Phlebotomy Certification Guide

Phlebotomist Jobs Are In High Demand In the Health Care Industy…

A phlebotomist is a health care professional who is responsible for the the act of drawing blood from a vein (venipuncture) or through fingersticks. This procedure is called phlebotomy and phlebotomist help to reduce the workload of doctors and nurses by focusing exclusively on collecting blood. In today’s current economy, getting a new job that pays a decent salary is harder than ever with the exception of some areas like phlebotomist jobs.

Phlebotomist jobs are definitely worth considering as those who begin working as phlebotomist have advancement opportunities as senior phlebotomist, lab supervisors, or even cord blood phlebotomists who will arrange to go to the privacy of patients homes to  collect and preserve stem cells from cord blood and adult peripheral blood. This includes collection of stem cells from the placenta and the umbilical cord shortly after delivery a baby. In addition phlebotomist jobs offers a very competitive salary and members are a valued part of the medical staff.

Phlebotomists work in many health care environments such as health clinics, hospitals, doctor’s offices, independent labs, plasma centers, public health clinics, etc. Basically, trained phlebotomists will be needed anywhere blood is drawn for either testing or donation.  Phlebotomist jobs are in high demand especially in large medical facilities such as hospitals and in centers where individuals go to donate blood. Some health care facilities are so busy that they offer phlebotomy services round-the-clock, seven days a week.

Many phlebotomy jobs require that the candidate attend a formal phlebotomy training program offered by an accredited or vocational institution. The program should be between six months to a year in length. After that, phlebotomists should complete at least six hours of continuing education courses annually as a way to refresh your current skillset and to keep up with any changes that have been introduced into the field.

To try to land one of the top phlebotomy jobs with high annual salaries you’ll want to achieve  an official phlebotomy certification. It is not a formal requirement to working as a phlebotomist. However the benefit of having a phlebotomy certification is that those offering phlebotomist jobs will only employ certified professionals. In addition, your phlebotomist salary as a certified phlebotomists can be as much as a l0% higher than someone who isn’t certified.

Though phlebotomy training is usually provided at a variety of institutions, the national phlebotomy certification exam can be taken at National Certification Agency for Medical Laboratory Personnel to become a certified laboratory phlebotomist or Phlebotomy Certification Board, Consortium of Indiana Medical Laboratory Educators to become a certified phlebotomy technician. The American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians also offers phlebotomist certification exams. Obtaining your phlebotomy certification proves to your employers that you are committed to the profession and hence you can demand a higher phlebotomy salary.

The services of a phlebotomist are greatly appreciated by patients everywhere…

This specialized area of the healthcare field takes a significant amount of skill and dedication to carry out.    Many people are looking to get into the in-demand medical field in healthcare, but they’re not quite sure how, the requirements or the job responsibilities. Once such medical job position is in – Phlebotomy – it offers offers a very easy entrance, a stable career with an easy going work enviroment and Phlebotomists are generally appreciated by their patients. Also, there are many Phlebotomy Schools or insitutions that offer training courses – and compare to other medical training programs – Phlebotomy Training Courses are not that long…

What Is a Phlebotomist?

A phlebotomist is a member of the healthcare field who is responsible for extracting blood from patients.  They must also mark the samples with field related identification makers and preserve the samples before sending these samples to a laboratory for a lab technician to analyze and test. Although the work seems really simple, it does require a great deal of specialized training or skill to perform this job.

During phlebotomy training, it is very important that the professionals that teach these courses emphasis the importance of the careful handling of blood samples.  Blood carries diseases so it is possible that a phlebotomist can contract a disease if he or she is not very careful during the collection process. Blood can also become contaminated if it is not handled with a great deal of care. Caution and safety are important elements of the phlebotomy jobs.  If phlebotomists do not maintain proper safety standards, it is possible that widespread contamination can occur, and the consequences for this mistake can be fatal.

A phlebotomist receives instruction from trained professionals in the field of phlebotomy and practice under the direction of licensed doctors and medical professionals.

Responsibilities of a Phlebotomist

A phlebotomist has many duties and responsibilities.  Some of the main responsibilities include the following:

• The phlebotomist is responsible for collecting and preserving blood and other specimens for lab analysis. The first responsibility is to protect the provider of the blood and the collected samples so new tools must be used each time.
• A phlebotomy technician must make sure that each sample is marked with specialized identification marks—such as the name of the patients and their identification number—so that the samples do not get mixed up.
• Phlebotomy positions also require that the experienced professionals assist with the training of new phlebotomists. The best phlebotomy training that a phlebotomist can receive is on the job training from experienced professionals. Training these professionals on the job is imperative to their futures in the field.
• The tools used to collect and store samples must be clean and safe so phlebotomists must take precaution as part of their job. A phlebotomist also carefully discards used materials to prevent contamination of tools and laboratory samples.
• A phlebotomist must always maintain professionalism with the patients.  It is important that the patients are never inconvenienced or harmed during the blood extraction process. Patients of all ages and conditions may need specimen and blood collection so it is vital that a phlebotomist has the skills to cater to those of all ages and conditions with a professional approach.
• A phlebotomist must have good rapport with patients.  Some patients may have their blood drawn to determine if they have a certain disease or illness, and they may be very fragile and afraid. These patients need to feel comfortable and sure that they are in safe hands in a clean environment.

A phlebotomist has many other responsibilities, but these are the main duties of the position.  Phlebotomy training helps to prevent possible contamination of samples and tools. Phlebotomy training is what teaches graduates the daily aspects of the responsibilities of a phlebotomist.  A phlebotomy technician has a huge role to play in blood banks, hospitals, and laboratories elsewhere.