Complaint Review: National Career Institute - East Orange New Jersey

I am a person with a physical disability. All my life I wanted to be a health care professional. So, at age 50, I decided it was my time to do this.

In March I took a 15 week Lab Assistant course as a pre-requisite to phlebotomy, and did great. Then on July 14th, 2008 started a 3 week Phlebotomy Technician course at National Career Institute. I also did very well academically. Part of this course was practicing drawing blood which is what a phlebotomist does. First we practiced on a manaquin, and then each other. We were all in the same boat & allowed each other to do this as it was mandatory that we do 15 sticks to be eligible to take the national certification exam with National Healthcareer Association.

To be a Certified Phlebotomy Technician is a requirement to get a job in that field. Phlebotomy requires extensive knowledge of the circulatory system of the body, what testing will be done to determine which color topped tube to draw blood in, complications that can incur from phlebotomy, different types of additives placed in different color topped test tubes, technique, etc. The quality of the technique will make the difference as to how much pain and bruising a person will incur when their blood is being drawn, plus the quality of the specimen to be tested.

I achieved the 15 successful blood draws and took the national exam. I was very proud to know I passed with an A. I immediately started the job search, as my finances are very limited and I had a lot of bills to pay. I did everything. I registered with large job websites like careerbuilders.com, monster.com, indeed.com just to name a few. I applied for every position I could find that was a manageable distance from my home. I called and faxed and e-mailed and never got a single interview. Every single perspective employer said or wrote the same thing. Not enough experience. I didn't know what to do or how to get the experience they wanted. I had finished my course, taken all the pertinent exams, met the requirements and yet, no interviews. Then I came to find out why. National Career Institute falsified the number of punctures necessary.

I called National Healthcareer Association and asked what their requirements are and was shocked to know they want 35 to be eligible to take their exam. I explained to them in detail what had happend and how did this school get away with this? I had told them about what I'd learned about other schools that require a physical exam, Hepatitis B, Tetanus, and Diphtheria immunizations, criminal background checks, drug testing, as well as the standard GED or high school diploma. National Career Institute only wanted a high school diploma or GED. Quite frankly, I don't think even that was checked by the school. Other schools have a built in externship program, whereby the student is sent out to work as a phlebotomist in a hospital, clinic, or doctor's office to gain even more practical experiance. By the time these students are finished, they are pro's at taking blood, and are getting the best jobs. In only wish I had known about them sooner.

Now I must enroll in another school to get ths practical experience and externship, and will probably lose my certification because I was ineligible at the time I took their exam, and now I have to wait to start until the end of October, which will put me to the end of December by the time I complete over 200 hours of class time, putting me that much deeper in fianancial crisis.

I survive on Social Security Disability Income, live very simply and want so much to just work full time as I believe I can now, in a meaningful career. The disappointment and anger are deep. By now I should have been gainfully employed. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I will achieve this eventually, but why did this school act so irresponsibly and dishonestly? They had no problem taking the money for the course. Now they'll have to answer to National Healthcareer Association. They will also have to answer to the Department of Labor, who is a reference for them. They are in many violations. I hope they are completely shut down and all their greedy owners and directors will join the masses of unemployed.

Connie

Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

U.S.A.