30 Best Accelerated FAST-TRACK Phlebotomy Programs (Online & Campus-Based)


Written By: Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH

Why are accelerated phlebotomy programs such a terrific option for anyone contemplating a career in healthcare? Because they teach you an essential skill that’s in high demand and will command a comfortable salary in a comparatively short period of time. As a phlebotomist, you can work part-time or full-time in many different types of medical practice settings. Phlebotomy will also give you a solid foundation to build on should you want to become an ancillary medical practitioner, a nurse, or even a doctor. What are the best accelerated fast-track phlebotomy courses? Look through this guide to the 30 best accelerated fast-track (campus-based and online) phlebotomy programs and find out.




What are the Best Accelerated Fast-Track (Campus-Based and Online) Phlebotomy Programs in the Nation?

(Based on our Ranking Methodology, the following are the 30 best accelerated (fast-track) phlebotomy courses in the nation. The following list includes both campus-based and online courses. You can complete these programs in 8 weeks or less.)


1. University of California-Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: University of California-Los Angeles offers a fast-track phlebotomy course that meets the requirements set forth by the State of California Department of Public Health, Laboratory Field Services. You’ll attend the lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m., making this one of the best accelerated phlebotomy programs for working students. Hands-on skill sessions are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays at a variety of times throughout the day.

Once you’re judged competent in your level of skills, you’ll participate in a clinical rotation at one of several locations: Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital (inpatient), UCLA Medical Plaza Outpatient laboratory, Santa Monica UCLA Orthopedic Hospital, the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic, White Memorial Medical Center, or Huntington Memorial Hospital - Outpatient Lab, Center for Family Health and Education. You must complete 40 hours of lectures and 40 hours of clinical rotation to qualify to sit for the National Healthcareer Association’s Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You’ll be able to complete this course in six weeks.


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to students who are 18 or older. You must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and a valid Social Security number. You must carry health insurance and be current on all COVID-19 vaccinations.


2. Eastern Virginia Career College - Fredericksburg, VA


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: Eastern Virginia Career College offers two accelerated phlebotomy programs: One is taught during daytime hours and begins in January, while the other is taught during the evening and begins in July. This program consists of four classes, including “Phlebotomy Applications & Procedures” and “Blood Collection Essentials.” You’ll learn the essentials of venipuncture and the micro-collection of blood, as well as how to transport laboratory blood specimens safely.

This course will qualify you to take several different phlebotomy certification exams, including the NHA’s CPT exam, the American Certification Agency for Healthcare Professionals (ACA) Phlebotomy Technician exam, the American Medical Technologists (AMT) Phlebotomy Technician (RPT) exam, the National Center for Competency Testing’s (NCCT) Phlebotomy Technician (NCPT) exam, and the American Medical Certification Association’s (AMCA) Phlebotomy Technician Certification (PTC) exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course can be completed in six weeks.


Admission Requirements: This program is open to applicants with a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must have a Social Security card and some form of government-issued photograph identification.


3. Contra Costa Medical Career College - Antioch, CA


Program Length: 4 Weeks


Program Details: Contra Costa Medical Career College’s accelerated phlebotomy program will teach you venipuncture and arterial observation. The didactic portions of the course will take place at the same time that you participate in 40 hours of clinical training in a healthcare facility where you’ll draw blood samples from admitted patients under the supervision of your instructors for analysis in a licensed laboratory. This is one of the fast-track phlebotomy programs that prepares you to take the NHA’s CPT exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: The course is given six times a year in February and March. Most course sections meet twice a week and last two and a half months (10 weeks), but the February section meets four times a week and can be completed in one month (four weeks.)


Admission Requirements: Program applicants must be high school graduates, 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security card and government-issued photo ID. The program will also consider applicants with a GED.


