboratory Phlebotomy Short-Term Certificate is a skills-oriented program designed to educate and train persons to skillfully collect blood specimens in a variety of situations. The curriculum includes introduction to blood collection, special blood collecting techniques, medical terminology, medical ethics, asepsis, human biology, and a five or eight-week period of clinical hands-on experience in a hospital or medical clinic.

Program contact: Learn more

This certificate will be automatically awarded when the certificate requirements are completed. If you do not want to receive the certificate, please notify the Office of the Registrar at RegistrarOffice@tri-c.edu.

Learn more here, and here about how certificate credits apply to the related degree.

Related Degrees and Certificates

Program Admission Requirements

  • Rolling admissions. Program starts spring, summer and fall semesters of each year. Refer to program website for specific/additional scheduling: http://www.tri-c.edu/programs/health-careers/laboratory-phlebotomy/index.html
  • Application may be submitted to the Health Career Enrollment Center while enrolled in final prerequisite courses.
  • High School Diploma/GED
  • ENG-0995 Applied College Literacies or appropriate score on English Placement Test.
  • MATH-0955 Beginning Algebra or appropriate score on Math Placement Test.
  • Complete the following:
    • MA-1010 Introduction to Medical Terminology
    • BIO-1050 Human Biology (also accept BIO-1221 Anatomy and Physiology for Diagnostic Medical Imaging, or BIO-2341 Anatomy and Physiology II in place of BIO-1050)
    • ESL (English as a Second Language) Students: completion of TOEFL test
  • GPA required: 2.50 admissions requirements/core courses

Other Information

  • 24 students accepted per semester, contingent upon availability of clinical sites.
  • All science and math courses must have been completed within seven years of application submission, and may only be repeated once to improve a grade. Applicants with bachelor’s or higher degree in sciences may have seven year limit on science and math courses waived (contact program manager).
  • Time limit on core courses prior to application: seven years.
  • Criminal background check required
  • Non-native English speaking applicants:  Admission into Cuyahoga Community College is premised on a complete and accurate initial application to the College, including, if applicable, proof of English Language Proficiency Requirements for admission as indicated on the English Language Proficiency Requirements for Admissions to the College, and available on the web at: http://www.tri-c.edu/get-started/international-students/english-language-proficiency-requirements-for-admission.html.
    To be accepted into any selective admission programs, students must successfully complete English as a Second Language (ESL) course/s, as referenced above,  if deemed necessary by the College at the time of enrollment.  Admission is conditioned upon achieving the necessary grade point average (GPA), English language proficiency requirements and any specific pre-requisite courses, and by meeting program accreditation or licensing requirements as evidenced in the Program Handbook for the specific program.
  • Upon acceptance to the program and prior to placement at a clinical site, student must submit evidence of good health/physical exam, current immunization status, current health insurance, and current certification in CPR.
  • Accepted candidates will be required to attend a program orientation after acceptance into the program.
  1. Program Learning Outcomes

This program is designed to prepare students to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate the basic concepts of communication, personal and patient interaction, stress management, professional behavior and the legal implications of this work environment.
  2. Perform proper infection control techniques and safety measures to protect patients, co-workers and the community.
  3. Demonstrate approved blood and non-blood sample collections while maintaining quality assurance during and after specimen acquisition.
  4. Apply critical thinking skills in the healthcare setting.
  5. Meet eligibility requirements to sit for American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Registry Examination or equivalent.

Suggested Semester Sequence

Plan of Study Grid
First SemesterCredit Hours
BIO-1050 Human Biology 1 3
MA-1010 Introduction to Medical Terminology 2
COMM-1000 Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication 3
HTEC-1120 Critical Thinking in Healthcare 1
EMT-1310 Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation 1
 Credit Hours10
Second Semester
MLT-1300 Introduction to Blood Collection 2 3
MLT-1851 Medical Laboratory Practicum I 2
MLT-2970 Advanced Phlebotomy 3 1
 Credit Hours6
 Total Credit Hours16
1

BIO-1221 Anatomy and Physiology for Diagnostic Medical Imaging, or BIO-2341 Anatomy and Physiology II will be accepted in place of BIO-1050 Human Biology.

2

Consecutive five or eight-week course.

3

Completed second eight weeks with MLT-1851 Medical Laboratory Practicum I.

MATH-1140, MATH-1141, MATH-1200, MATH-1270, and MATH-1280 can no longer count towards fulfilling the college-level mathematics requirement.  These courses were re-classified as developmental mathematics by the state of Ohio in 2016.  Tri-C established a 5-year transitioning window for students who had completed these courses prior to 2016 to apply them towards meeting graduation requirements, which expired in Summer 2021. It is highly recommended to see a counselor to determine the appropriate math required for your current major.