Bay Area Medical Academy

I attended the Bay Area Medical Academy in 2012. I completed the phlebotomy certification program. The program was informative and quick. Going into this I had the mindset you only get what you put in. Do not expect to finish the program and get your certification shortly after. Everything takes time and there’s a process. I believe if you stay on track you would get your certificate less than a year of completing the program. There’s the program, a state exam, externship, waiting period and then you’ll receive your license. After that entire process, I got a job with the help of BAMA. They assisted me in perfecting my career specific resume, and sending email job notifications. They didn’t get the job for me, so remember if you put the time and effort in that’s the only way you’ll get started on your career journey. My first job utilizing my phlebotomy skills was a traveling phlebotomist. Not the greatest position but I was able to gain skills and experience for my career journey. After about a year of experience I decided to start looking for a more permanent position. With time, networking and perfecting my skills I found a position I can utilize my skills but is more clinically specific and detailed. I currently work in medial research (clinical trials). I work for Samaritan Center for Medical Research. I’ve been working now in medical research for one year. I coordinate and conduct all patient visits. This includes lab processing and collecting. I work directly with a PI (medical doctor) and am learning each day. Thank you BAMA for the start on my career journey.

I really, really tried to make this place work when I signed up for a 2 week phlebotomy class this August. Now I’m convinced it’s just a money-​making scam.
Back in August, I paid in-​full for a 2 week phlebotomy course. I showed up to the first day of class to see that it had been postponed for a week due to low enrollment. The admin office had left me one voicemail (no e-​mails, no follow-​up calls) the day before class was supposed to start. The following Sunday (again one day before the class was supposed to start), I got a call alerting me that class had been cancelled altogether, again, due to low enrollment.
They then urged me to transfer my funds over to be enrolled for the September course. The other option was to receive a full refund. I was on a timeline so I did not want to wait on the September course only to find it cancelled on me again. The admin office did not deny this as a possibility, and I had already been left hanging for two weeks by this point. I said I would take the refund and check back with them.
The refund required completing a Withdrawal Form, which I thought was funny since I wasn’t withdrawing from a class. It would also take at least 30 days to process, which does not include the time that your bank will have to process the refund. It had taken them about 30 minutes to charge my credit card when I signed up.
Upon submitting the withdrawal form, I was told that a $ 100 processing fee would be taken out of my «full refund». I was being penalized $ 100 for a class BAMA cancelled! When I argued about this, I got a reply back saying that this processing fee was actually a non-​refundable registration fee. This again, made no sense because the class I registered for NEVER EXISTED because BAMA cancelled it. Also, why were they changing what the fee was for? I was then relayed to their Director of Finance, who did not get back to me until I sought him out first. I paid for my class in July, and four months later, I’m still waiting for that balance to return to my account.
If I hadn’t fought for it, they would have made me pay them for their incompetence. The logic behind their policy says that if I had paid for a September course after requesting refund for the August course and the Sept course was also cancelled, I would be responsible for $ 200 dollars in fees! What kind of business penalizes its customers more for continued interest in their services?
So yeah, don’t waste your time here.

There’s hardly anything at all redeeming about this program (CPT). They seemed more concerned about taking your money than giving you a sturdy education that will make you competitive entering the work force. Sometimes they take over a week to respond to e-​mails or faxes regarding course required documentation on your part (with no notice that that person is on vacation or no longer handles such tasks). And you have to hound them with e-​mails and phone calls every day to make sure they get your paperwork, you are approved for the next stage, where to go from here once you complete all your requirements, etc. etc. And despite completing every stage of the process at every earliest opportunity, it will be 8 months before I complete my externship — mind you I signed on for a program that states in a catalog I was given on my first day that TTC (time to complete the entire program) was 3.5 months. And there was zero choice in externship placement — it was a take it or end up on the bottom of the list again. I spoke with many other students in labs and they had similar disappointments in the school to be open and candidly honest about how long this program will actually take. What this could mean for you is making the choice between having to quit your job in order to complete a lengthy externship (because it was several months after you and your employer made arrangements for your absence) or cut your losses to keep earning a living. And now speaking with more and more graduates understanding how absolutely cutthroat it is for inexperienced phlebotomists to get work; many of my friends are having to lie on resumes simply to get an interview. One of the most expensive mistakes of my life. Unless you are being financially supported for the next year I would not advise anyone to take this course.

