Certified Phlebotomy Technician (NHA) Exam: Full Comparison

The Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) is a focused, entry-level credential for professionals who draw and handle blood specimens. If you're weighing it against related allied-health certifications, this page compares the CPT with the Certified Nursing Assistant (NNAAP) Exam and the Certified EKG Technician (CET, NHA) Exam so you can pick the path — or combination of paths — that fits your career goals.

All three are entry-level credentials, but they cover different clinical skills, serve different roles, and follow different regulatory models. The CPT is specimen-focused, the CNA is patient-care-focused, and the CET is cardiac-monitoring-focused.

Scope of each exam

• Certified Phlebotomy Technician (NHA): Blood collection technique, venipuncture and capillary draws, specimen handling and labeling, order of draw, patient safety, and infection control. The NHA CPT exam contains 100 scored questions and runs for 120 minutes (two hours).
• Certified Nursing Assistant (NNAAP): Direct patient care — activities of daily living, vital signs, mobility and transfers, safety, communication, and residents' rights. The NNAAP is state-administered and typically pairs a written (or oral) knowledge test with a hands-on clinical skills evaluation.
• Certified EKG Technician (NHA): Performing 12-lead electrocardiograms, recognizing rhythms and artifacts, patient prep and lead placement, and basic cardiac monitoring.

Difficulty and format

All three are entry-level and are considered comparable in overall difficulty for a prepared candidate. The formats differ in an important way: the NHA CPT and CET are knowledge-based multiple-choice exams, while the NNAAP adds a separately scored practical skills demonstration that many candidates find is the harder portion to pass because it must be performed correctly on the first attempt in front of an evaluator. For reference, the NHA CPT requires a scaled score of 390 to pass its 100-question exam.

Who each is for

• CPT (Phlebotomy): Best if you want a hands-on, procedure-oriented lab role drawing specimens in hospitals, clinics, blood-donation centers, or diagnostic labs, without providing broad bedside care.
• CNA (NNAAP): Best if you want to work directly with patients or residents — especially in long-term care, skilled nursing, or hospital floors — and possibly use it as a stepping stone toward nursing school.
• CET (EKG): Best if you're drawn to cardiac care and want to work in cardiology practices, stress-test labs, or telemetry units performing and monitoring EKGs.

Prerequisites

• NHA CPT / CET: Candidates generally need a high school diploma or equivalent plus completion of a training program or relevant work experience; NHA publishes the specific eligibility routes for each credential.
• CNA (NNAAP): Requires completion of a state-approved nurse-aide training program (with mandated classroom and clinical hours that vary by state) before you're eligible to sit the exam, because the credential leads to placement on a state nurse-aide registry.

Because phlebotomy and EKG skills are often bundled in the same clinical settings, many allied-health workers earn the CPT and CET together to broaden their employability, while the CNA is usually pursued when the goal is hands-on patient care.