Phlebotomist salaries are lower in more rural areas of Minnesota.
Phlebotomy technicians, also called phlebotomists, draw blood from patients for health screening and diagnostics, and they also collect blood and plasma for donation purposes. Proper collection of specimens is vital because laboratory results contribute 70 percent of the data necessary to diagnose and treat patients, explains the website of Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Salaries of phlebotomy technicians in Minnesota have a very wide range.
Comparisons
Small cities in rural Minnesota areas generally have very low pay rates for phlebotomy technicians. These techs in Marshall, for instance, had an annual median salary of about $21,400 in February 2011, and $21,700 in Bemidji, according to Salary.com. In contrast, phlebotomy technicians in Moorhead have a median annual pay rate of about $27,600. Phlebotomists in Duluth earn a median annual salary of $28,800, in St. Cloud $29,100, in Rochester $29,400 and in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area $31,700. The Rochester salary is closest to the nationwide median pay rate for phlebotomy technicians, which was about $29,400 per year in February 2011.
Salary Range
The middle 50 percent of phlebotomy technicians on the earnings scale in this group of Minnesota cities make about $19,300 to $35,100 per year. The top 10 percent earn more than $38,200 per year. The bottom 10 percent have salaries below $17,400 per year, or less than $8.40 per hour. That's not much higher than the federal and Minnesota minimum wage, which was $7.25 in February 2011. Nationwide, the middle 50-percent range for phlebotomy techs is about $26,500 to $32,600.
Specifics
The job search website Indeed.com lists about 100 job openings for phlebotomy technicians throughout Minnesota as of February 2011. Positions are available with hospitals, doctors' offices, mobile blood donation centers and the Red Cross. Full-time, part-time and per diem -- or work on an as-needed basis -- are available, as well as day and night schedules. Posted pay rates range from about $11.50 to $19.00 per hour, translating to about $23,900 to $39,500 per year.
Qualifications
The Indeed.com job listings indicate that phlebotomy technician candidates often need only a high school diploma or equivalent. Some employers prefer applicants with formal training in phlebotomy, laboratory work or medical assisting. Phlebotomy training programs usually are part time and last for one semester, leading to a certificate or diploma. Hennepin County Medical Center offers a full-time, 12-week phlebotomy training program in which students learn medical terminology, circulatory system anatomy and physiology, phlebotomy quality assurance methods, legal concerns, safety and infection control procedures, venipuncture and other skin-puncture techniques and specimen processing. After the first four weeks, trainees spend at least 20 hours per week drawing blood from patients in various medical center departments. This internship makes the graduate eligible to take the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification national exam to become a certified phlebotomist.
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