Phlebotomists are the allied health professionals who take blood samples and ensure the samples get to the right lab at the proper time. Phlebotomists must have formal training to work in the industry because they deal with a medical procedure which involves bodily fluids and can cause pain if done improperly. Most phlebotomy training incorporates the same fundamental courses.

Anatomy and Biology

Courses in biology and anatomy give you a basic idea of how the body develops, works and is influenced by internal and external factors. This is necessary to understand when, where and how to draw blood for the best results. In some programs, these courses are treated as refreshers, as biology and anatomy usually are taught in high school and are offered at most colleges.

Physiology of Circulation

As a phlebotomist, the majority of your work will involve working with the circulatory system. This course explores the circulatory system in depth, including its connection to all other major systems in the body. Through this course, you learn exactly how blood flows through the body.

Introduction to Phlebotomy

The introduction to phlebotomy class gives you your first glimpse at phlebotomy principles and techniques. This is primarily a theory-based class in which you learn the fundamentals of what phlebotomy involves, how to stay safe on the job and how to do both venipuncture and dermal procedures. Depending on the program, your instructor may have you and your classmates do your first practice phlebotomy procedures on each other.

Phlebotomy Techniques

The phlebotomy techniques course builds on what you learn in your introductory phlebotomy course. This course gives you more practice with phlebotomy procedures and discusses how those techniques are evolving and applied in the modern clinical setting. By the end of this course, you should be fairly comfortable doing venipuncture and similar phlebotomy tasks.

Medical and Safety Courses

There are two primary medical courses phlebotomists take. The first is medical terminology. Phlebotomists need this course to make sense of what nurses and doctors may need to do with patients and what conditions the phlebotomy patient has. The second course is medical ethics. As a medical professional, you are expected to protect your patients' privacy and act in their best interest. You also are expected to adhere to safety, sanitation and medical regulations. A separate safety course covers how to properly handle and dispose of needles, keep the draw area sanitary, what to do after an accidental needle prick and how to protect yourself from the threat of disease. Many programs also include CPR.

Practicum

Your practicum may be one, two or three separate courses. Regardless of how many courses are involved, the practicum is where you practice your skills hands-on with real patients. Once you complete your practicum, you generally either graduate from your program or receive certification, depending on how the program is structured and whether your program is accredited.

Phlebotomists Employment and Labor Information 2023

Phlebotomists Employment Brief:

Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.

Phlebotomists Skills and Requirements:

• Mathematics Using mathematics to solve problems.
• DatabasesUsing a computer application to manage large amounts of information, including creating and editing simple databases, inputting data, retrieving specific records, and creating reports to communicate the information.
• Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Operations Analysis Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
• Monitoring Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Management of Financial Resources Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
• Critical Thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Quality Control Analysis Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Reading Comprehension Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Instructing Teaching others how to do something.

Phlebotomists Responsibilities and Duties:

• Transport specimens or fluid samples from collection sites to laboratories.
• Serve refreshments to donors to ensure absorption of sugar into their systems.
• Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes.
• Explain fluid or tissue collection procedures to patients.
• Enter patient, specimen, insurance, or billing information into computer.
• Determine donor suitability, according to interview results, vital signs, and medical history.
• Process blood or other fluid samples for further analysis by other medical professionals.
• Draw blood from arteries, using arterial collection techniques.
• Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.
• Train other medical personnel in phlebotomy or laboratory techniques.

Phlebotomists Salary, Wages, and Salary and Job Outlook

Phlebotomists average pay is: $18.53 per hour according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees who work in Employment Services are the highest paid making $20.33, while Offices of Physicians make the least at $18.29 per hour.

Phlebotomists Employment and Labor Information 2023

Phlebotomists Employment Brief:

Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.

Phlebotomists Job Description

Here is a Job Description an employer might post for potential Phlebotomists.

Phlebotomists Responsibilities and Duties:

• Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels.
• Perform saline flushes or dispense anticoagulant drugs, such as Heparin, through intravenous (IV) lines, in accordance with licensing restrictions and under the direction of a medical doctor.
• Monitor blood or plasma donors during and after procedures to ensure health, safety, and comfort.
• Conduct hemoglobin tests to ensure donor iron levels are normal.
• Draw blood from capillaries by dermal puncture, such as heel or finger stick methods.
• Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies.
• Administer subcutaneous or intramuscular injects, in accordance with licensing restrictions.
• Document route of specimens from collection to laboratory analysis and diagnosis.
• Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.
• Draw blood from arteries, using arterial collection techniques.

Typical Daily Tasks of Phlebotomists:

• Assisting and Caring for Others: Feed patients. Give medications or immunizations.
• Getting Information.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
• Working with Computers.
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.
• Processing Information.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
• Documenting/Recording Information: Maintain medical records.
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work.

Phlebotomists Skills and Requirements:

• Instructing Teaching others how to do something.
• Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Operations Analysis Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
• Management of Personnel Resources Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Equipment Maintenance Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Monitoring Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Technology Design Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
• NavigationUsing scroll bars, a mouse, and dialog boxes to work within the computer's operating system. Being able to access and switch between applications and files of interest.

Phlebotomists Education and Training:

Typical education for include: Postsecondary non-degree award.

Phlebotomists Salary, Wages, and Salary and Job Outlook

Phlebotomists average pay is: $18.53 per hour according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees who work in Employment Services are the highest paid making $20.33, while Offices of Physicians make the least at $18.29 per hour.Here are the top city/metro areas with the highest paying salaries for a Phlebotomists: