<p>I have been considering attaining phlebotomy or nursing assistant certification over the summer. I was wondering where the best place to volunteer to make full use of each respective certification (eg. Red Cross, hospice, etc.). Also, I was curious if my age would be an issue either in certification (prospective school's guidelines doesn't explicitly say) or in convincing people to let me take their blood (<18 and look it). </p>
<p>Any thoughts/advice?</p>
<p>what state are you in? In some states, phlebotomy certification is very hard to get and expensive. In these places (CA comes to mind) you aren't likely to find volunteer phlebotomy positions because of the liability involved.</p>
<p>As for the age thing - the phlebotomy courses I know of require you to have a high school diploma or GED, but no explicit age requirement. Not sure about the CNA programs.</p>
<p>I'll probably be going for certification in my home state (Nevada). Would I need to take extra courses or tests to practice in my school's state (New Jersey)?</p>
<p>Also, which route would lead to more involved volunteer/part-time opportunities?</p>
<p>If you want to be a CNA, you probably won't find a lot of volunteering opportunities...it's mostly paid positions. It's not something many people want to do for money, let alone for free. It's a very rewarding job, though. I worked as a nurse assistant over the summer but couldn't get certified because of prior engagements and they didn't want me missing too many classes. But if I got certified, I was able to to take the class for free while working. So maybe you can do something like that.</p>
<p>Thanks Icarus and arez10 for the advice! Does anyone happen to know the opportunities available for part-time or volunteering phlebotomists?</p>