4. Northeast Technical Institute - Scarborough, ME


Program Length: 2 Months


Program Details: Northeast Technical Institute’s accelerated phlebotomy program includes classroom instruction, hands-on skills labs, and a clinical externship. This may be one of the best fast-track phlebotomy programs if you plan on using a phlebotomy job as a springboard into a healthcare career because you’ll earn 11 college credits when you complete it. This program prepares you to pass the AMT’s RPT examination.

You’ll learn how to collect and label blood specimens, transport them safely to the laboratory, clean equipment, and update electronic patient charts. A new class starts every five weeks throughout the year. Once you graduate and achieve your phlebotomy certification, NTI’s Career Services Office will go all out to help you find a position at a hospital, physician’s practice, or medical lab.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: It will take you two months (eight weeks) to complete NTI’s phlebotomy program.


Admission Requirements: All students must have a high school diploma or a GED. Vaccinations must be current. You must have valid government-issued photo identification.


5. Regional Center for Border Health - Somerton, AZ


Program Length: 2 Weeks


Program Details: Regional Center for Border Health is one of the best fastest phlebotomy programs if you want to become a certified phlebotomist in the shortest time possible since it only takes 14 days to complete. The 30-hour curriculum consists of six classes, including “The Healthcare Setting” and “Blood Collection Procedures.” and includes a 10-hour clinical externship.

In addition to venipuncture, you’ll learn collection techniques, the different preservatives used in blood specimens, and the challenges associated with drawing blood within various age groups and ethnicities. At the end of the didactic portion of your coursework, you’ll participate in a 10-hour clinical externship during which you’ll be required to perform 40 blood specimen collation procedures.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You’ll be able to complete Regional Center for Border Health’s fast-track phlebotomy program in just two weeks.


Admission Requirements: You must be either an active Arizona-certified nursing assistant, medical assistant, or emergency medical technician or have successfully completed a healthcare education program to enroll in this program.


6. Compu-Med Vocational Careers - Hialeah, FL


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Compu-Med Vocational Careers’ 165-hour accelerated phlebotomy course consists of instructional classes, hands-on skills labs, and clinical experiences, which all take place at CMVC’s campus in Hialeah, Florida. You’ll learn how to perform venipuncture procedures thoroughly and safely by completing a five-class curriculum that includes courses like “Phlebotomy Equipment,” “Phlebotomy Techniques,” and “Safety in Phlebotomy/HIV/AIDs.”

You’ll also learn health and sanitation practices and how to use equipment like microscopes and other medical tools. Additionally, you’ll receive instruction in administrative skills such as appointment scheduling, medical billing and coding, and the maintenance of electronic patient records.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program extends over two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants with a high school diploma or GED.


7. Mountainland Technical College - Lehi, UT


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Mountainland Technical College’s quick phlebotomy program teaches basic and advanced phlebotomy skills, exploring such topics as the use of butterfly and multi-sample needles and needle-to-syringe methods of blood drawing; blood transfer devices and dermal puncture procedures such as measuring hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. You’ll take two courses for a total of 90 hours and three college credits: “Phlebotomy I & II.” Classes meet in the afternoons and early evenings in Building A on MTech’s campuses in Lehi and Spanish Fork, Utah.

To prove your mastery of the subject materials, you’ll take a final exam that consists of written questions and a two-part skills evaluation. You will receive an MTECH Phlebotomy Technician Program Certificate once you pass your final exam. This is one of the fast-track phlebotomy programs that prepares you to take the NHA’s CPT examination.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: MTech’s program is designed to be completed in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: You must be at least a high school senior to enroll in this course. You must be 18 by the last day of the program to qualify for employment as a phlebotomist.


8. High Desert Medical College - Lancaster, CA


Program Length: 5 Weeks


Program Details: High Desert Medical College’s fast phlebotomy course is specifically designed for healthcare professionals who want to add additional skills and certifications to their current resumes. This 120-hour course uses instructional lectures, hands-on labs, and a clinical externship to teach venipuncture using vacuum collection devices, syringes, capillary skin puncture, butterfly needles, and blood culture specimen collection. You’ll spend 80 hours in the classroom and 40 hours participating in your externship.