Okay, so where to begin. I chose BAMA over the CCSF phlebotomy because it was faster even though MUCH more expensive. Was it worth it? NO!
First off, I did my class in January of last year, which ended very early February. It took me until mid/​late August for my externship, and even for this, I had to pull strings. Why did it take so long? They lost my paperwork for this and that, too many students but not enough sites, and delays at EVERY corner for a class that costs $ 2750 + national test fees + sitting fee to boot.
After you finish your class, you have to sign up for national testing. After national testing, you have to sign up for 3 «labs» which you must past, which was only once a week also. After that, you have to wait MONTHS in order to get placed somewhere. My externship coordinator at that time was Neil. CCSF phlebotomy is much better, and I think they even do computer national testing? You get your results next day. Not 3 – 4 weeks later.
After a super short 1 week externship was done, you wait about a month or more to get your national license.
I honestly thought this was all just because they were in the process of a move, and since I know what to avoid, etc. I can warn my friend about wait lines with a heads up, so I referred a friend to BAMA.
My friend started class late July, ended in mid August. Then the interesting part is that they let you do all the blood draws on each other, exposing students to the dangers, WITHOUT requiring prior immunization verification. Is this bad? Not really. However, this is extremely stupid when you actually pass your NCCT and want to start on the labs, but externship coordinator Peter don’t let you do so because you don’t have immunization verification ready (it was in the process with receipts to prove). Okay. Not doing the lab is weird, but he does not even let you SIGN UP for future labs. Does this make sense? No. You are still practicing on each other, not actual patients, but STUDENTS like before and this is STILL at BAMA. As long as you have your records verified before the start of externship, it should be okay right?
Anyway, the class ended in August, but it seems there are no externship sites available at all. My friend is getting his externship placed in December. That’s 4 months for him. It took 7 months for me.
TLDR; Don’t go to BAMA and take your money elsewhere. I hear that fastresponse in berkeley is good. CCSF is also good (and you save a shit ton more money). CCSF class would’ve been about 4 months then externship, then direct placement with their site, since they only have a class per semester instead of trying to churn out students just for the cash without being able to place them. Teachers are awesome. The administrative staff, not so much.

5 star for an amazing instructor Rufi, this was for the weekend EKG Technician course, overall I think it’s a great school, the phlebotomy course looks good too that teacher loves her job clearly and the students spoke highly of her, I may take that class later.
They have an externship ! I found most schools do not offer one so you are wasting your time with a school that has no externship I feel.
I’m so thankful I chose this school.

I chose BAMA for it’s appealing 5 weekend phlebotomy course. The first part of the review will cover the classroom portion of the school. The second part will cover the administration side of the school.
My instructor was Brandy who is a fun, but no nonsense type. If I could just rate her I’d give five stars. She was awesome! The class portion is made really easy and the lab portion is basically a «if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again» type of thing. Overall the instruction period was fast and easy. Five stars.
Unfortunately the front office is not nearly as amazing as the instructors. Where do I begin? Let me start with Peter, the externship coordinator. Peter is a mythical creature who only comes out when you call every 5 mins for a week straight. This guy alone will delay you getting your cert for months. Peter gets no stars cuz he just isn’t good at his job whatsoever. When I finally got the scores of my national exam it took me a week to relay that message to Peter and Fatima because they do not return phone calls or emails in a timely manner. When I finished my lab practices in June (btw my last class session was in April) it took again a week and a half to get a hold of Peter just so he could tell me not to expect an externship until August. Then randomly on a Saturday at 4:55 pm I get a voicemail from him saying he has an externship for me that starts the upcoming week and to call him first thing on Monday. I call and am told that Peter won’t be in until 2. I call at 2 and am told Peter won’t be in at all! I talk to peter’s boss, Neil (who is actually cool), and he tells me that Peter had an externship for me but then gave it to another student! This is the exact BS you can expect from them.
Here’s my beef with this school. They get a lot of students based off of the 5 week course cuz it’s portrayed to be fast, and yet their front office moves slower than a turtle walking on glue uphill. Their structure is designed to lag and trip you up. Here’s what you can expect as far as timelines go; course: 5 weeks, time waiting for the national exam: 2 – 3 weeks, time waiting for results: 2 – 3 weeks, time waiting to relay your score to the front office: 1 week, time waiting for lab practices 3 – 5 weeks and then you have to do 2 of them which takes 2 weeks itself, time waiting for an externship 6 – 12 weeks. I started the course in March fully expecting to be done no later than July cuz they tell you it’s going to be fast, well it’s August now and my semester is about to start so my externship will have to wait until December or January.
I’m not the only one with an experience like this. Read all the reviews before forking over $ 2,750 to this school. I would recommend finding a school that includes your externship hours into the program because then there’s no BS. It’s better to know when you’ll be finished for sure than to not know and stress about it and deal with people like Peter.

