If you’ve ever gone to your doctor or the hospital and have had blood drawn, you’ve probably met a phlebotomist as this was most lilkely the person who drew your blood.
Phlebotomy or being a phlebotomist is a growing career, due largely to America’s aging population. The sad fact is as people grow older their health tends to suffer and they require more medical attention. And almost everything that has to do with medicine requires the taking of blood samples or phlebotomy.
In the past, nurses, doctors or laboratory tax generally took blood samples. However medicine today has become so specialized there is an increasing need for more personnel including people trained to take blood samples. In fact, there are now programs available designed to train people to become phlebotomists.
Phlebotomy as a career
A career as a phlebotomist is already a good one and is bound to grow even better in the future as more and more Americans continue to age And require more medical attention.
Today, the expected median salary for a typical phlebotomist in the US is $29,359. However, there are phlebotomists who earned more than $30,000 a year. Naturally, what you would earn as a phlebotomist depends on where you live and where you work–whether in a blood bank, a doctor’s office, and emergency room or a hospital.
What you need to learn phlebotomy
Most phlebotomy training programs require that you have either a high school degree or a GED. You will also need to show that you can work with people and that you can follow directions correctly.
A typical curriculum
Regardless of where you get your phlebotomy training, it will most likely involve the following.
Human anatomy–learning the pathways of the various things throughout the body and those you will need to identify to obtain blood specimens.
Medical safety guidelines–most medical facilities and certain guidelines regarding how you handle bodily fluids safely. This includes both blood and blood products. As a phlebotomist, you must be familiar with these guidelines and able to perform procedures safely.
Using needles–this will involve learning the importance of using gloves and how to introduce a needle into the vein in a way that’s easiest and most comfortable for the patient. You will also learn about tourniquets, different size syringes and other instruments used and for bonhomie.
Record keeping–different facilities have different ways to keep records but you will be taught the importance of good record-keeping and how to record the various services you performed as instructed.
Infectious materials–since handling blood is a bit hazardous, you’ll learn about the risks of infection to both you and the patient and will be trained in the safe handling of infectious materials and how to dispose of needles and syringes.
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