This may be one of the best shortest phlebotomy programs for any healthcare professional whose certification or licensure requires continuing education credits because this course is approved by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education in California and accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: High Desert Medical College’s phlebotomy course consists of four weeks of instruction plus a one-week externship for a total of five weeks.


Admission Requirements: This program is only available to applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent who have at least six months of experience working with patients in a healthcare setting.


9. Bryan College of Health Sciences - Lincoln, NE


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Bryan College of Health Sciences maintains a partnership with the Lincoln, Nebraska, school district that allows select high school students to complete its accelerated phlebotomy program before graduating high school. Others can take this 24-hour course, too; it meets on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., making it a good choice for aspiring phlebotomists who want to keep their day jobs.

You’ll learn the basics of venipuncture, including the different varieties of blood draws, the many types of blood collection tubes, proper patient identification, specimen handling, and special collection procedures. Note that this quick phlebotomy course does not prepare you for certification; it's assumed that when you secure employment, your new employer will do more extensive onsite training.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program offers courses in January and March. The course lasts for two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: You must be 16 or older to take this course. Most employers will require a high school diploma or its equivalent as a condition of employment.


10. Associated Technical College Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA


Program Length: 4 Weeks


Program Details: Associated Technical College Los Angeles is one of the fastest phlebotomy programs geared toward helping you pass the NHA’s CPT examination. Its curriculum includes 60 hours of classroom instruction supplemented with laboratory sessions. You’ll learn skills like venipuncture, selection and preparation of venipuncture sites, specimen processing and transport, and quality assurance.

Once the didactic portion of this fast-track phlebotomy program is complete, you’ll participate in a 40-hour clinical externship in a clinical laboratory setting where you’ll perform a minimum of 10 skin punctures and 50 venipunctures in accordance with requirements maintained by the California Department of Health.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Associated Technical College Los Angeles’ course is designed to be completed in one month (four weeks.)


Admission Requirements: You must be 18 or older with a high school diploma or a GED. You must apply to this program in person.


11. Midwestern Career College - Chicago, IL


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Besides teaching you various methods for drawing blood, Midwestern Career College’s fast-track phlebotomy program will educate you on laboratory best practices and quality assurance protocols. By the time you complete the course, you’ll know how to perform venipuncture using techniques such as syringes, winged infusion sets, and multisampling needles; how to perform dermal punctures; and how to identify different blood collection tubes and the additives that distinguish each.

This is one of the accelerated phlebotomy programs that prepares you to sit for the NCCT’s NCPT examination. The course is offered onsite at Midwestern Career College’s campuses in Chicago and Evergreen Park.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can complete Midwestern Career College’s phlebotomy curriculum in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: For admission into this program, you’ll need a high school diploma or a GED and a valid, government-issued photo ID. You’ll also be required to pass an institutional entrance exam and submit a personal statement.


12. Ayers Career College - Shreveport, LA


Program Length: 5 Weeks


Program Details: Ayers Career College’s 60-hour phlebotomy training may be one of the best fast-track phlebotomy programs for working students because classes meet in the evenings, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Together with learning venipuncture techniques, you’ll learn how to maintain test tubes and medical instruments and label blood.

Your classroom instruction will be augmented by skills labs and clinical instruction under the supervision of experienced medical personnel. This fast phlebotomy program prepares you to take the National Association for Health Professions’ (NAHP) Nationally Registered Certified Phlebotomy Technician (NRCPT) exam and apply for state licensure with the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This short phlebotomy course lasts five weeks.


Admission Requirements: You must visit Ayers Career College’s admissions office in person to apply to this program. The program is only open to applicants who are 18 or older and have a high school diploma or a GED. You must score 15 or higher on the Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam.


13. Mercy College of Ohio - Toledo, OH


Program Length: 5 Weeks


Program Details: When you enroll in the fast-track phlebotomy course Mercy College of Ohio offers, you’ll be taught venipuncture and dermal blood collection techniques, the proper handling of blood specimens, potential complications that may arise with blood draws, and safety and infection control. The instructional components of this course are taught online, but you’ll be required to participate in skills labs for an hour and a half on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at Mercy College’s campus in Toledo.