I came to BAMA for the phlebotomy technician class. I had Brandie as my phlebotomy instructor and she was fantastic. She was very encouraging and supportive of her students. However, the wait time for taking the NCCT was about 1.5 months because I decided to register for it a day after my phlebotomy course ended… I was a little disappointed by how long I had to wait to take the exam. After passing the NCCT exam and turning the remainder of my paperwork in, I had to sign up for the lab practicals that were held during Saturdays. My lab practical sessions took place in April 2015. The lab assistants were great (they would walk around to observe everyone and gave feedback), but were also a bit strict when it came down to grading. I was angry about failing one of my lab practicals (I thought it was a ridiculous reason for failing) but, in the end, I was thankful because that gave me an opportunity to practice more and that helped me build my confidence up. I also really liked the lab assistant to student ratio for the lab practical sessions. I was always able to obtain assistance from one of the lab assistants in a timely manner. However, when I came back to a refresher lab session the weekend right before my phlebotomy externship in July 2015, I was really disappointed. The externship lab classroom was full (perhaps because it’s summertime???) of students and I felt like the new lab assistants couldn’t completely focus on every student to give them feedback. But one of the lab assistants was kind enough to give me advice (after asking for it) to prepare for my externship site. The down side was that the new lab assistants did not have time to watch me draw blood from other students and evaluate me during my lab refresher session… I would have loved getting feedback (positive or negative) from them. After all, I’m there to learn (and paid 3k to learn) and I felt like there was no point in going in for a refresher lab session if the lab assistants aren’t going to give me proper feedback to prepare me for my externship… The stars are for Brandie and the lab assistants back in April as they were the ones who contributed to my learning process the most (thank you! :)). I also want to thank Fatima and Peter who helped me with my paperwork.

…i was a classmate of skye’s and had brandy as an instructor last summer… brandi was awesome btw… ive read some of the reviews and i want to help those that are considering attending the phlebotomy class… first of all the class is about five or six weeks long after that there is a POSSIBILITY that you might wait a ‘while’ until to get assigned an externship site… a while might mean several weeks or several months depending on how patient you are… i think there might have been some cases where some students had to wait over a year and thats real talk… there are those few that only waited less than a month after they already complete the course but thats only the few… i know im not just an exception because there are other students out there that were in the same situation as me… so one of the things to consider before you enroll here or anywhere is;
— do you need a phlebotomy license? where does the license fit in your career trajectory? do you want your foot in the door in the medical field or do you just want the license so that you can put it down on your resume?
–if you do decide to enroll do you know the exact time when you will begin your externship?
…this is probably the most difficult and integral part of certification… you can wait for bama to assign you to a site… i mean if you have time and youre not in a rush then its probably ok to wait but if you dont have time then its in your best interest to be proactive and start looking around or dont enroll in any phlebotomy courses at all IMO…
–what other options do you have?
…kaiser has a phlebotomy program that is a little bit more expensive than what you would be paying at bama but you will get assigned a hospital externship site… in addition the phlebotomy course is three months long so if youre going to enroll you might wanna take a leave of absence or hopefully youre employer is very flexible with the changing schedule of the phlebotomy program… if you do enroll save your money so you got something to fall back on and/​or hopefully your boyfriend/​girlfriend can help you while youre going through school… another alternative is taking a cna class… depending on the days you choose for a cna course it can be a month long (daily course) to two to three months long (weekend course), but once you finish you can start right away once you pass all the tests and get your certs…
…some of these technical schools are a bit shady and thats not a dig on bama but thats just how the game is… honesty and integrity dont pay the bills so remember that when you talk to a recruiter or are thinking about enrolling… the extra star is not for bama but for the assistants that helped me get to where im at which is a cpt 1 at quest diagnostics (thank you to brandy… james… ed… julia… jennifer and whoever else i met on the weekends training…) and to the future phlebotomy students good luck…

I came here as a student from another school to take a BLS class from their contracted instructor. The 2 ladies working at the front desk were rude, uneducated, and just plain horrible. My blood pressure shot up 5 minutes upon arriving there just from the confrontation I had with them. All they cared about was getting my money from me, even if it took using deceit. I tried to explain my situation to them but they refused to listen and charged me more money as if I was their student when I wasn’t. Then after I talked with the instructor to verify they were wrong in charging me, they had the nerve to send me back and forth to communicate with him instead of trying to remedy the situation themselves. The lady actually told me that she was too busy to talk to him! I am so glad that I am not their student!
I highly suggest that they get new front desk personnel because they truly give the school a bad first impression. I am in the medical field and will continue to spread the word on this school.

