MOUNT VERNON – Knox County Career Center (KCCC) had four students – Isabella Adrian, Addison Christopher, Caitlyn Coker and Jada Wenger – earn their National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) certification on Dec. 2.
These four students are the pioneers of this program as this certification is new for the KCCC Health Technologies program.
According to U.S. News and World Report (2021), phlebotomists rank as the No. 4 best job without a college degree. Phlebotomy technicians are trained health-care providers who draw blood and collect other body fluid specimens for diagnostic testing.
Angela Eisaman, KCCC Health Technologies instructor, along with the advisory board for the program, decided to offer this specialized program for 2022 seniors enrolled in health technologies. The advisory board, consisting of health-care professionals in the community, provides the means for a vocational education curriculum to remain relevant to business and industry needs.
Relevance of instruction is KCCC’s assurance that graduates will be capable of performing entry-level job skills.
“This certification adds another level of training for our students to obtain viable employment in our community and master skills for success in post-secondary education,” said Eisaman.
Students in health technologies participate in a sequence of credentialing courses including first aid/CPR, State Tested Nurse Assistant (STNA), Certified EKG Technician (CET) and phlebotomy technician (CPT), along with earning college transfer credit in medical terminology.
Students were eligible to take the certification written examination after passing the course and demonstrating a minimum of 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary needle sticks per student.
“The success of this training program was possible due to the input and expertise of the health technologies advisory board, students and their families, KCCC administration and faculty,” Wisaman said.
“Students, family members, KCCC staff, and other community members like the strong support we received from the Mount Vernon Fire Department, lent real-life venipuncture opportunities for our students to get the experience and exceed the requirements of the program,” she said.
"We are so excited to offer another life-changing industry credential to our students, and are grateful to Mrs. Eisaman for adding this material to her career tech program," superintendent Kathy Greenich said. "This is a great opportunity for our health tech students at the high school level to become certified in another very employable health-care field."