This accelerated phlebotomy program also offers a 100-hour clinical externship during which you’ll be responsible for completing 100 venipunctures and five capillary punctures. You must receive a grade of “C” or higher in the didactic, laboratory, and clinical components of the class to receive a certificate of program completion. This program prepares you to take the NCCT’s NCPT certification exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can complete this course in five weeks.


Admission Requirements: Program applicants must have a high school diploma or a GED.


14. Healthcare Career College - Paramount, CA


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: Healthcare Career College prepares you to attain the CPT1 phlebotomy tech certification in California so you can draw blood in hospitals and medical labs and work independently for medical insurance and life insurance companies. This accelerated phlebotomy program is taught on Saturdays at Healthcare Career College’s campus in Paramount, California, making it ideal for anyone who must work while attaining their professional educational goals. The course is geared toward individuals who are already working in the medical field and want to expand their skill set and offerings.

You’ll learn venipuncture and skin puncture techniques, as well as blood sample and processing techniques and infection control. You’ll also have the opportunity to function in a real-world clinical environment where you’ll be charged with completing 50 venipunctures and 10 skin punctures.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can complete this program in a month and a half (six weeks.)


Admission Requirements: You’ll need a high school diploma or a GED, medical insurance, and some form of government-issued photo ID to enroll in this fast-track phlebotomy course.


15. CDE Career Institute - Tannersville, PA


Program Length: 3 Weeks


Program Details: At just three weeks long, CDE Career Institute’s phlebotomy training is one of the shortest programs available. This fast-track phlebotomy program consists of 50 hours of classroom instruction and 30 hours of skills labs and clinical experiences.

You’ll take eight courses, such as “Venipuncture equipment,” “Special Collections,” and “Specimen handling, transfer and processing.” You’ll learn how to draw blood via venipuncture, finger pricks, and heel sticks. Courses are taught at CDE Career Institute’s campus in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. This course prepares you to sit for the NHA’s CPT examination.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: It will take you three weeks to complete this course.


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants with a high school diploma or its equivalent.


16. Concorde Career College-Jacksonville - Jacksonville, FL


Program Length: 2 Months


Program Details: Concorde Career College-Jacksonville offers an accelerated phlebotomy course geared toward preparing you to sit for several different certification exams, including the AMCA’s PCT examination and the NHA’s CPT examination. You’ll take two courses, “Healthcare Concepts” and “Phlebotomy Procedures,” that meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Concorde Career College’s campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Successful completion of the course involves 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary punctures.

Lecture courses will teach you all about routine and non-routine specimen collection, safety procedures, infection control, and documentation. You’ll participate in skills labs where you’ll learn venipuncture and how to draw a laboratory specimen using the technique of capillary puncture. This program will award you 5.5 credits of college-level credit, making this one of the best accelerated phlebotomy programs for anyone who thinks they might want to leverage phlebotomy training into a degree as a healthcare professional.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: It will take you two months (eight weeks) to complete this program.


Admission Requirements: Applicants must have a high school diploma or a GED.


17. Mid-State Technical College - Wisconsin Rapids, WI


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Mid-State Technical College offers its fast-track phlebotomy course at both its Marshfield and Stevens Point campuses. This program also offers part-time as well as full-time enrollment options. When you complete it, you’ll earn 12 to 14 college credits, making it one of the ideal accelerated phlebotomy programs for working individuals who want to earn a healthcare professional college degree sometime in the future.

The program’s six-class curriculum includes courses like “Phlebotomy,” “Workplace Communication,” and “Human Body in Health & Disease.” You’ll hone your hands-on skills at Mid-State Technical College’s state-of-the-art simulation laboratory and participate in a clinical externship at the Marshfield Clinic Health System, Aspirus Riverview Hospital, ThedaCare Medical Center, or one of the other healthcare facilities in the Greater Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Metropolitan Area. This program prepares you to take the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s (ASCP) Phlebotomy Certification exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Mid-State Technical College offers its phlebotomy curriculum in the spring and fall. The course lasts two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This is an academic program, and you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent to enroll in it.