I took the weekend CPT course last may. The class, taught by Brandie, was amazing. The rest of this process has been a nightmare. It is ten months later and I am JUST being set up for an externship. They do not have any weekend externships available (Though I was told during the extern presentation that there was) There is no sites remotley local to my home (I live an hour noth of SF, and work two jobs during the week) The only sites they have are in SF at the moment, but are all longer than one week. I recieved a call trying to organize my externship today, Friday feb 6, they want me to start a two week externship monday feb 9, considering that it is near impossible to get a time off request approved with half a days notice, and that I have to do it twice, I am unable to take that date. The next one is at the end of the month for one week, giving me the only possible option that may work unless I want to wait for another three months. I chose to go to this school based off of the Unilocal reviews that were posted back in may of 2014, I hope that my review convinces some to look to other schools. It’s a shame, the class was great, but the rest of it has been a nightmare I wish I hadn’t wasted my money on.
I didn’t have a Unilocal account until I decided to review this school, I don’t even like Unilocal,but not saying anything wasn’t an option. DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL, YOU WILL WASTE YOUR MONEY.

I just took the EKG class at the SF branch and the instructor, Readh, is AWESOME! He knows how to teach a class! He will explain everything in detail until you understand. He repeats a lot of the information but IT HELPS you remember. He is truly dedicated to his job (he comes from San Diego every weekend to teach our class.) BAMA altogether gets 4 stars because people in the office aren’t very helpful. Externship coordinator says he pushes sites to take you as an extern but its been 3 weeks and still no word. Oh, and they have financial available for MA only.
Transportation ⁹⁄₁₀ (a little uphill walk from BART)
Instructor ¹¹⁄₁₀ (best instructor I’ve had, EVER!)
Price ⁷⁄₁₀ (cheaper than most programs)
Material (i.e. Books, packets, machines) ⁹⁄₁₀ (just one EKG machine)

I don’t normally write reviews, but I was so impressed with this school that I will take the time to write a little something about them! Before I took the course I was really unsure about this school. Mainly because I read so many negative reviews about them. This school was my only option especially coming from Sacramento! It was a long drive but five weeks on the weekends was definitely worth it! I took the phlebotomy class with Jessie. He was absolutely amazing! Very funny, patient, and smart. I have learned so much from him in just five weeks! I took this class not having any medical experience AT ALL! If this is something you want and know you can handle then take this course! It’s very quick and there are no dummies. You start sticking straight on each other! I had the greatest experience! Thank you BAMA! I’m very happy I decided to go with your school!!:)

I took a CPT course with BAMA about three years ago, so this review is quite overdue (oops!)
The classroom experience was solid. They covered everything we needed to know for the exam portion of the certification, and I felt well-​prepared going into my externship (which led to a job offer). No corner was cut in terms of what we needed to learn to perform well. By the way, I did my externship in Ohio (long story), so I really appreciated BAMA taking the extra time to coordinate with an out-​of-​state facility to make sure I get my hours done. Thank you!
But to me, it was their Career Services that really impressed me. Every student who attends this school is (obviously) investing a significant amount of time and money, so it really comes down to that job offer at the end of the tunnel! To this end, I have felt very well-​supported by their advisors. Mabel Liang (who is no longer there) gave my resume a makeover and really helped the exact same content look more professional (formatting makes a difference!). Similarly, their current advisor, Renee Ngai, supported me through my job hunting process last year and sat with me through a mock interview before my meeting for an MA position at UCSF (which I got :)).
They really make a point of making you as strong of a job candidate as you can be, and they will work with you through the resume-​editing, the interview practice, and giving you weekly updates about new positions in the Bay Area. I have followed up with several of Renee’s leads prior to my final job offer, and several of them have led to at least an in-​person interview.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed. But I can confidently say that if you are willing to put in your share of the work, stay optimistic, and communicate frequently with BAMA, you should not have too much difficulty job hunting. It’s ultimately up to you, and you DO have to be very aggressive in this process. With that said, BAMA is a great supporter to have by your side on this journey.

I took the phlebotomy course last year. The instructor, Brandie, was wonderful.
The office staff is not. The program is expensive and even if you turn in all your paperwork on time, they will somehow lose it.
The process to obtain the license takes a million years.
It is expensive and so not worth it. What a waste of $ 3000.
You have been warned.

