Workforce Development Center to launch new health classes

March 16, 2009

Anyone who has ever had their blood drawn – just about everyone, in other words – understands how important it is to have the job done by someone who knows what they’re doing.

It’s also easy to understand why phlebotomy technicians are in high demand in the job market these days. Phlebotomy techs – the name given to those who collect blood specimens and perform other services – work in hospitals, clinics, medical group practices and elsewhere throughout the health care system.

To help meet the demand for phlebotomy technicians, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is launching a new program this spring at its Workforce Development Center in Evendale.

It’s just one of the three new programs in the health arena that are being launched at the WDC in April. The others involve a pharmacy technician certificate and a dental assisting program.

The courses are distinctive in that they are not being offered for academic credit leading to an associate’s degree, as are most of the courses offered within the Health and Public Safety Division at Cincinnati State’s main campus in Clifton. The three new WDC courses are self-contained “certificate’’ programs, designed to get participants ready for the job market quickly and cost-effectively.

The phlebotomy technician program, for example, will in its inaugural session meet Tuesday and Thursday, 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., from April 14, 2009 through July 14, 2009. It will give students 90 hours of classroom and laboratory time devoted to such topics as anatomy, physiology and terminology; blood collection procedures; safe handling of blood specimens and the like. The course does not include a clinical rotation, but will prepare participants to sit for the national certification exam offered by the American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians. Cost of the course is $1,599, including textbooks.

The other two new health programs at the WDC are similar in scope:

• The Dental Assisting Program is a 60-hour course that prepares students for entry-level jobs under the direct supervision of a dentist or a dental hygienist. It covers both clinical aspects (dental tools, anatomy, equipment sterilization and the like) and administrative perspectives (organization of a dental office, legal considerations, etc.) of the field. Cost is $1,199, including textbooks. This course does not include a national or state certification objective, which in most states requires one to two years of training and post-secondary education. The course will be offered from April 14, 2009 through June 9, 2009.
   
• Pharmacy Technicians work under the direct supervision of pharmacists in hospitals, community pharmacies and other health care settings, typically to fill prescriptions according to a physician’s orders. In some locations a pharmacy technician would also be required to prepare drugs for intravenous use. The WDC’s program features a 50-hour course that teaches students medical terminology, dose conversions, inventory control, billing and reimbursement and the like. Cost is $999, including textbooks. It will be offered in the spring term between April 20, 2009 and June 10, 2009.  The course does not include a clinical rotation, but is designed to prepare graduates to sit for the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s examination.

For more information about these and other health-related courses at Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center, please contact Dryden Jones at (513) 569-1459 or by e-mail. 
 

About Cincinnati State

Cincinnati State offers more than 100 associate’s degree programs, majors, and certificate programs in the following academic divisions: Business Technologies, Center for Innovative Technologies, Health and Public Safety, Humanities and Sciences. In addition to its academic and technical programs, the Workforce Development Center in Evendale offers  continuing education courses, seminars and on-site training for business and industrial clients.

About 8,700 students were enrolled at Cincinnati State in the winter 2009 term. Annually more than 15,000 students enroll in Cincinnati State courses, which are offered in the day, evening, and on weekends.

Cincinnati State has a 93% placement rate within three months of graduation, and its students have a 91% pass rate on required licensing and registry exams. It has the largest co-op program among two-year colleges in the U.S.