18. Kennesaw State University - Kennesaw, GA


Program Length: 2 Months


Program Details: Kennesaw State University’s 80-hour accelerated phlebotomy course is a hybrid program. The instructional component of the course will be delivered online using a combination of synchronous and asynchronous technology, but you’ll participate in hands-on laboratory training to learn venipuncture procedures, capillary procedures, heel sticks, and how to collect non-blood specimens. To round out your education, you’ll learn the fundamentals of medical terminology, quality assurance, infection control, and circulatory system anatomy. This is one of the fast-track phlebotomy programs that prepares you to sit for the NHA’s CPT examination.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course is offered four times a year in March, June, August, and October. You’ll be able to complete it in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program lists no admission prerequisites, but you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent to become a phlebotomist in Georgia or sit for the NHA’s CPT examination.


19. Barton Community College - Great Bend, KS


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Barton Community College’s accelerated phlebotomy program has two components: a four-unit online course entitled “Principles of Phlebotomy” and a clinical phlebotomy practicum, which you can complete on Barton Community College’s campus in Great Bend, Kansas, or at a pre-approved medical facility in your local area. This flexibility is one of the program’s great features since it allows you to enroll in the course even if you don’t live within convenient distance of the college.

Barton Community College’s curriculum will teach you how to perform venipuncture and other routine medical procedures relevant to blood specimen collection. The course will also educate you on important aspects of transporting, handling, and processing blood specimens for analysis. This program prepares you to take both the AMCA’s PCT and the American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians’ phlebotomy certification examinations. You must complete 100 to 120 clinical hours to qualify for these exams.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Barton Community College offers this program in the spring and fall. It will take you two months (eight weeks) to complete.


Admission Requirements: To enroll in this program, you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.


20. Franklin University - Columbus, OH


Program Length: 2 Months


Program Details: Franklin University’s 201-hour phlebotomy technician course prepares you to sit for the NHA’s CPT certification examination. The course consists of three classes: “Professionalism in Allied Health,” “Intro to Human Anatomy,” and “Medical Terminology and Phlebotomy”; these classes are taught online using asynchronous technology.

Though this program has no clinical components, the curriculum makes ample use of 3D animations, virtual scenarios, and interactive games to teach you the fundamentals of venipuncture. You’ll also receive up to seven credits for enrolling in this program, which will be handy should you decide subsequently to pursue a healthcare career that requires a college or university degree.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Most students complete this course in two to three months (eight to 12 weeks), but since it is self-paced, if you’re sufficiently motivated, you may be able to finish it in a shorter period of time.


Admission Requirements: While this program has no specific admission requirements, you must have a high school diploma or equivalent to take the NHA’s CPT certification examination.


21. Davis Technical College - Kaysville, UT


Program Length: 2 Months


Program Details: The accelerated phlebotomy program at Davis Technical College offers venipuncture and training in other aspects of the phlebotomist’s professional responsibilities, such as medical terminology, laboratory testing, specimen collection, infection control, and safety. Classes are taught two days a week, either on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. or on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Once the instructional portion of the course is complete, you’ll participate in a 40-hour clinical externship.

While this program is not geared toward preparing you for phlebotomy certification from a professional organization, upon completion, you will be awarded a Certificate of Program Completion from Davis Technical College.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is designed to be completed in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: Davis Technical College’s phlebotomy training is one of the fastest phlebotomy programs open to high school students as well as to high school graduates. You must be 18 or older to enroll in this program.


22. Calhoun Community College - Decatur, AL


Program Length: 4 Weeks


Program Details: Calhoun Community College’s accelerated phlebotomy course meets on Fridays at the college’s campus in Huntsville, Alabama. It prepares you to take the American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians’ Phlebotomy Certification course.