I wish I could give them no stars! I took the two week phlebotomy course. First off, they never gave us our scrubs which they promise on the first day… They kept making excusing as to why we didn’t receive it yet. Finally got it a month later… They people in the office are RUDE ass hell and so unprofessional, ghetto, and obviously uneducated. Like seriously, no matter how nice with them they are rolling their eyes at me and dangling their head around and talking with so much attitude… Ridiculous…
Now for my «teacher» «instructor» whatever you want to call her… She was TERRIBLE and obviously hates her job! All she did the whole entire time was read us the book… Like seriously… I COULD READ THE BOOK MYSELF FOR 3K!!! And everyday she would let us out early an hour or two… She could be teaching us for those two hours… Never explained the tubes! Never ever did!!! That is an important part of phlebotomy hello! I would try to ask Wendy help or questions and she would just be on her little computer the entire time of me talking to her she made no eye contact and answered my question with sarcasm… I then, never asked her anything. only my classmates.
I hate this place I hardly learned anything! I hate calling them because the staff has so much attitude it doesn’t make any sense. Like why are you so mad?
BEWARE!!! BEWARE!!! Of this place. They don’t deserve business…
I finished and passed the class. And scheduled my date for the national exam– dec 12– next thing you know, they called me to reschedule because the person who took my money and was suppose to register me in for testing, never registered me; only took my money! … Now I have to wait another month to take my test because of these people… I hate hate hate my experience here… I read nothing but good reviews on Unilocal aBout this school that why I chose BAMA but now I think these people who are writing such good review are fake or family members of staff… Could be.

I love Bay Area Medical Academy! My experience with them have been wonderful. I took the CPT-​1 Phlebotomy course here and recently just completed it (i.e. did my externship, got certified and is waiting for the state license). The staff, instructors, assistants were very friendly and knowledgeable. Every step from completing the class, taking the exam, doing lab sessions, and getting an externship was right on time.
I know a lot of the other reviewers have mentioned how long it took them to get their externship or what not but in reality, the wait time in between was maybe a week or two. The longest wait was receiving our exam scores but that’s not something the school is responsible for (it’s the testing facility). Majority of the time if you’re waiting too long to be place, it’s probably b/​c you’re not taking an active part in making sure your paper work is in, responding to your emails, phone-​calls from them, etc.
My instructor was Ms. B (Brandi Fulford) and she was amazing! I learn so much from her (all the tricks and tips). She is definitely an inspirational instructor (she works full time, teaches here, and she has another gig somewhere else?). If she can do all that, you better damn well be able to do your hw!
Totally recommend it!

My experience with BAMA was excellent. The entire staff was extremely helpful during every step in the program. Mabel, the Career Services Coordinator, is a delight and helped me perfect my resume, interview skills and basically dropped interviews in my lap after I graduated until I landed a phlebotomy job at a major clinic. She continues to send me job listings and made the whole grueling process of finding a job right out of school easy.
I would recommend BAMA’s phlebotomy program to anyone who isn’t grossed out by blood and who wants to get a quick and thorough foot in the door to a healthcare career.

I took the CPT (phlebotomy) course with Jessie in the San Francisco SF office in Halladie Plaza and I had a really great experience.
Teaching: Jessie is an awesome instructor. He has high standards for the practice of venipuncture, but wouldn’t you want that to be the case when you are teaching students to insert needles in people’s veins! He is truly a great instructor and I learned a lot from him. He is patients, kind, and most importantly… he is fuc*&^ing HILARIOUS! People learn better when they are happy/​laughing along the way :)
Parking: It’s the middle of downtown SF, so parking is exactly what you would expect… it’s $hi^ty. Take bart if you can, the building is literally ON the Powell street BART line. Very convenient.
Exam/​Licensure: The whole crew at BAMA does a great job at preparing you for the national exam and then it’s off to internship (I have not yet completed the internship portion — but they have lots of local options).
Overall, I would say the school is very well run. Every single person I dealt with seemed like they really cared about the students and wanted to help however they could. They give you everything you need to get skills, pass exams, do your internship, and they even post tons of jobs. All you have to do is apply yourself, and you’ll do well. This is a great place, I highly recommend.

I am so glad that I came to this school. I was in the Medical Assistant/​EKG/​Phlebotomy program. My teacher Mrs. E was Amazing and always willing to help. They really do try to help you find a job which is awesome. Tuition is cheap compared to other places. Although certain staff in the office were not so helpful but there are others who are.
The program is short which is always great!
I also got hired at UCSF!

I think it’s always about what you put into it and how hard you work. No one is going to hand you a job, but I feel that BAMA was a great place to start training for the medical field.
I thought the instructors were extremely knowledgeable, patient and fun to have in class!
The location in downtown SF is perfect and the price is extremely competitive.
How can you beat all that?
I just got a job as a Medical Assistant and I’ll always be a fan of Bay Area Medical Academy.