Devanie Tovar got a job at the Plasma Center shortly after graduating from Edison High School in 2022. Currently, she is an X-ray technician in the US Navy and hopes to become a surgeon one day.
Tovar recognizes her ph tax certification, which she has acquired through the San Antonio Independent School District's medical tracking program for her career path. Without that, Toval said he would not have been able to earn $17 an hour right after graduating from high school.
Currently, the average hourly wage for a healthcare support position in San Antonio is $15.93, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than you want to learn profitable skills, SAISD's ph fat incision program has attracted Tovar's attention due to its “practical” nature.
“It was something I always wanted… to help others,” said Toval, 22.
SAISD has been offering lebotomy accreditation for six years, and so far this year, 50 students have completed the accreditation. This program will help students learn the skills to draw blood for medical tests, research and donations.
Piloted at Edison High School and SAISD's Adult and Community Education Centers, the certificate is accessible to high schools in almost every district.
Certificates with disabilities can take six months to a year and a half, including completing compulsory health science classes and 35 blood draws for the first semester.
Many high school students who go through the lebotomy program often complete a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) program. Between 2024 and 25, 123 students from the district enrolled in the CMA program.
Johnny Vahalik, an aide to university, career and military preparation at SAISD, worked to expand his health career and technical education program.
“Our model was, 'What do you need to get a job in a doctor's office right after graduating from high school?',” Vahalik said.
Healthcare jobs are also in high demand in the San Antonio area. The local life sciences and health industry is projected to grow by 10% between 2023 and 2028, with nearly 5,000 medical jobs available in Bexar County in 2023.
Having both Phlebotomy and CMA accreditation makes students “strong,” Vahalik said.
Undocumented students were excluded
Despite the recent growth and expansion of career and technical education programs in San Antonio, industry-based accreditation is inaccessible to all students.
To obtain a legal license, students often need to apply to Texas and register. This means that you must be fingerprinted, have some valid identification and have a Social Security number.
Students without legal status cannot apply for a state license to work in law enforcement, ph taxes, as medical or certified nursing aides or as pharmacy technicians.
In many cases, Vahalik does not know that students are not documented until they have passed all classes. It's time to register with the state. The district has lobbyed with industry partners to try to change the state's laws restricting accreditation to documented residents and citizens, Vahalik told the report.
“But this year we were against it. We don't see any support from the state at all,” he said.
More than just getting a job
For students, achieving these certifications can be more than a ticket to the health workforce. Vahalik calls them a “football” into a highly paid, fulfilling career.
Lily Mora, a senior senior at Phoenix Middle College, received her LEB tax certification during her third year and graduated from the high school as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). The 17-year-old is part of the first cohort of high school chest incision technicians and CNAs.
Phoenix Middle College and Early College High School in St. Philip (both located on the St. Philip College campus) offer programs in which students take university courses specializing in Lebotomy education and technology.
Mora will eventually want to join the US Air Force and train her to become a registered nurse. She will be the first person to go to college with her family.
She said she felt motivated to pursue a health trajectory after experiencing the loss of her Godfather and grandmother about two years ago.
“My mother is very proud,” Mora said. “My mother is a teenage mom, so at my age she had already had a variety of life experiences.
Both Mora and Tovar encourage students to pursue ph blood certification. It's not just about learning how to stick needles on people.
“I recommend people get started as soon as possible, and as soon as they get all sorts of experiences like this,” Mora said.