The classes combine lecture materials with skills labs. You’ll learn various techniques for collecting blood specimens using venipuncture, as well as patient customer service skills and how to log blood specimens accurately. Skills training will take place in the simulated healthcare lab on campus. Once the instructional portion of the class is complete, you’ll have the option of participating in a one-week or two-week clinical rotation scheduled in local hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities in the local area, where you’ll have the opportunity to complete 100 documented blood draws.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is given four times a year. The April and October classes have three sections that meet on Fridays—one from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., one from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m., and one from 6:45 p.m. to 8:45—while the June and August classes have two sections that meet on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The program takes one month to complete (four weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This course is open to high school students aged 16 or older. All other applicants must be 18 or older and hold a high school degree or its equivalent.


23. Alamo Colleges District - San Antonio, TX


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Alamo Colleges District’s fast-track phlebotomy program prepares you to take the Texas Education Agency’s Phlebotomy Technician certification examination through American Allied Health and the NHA’s CPT certification exam. You’ll learn about infection prevention, patient identification, specimen labeling, quality assurance, specimen handling, processing, accessioning, professionalism, ethics, and medical terminology.

The program’s instructional components are delivered online, but you’ll participate in hands-on skills labs at St. Philip’s College (SPC), one of the community colleges in the Alamo Colleges District, where you’ll learn how to do venipuncture with a variety of collection devices, including vacuum tubes, syringes, and butterfly needles. You’ll also learn how to perform capillary skin punctures and blood cultures. This program is part of Alamo Colleges District’s continuing education program.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This program is designed to be completed in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants who are 18 years of age or older with a high school diploma or its equivalent.


24. Gadsden State Community College - Gadsden, AL


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: Gadsden State College offers a 100-hour accelerated phlebotomy program that combines classroom instruction with a clinical externship. The course focuses on venipuncture basics that will enable graduates to obtain blood samples for testing in any clinical laboratory setting. After you’ve graduated from this course, you’ll be prepared to sit for the NHA’s PCT certification examination.

Instructional classes meet at Gadsden State’s Valley Street campus Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Once the instructional portion of the class is complete, you’ll participate in a 35-hour clinical rotation at a local hospital or clinic.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: It will take you a month and a half (six weeks) to complete this program.


Admission Requirements: All applicants must take the TABE Placement Test for admission into Gadsden State Community’s phlebotomy program. All applicants must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.


25. Hudson Valley Community College - Troy, NY


Program Length: 4 Weeks


Program Details: Hudson Valley Community College’s fast-track phlebotomy program is a quick way to prep for the NHA’s PCT certification examination. When you enroll in this course, you’ll learn routine venipuncture and other special collection techniques used by qualified phlebotomists in the field. Additionally, you’ll be taught basic medical terminology, the best ways to communicate with patients, the proper handling of equipment, safety techniques, and how to handle potential complications that may arise when you’re drawing blood.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: At just one month (four weeks) long, this is one of the shortest available phlebotomy tech programs.


Admission Requirements: This program is only available to applicants who’ve graduated from high school or earned a GED.


26. Cisco College - Cisco, TX


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Cisco College’s phlebotomy classes are ideal for working students since they meet Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at Cisco College’s campus in Abilene, Texas, which means that you won’t have to give up your current employment. Instructional courses are augmented with hands-on skills-training sessions whose schedule you’ll learn once the program begins.

Instructional courses and skills labs will teach you a variety of blood collection techniques for adults, children, and infants, utilizing vacuum devices, syringes, capillary skin punctures, butterfly needles, and blood culture plates. You’ll also learn about medical technology, infection control, proper specimen labeling and handling, and quality assurance.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: This course is offered three times a year, in February, March, and July. It lasts two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to applicants with a high school diploma or a GED. Applicants younger than 22 must submit proof of bacterial meningitis vaccination.


