Compared to other states, Pennsylvania scores an ‘average’ mark when it comes to job growth opportunities for phlebotomists. Its cost of living is also only 10% lower than the national average.
However, what is attractive for future technicians in The Keystone State is a huge choice of schools and programs, both for phlebotomists and for medical technicians as well.
Most of the programs are offered through community colleges. This means that entry requirements are often more strict (more or on pre-requisites below), but this has a positive impact on the graduation rate which is higher compared to other states.
Programs are often short-paced – you can become a phlebotomist in Pennsylvania in as little as 15 weeks. The courses usually consist of 100 hours of classroom instruction and the same amount (or slightly less – 75 hours) of clinical practice.
As mentioned above, requirements to join a phlebotomy program in Pennsylvania are more complex than those of other states, where most schools are for-profit private institutions.
Apart from the standard requirements of GED and 18+ age, and immunizations many schools perform extensive background checks, drug screenings, and even request a Child Abuse clearance.
Specific pre-requisites should be requested from the school of your choice, but you should be prepared for a more extensive process than in other states.
A wide network of community colleges and schools offer Phlebotomy and Medical Assistance Programs – 44 to be exact. This is quite an impressive number even for the fifth most-populated state in the country.
Alternatively, you can use the tool below to find even more colleges and even online schools:
License required: No
Certification required: No
Pennsylvania doesn’t require licensing and certification at the state level to start a career as a phlebotomist. Still, the current competition level indicates that if you want a better starting salary it’s better to verify your knowledge and skill via a voluntary certification offered by the third-party institution.
As mentioned above, Pennsylvania’s cost of living is comparable to nation-average, and so are the salaries for phlebotomists, at all levels.
However, 75th and 90th percentiles which traditionally represent more seasoned professionals with 4-5 years of experience show a discrepancy between Penn and the rest of the USA. This, again, stresses the importance of maintaining your certification and upgrading your level within a chosen institution that certifies phlebotomists (i.e. ASCP or NHA).
Below you can see a more detailed breakdown of salaries in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas across the state.
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Website: https://www.health.pa.gov
Phone: 717-787-8092
Address: 30 Kline Village, Harrisburg, PA 17104