Phlebotomy Certification
A Phlebotomist is a person who works in a lab at a clinic or hospital and draws blood for testing. There are many reasons why your doctor may want you to have your blood drawn. It may be just a routine check for many aliments from diabetes to cholesterol or to check for a specific problem. Doctors are very busy and so are there nurses trying to give each patience the best care they can. Phlebotomist help pick up the slack and play an important role by drawing blood for the doctor or nurse and making sure it gets packaged and stored correctly then sent to the lab for analysis. This is not easy task, not every person is excited about getting their blood taken, some people are very afraid of pain or needles. Small children and the elderly can be a real challenge to make them at ease so the blood can be drawn properly. Phlebotomist are very important to part of the medical industry.
What do Phlebotomist do?
Knowing how to drawn blood for testing is much harder than just sticking a needle in someone. There are many things to learn about the human circulatory system and how blood vessel work and react to this procedure. Depending on the person, you may have to draw blood from the arm, hand, neck, head or thigh. Not every person’s blood vessel are easy to get at, small children have very small veins and can be very frighten of this strange procedure. Some sick or elderly people have veins that may collapse or have very little blood flowing through them. You will have to learn sign of problems with how the blood flows looks and reacts to be collected for testing. Learning how to deal with frightens people and sick people takes care and a light touch, no too people are the same. You will learn how to use many types of needles, syringes, tubes and other collection device to achieve your goal of a good viable sample so it can be tested and help the patient. Blood is not all you will collect, you will also be required to collect sample of sputum, feces, urine and other bodily fluids for testing.
How much money can you expect?
Like most jobs, where you work and who you work for has a lot to do with the pay level. For example if your job requires you to go out to the person home and collect the sample you can expect to be paid more than a person who works at a clinic or hospital at the lab and the patient come to you. The national average for someone who has been working or 1-4 years is between $24k – $30k a year, 5-20 years average between $24k – $36K a year and 20 years or more can make up to $ $40k a year. It really varies from state to state, check with you local jobs office for more information.
Where can I get training?
Many technical schools and some junior colleges have training courses to help you get certified. Much of what you must learn has to be hands on training and will require an internship at a clinic or hospital. Depending on whether you go to school full time or part time the average is about 4 months of training as well as lots of hands on practice. You don’t have to have a degree or have to be great math or biology skills to be a Phlebotomist. The most important skill is a warm heart and a genuine caring aptitude for those you are trying to help.
Phlebotomy Job Outlook?
The outlook has always been very good. Phlebotomy is a stepping stone for many people who go back to school and become nurses or more advanced lab techs or even doctors. Long hours and low to average pay makes this job market always needing fresh new people who really want to make a difference.