27. Onondaga Community College - Syracuse, NY


Program Length: 7 Weeks


Program Details: Onondaga Community College’s fast-track phlebotomy program is a hybrid program that blends online instructional materials with real-time skills labs. Once you’ve completed the lecture and laboratory portions of the curriculum, you’ll enroll in a one-to-two-week clinical rotation at a site in Onondaga, Oswego, or Cortland County. Clinical rotations are typically scheduled Mondays through Fridays during daytime hours.

You’ll learn the skills, protocols, and safety procedures for drawing blood safely for healthcare screens, blood transfusions, or laboratory research. Classes and skills labs take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:15 to 9:15 p.m. at Onondaga Community College’s campus in Syracuse, New York. Evening classes make this program convenient for students who don’t want to stop working entirely while pursuing their educational goals. This program prepares you to sit for the NHA’s CPT examination.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can complete this course in less than two months (seven weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program lists no specific admission requirements, but you can’t take the NHA’s CPT examination unless you are over 18 and have a high school diploma or its equivalent.


28. St. Charles Community College - Cottleville, MO


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: The instructional component of St. Charles Community College’s short phlebotomy program is taught online using Zoom and Canvas technologies. The course also includes two six-hour labs conducted at the Center for Healthy Living on the college’s Dardenne Creek campus and a 120-hour clinical externship at a local healthcare facility.

The labs and your clinical externship are designed to teach you blood micro-collection techniques in addition to venipuncture. You’ll also gain experience in specimen collection, transport, reporting, and recording of patient data. Your clinical externship aims to help you collect the number of venipunctures necessary for certification. However, the program’s curriculum isn’t intended to prepare you for any one specific certification exam.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: You can complete this course in a month and a half (six weeks.)


Admission Requirements: This program is only available to applicants with a high school diploma or a GED.


29. Southern Maine Community College - South Portland, ME


Program Length: 6 Weeks


Program Details: Southern Maine Community College’s accelerated phlebotomy program is the only program of its kind that will actually pay you to attend school! This program is a collaboration between the college and Maine Health’s NorDx lab testing services. Students who complete the program successfully will be offered employment at one of NorDx’s sites, where they’ll be expected to work for at least 18 months.

Thirty-two hours of instructional classwork will cover topics like medical terminology, anatomy, and infection control. You’ll spend an additional 80 hours at clinical sites mastering phlebotomy and blood collection techniques, using needles, syringes, vacutainer tubes, and other equipment. Clinical rotations will take place following the instructional component of the course on Mondays through Fridays between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: The instructional component of the course lasts six weeks, but you’ll be expected to participate in an additional 32 hours of clinical training once classroom training is through, and that training will take place over two weeks.


Admission Requirements: This program is only open to Maine residents with a high school diploma or its equivalent who are 18 or older.


30. Quincy College - Quincy, MA


Program Length: 8 Weeks


Program Details: Quincy College’s fast-track phlebotomy program aims to teach students how to perform venipuncture, capillary skin punctures, and heel sticks on adults, children, and infants. Classroom instruction is augmented by 120 hours of clinical training. The instructional portion of the course focuses on anatomy, hematology, safety standards, quality control, and the collection, processing, and distribution of lab samples.

The program includes skills labs at Quincy College’s simulation facility, where you’ll have the opportunity to hone your blood-drawing skills using realistic mannikins. This program prepares students to sit for several different certification examinations.

How Fast Can You Complete This Program: Quincy College offers this program in January and March each year; it’s designed to be completed in two months (eight weeks.)


Admission Requirements: To apply for this program, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with three or more years of high school.


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Pattie Trumble, MPP, MPH
Pattie Trumble is a nurse who worked in both California and New York for many years as an emergency room nurse. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an Associate Degree in Nursing from the Samuel Merritt Hospital School of Nursing. After 10 years of providing direct care, she went back to school and earned concurrent Master’s degrees in both public policy and public health from the University of California, Berkeley. Thereafter, she worked for various public health agencies in California at both the community and state levels providing economic and legislative analysis.