Mid Michigan College and My Michigan Health are Teaming Up for New Program
Autumn Matthews, The Administrative Specialist: Workforce and Economic Development for Mid Michigan College, said, “The phlebotomy training is a nine week program; it’s a 193 hours total. So there is classroom lecture experience, along with a simulated lab, and also incorporated in the program is an externship.” She said, “Students get lectures, they have lab experience, and then they have an externship where they are placed right at the hospital, and they work with the lab staff for three weeks and gain essentially on the job skills.”
A big push for the program gives North East Michigan adults interested in the program a chance to stay in the area, instead of moving away and putting even more of a strain on the nursing industry. Matthews said, “Well, we do have a large number of hospital partners throughout Michigan. The Alpena students, 95% of the time, stay right at the My Michigan Hospital in Alpena.” She said, “We do have some students who, if they are commuting to Alpena for the class, we might be able to find hospitals closer to where they reside for placement.”
A big positive for those taking the program is that it is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) and lets those who finish start working right away. Matthews said, “Once they complete training, they are awarded a certificate of completion from Mid– Michigan College that they are eligible to be employed in the field. Our program is NAACLS accredited as well.” She said, “We’re one of two schools that offer this accredited program in the state of Michigan. Essentially, the curriculum in a program is held to a higher standard, and we go through rigorous reviews annually to make sure we are teaching the most up–to–date method so students have the best training opportunity for the industry.”
