How to Become a Phlebotomist: A Guide To A Great Career
Phlebotomy, also known as venipuncture, is the science and art of drawing or extracting blood for transfusion, diagnostic and screening purposes. Originally left to nurses and physicians, today many health care facilities need someone outside of those occupations who is trained and certified in the growing field of phlebotomy. Find out whether there is a need for phlebotomists in your area before getting started.
How to Become a Phlebotomist: Traits You Will Need
Before you leanr how become a phlebotomist there are a few traits you will need to have. You cannot be afraid of or become queasy at the sight of blood. You will need to have a gentle touch to ensure that those patients who are frightened by the procedure feel very little pain. In that respect you must be good at communicating with people in case you need to verbally quell fears and also so you can describe in a calming manner what you are about to do.
How to Become a Phlebotomist: Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities when learning how to become a phlebotomist are an important and crucial part of the profession. They include ensuring the environment around you and the ensuing procedure are sterile and clean. You must make sure all needles and accompanying equipment are also sterile, new and unopened.
After the extraction process it is your job to correctly label the fluid. You must record, properly file and trace all important information as it pertains to which laboratory it is going to for analysis.
How to Become a Phlebotomist: Becoming a Certified Professional
How to Become a Phlebotomist: First off, you will need to have graduated from high school with a diploma or have a GED equivalent. Second, to become a certified professional in the field of phlebotomy you will have to enroll in a technical or vocational college or university that is offering phlebotomy classes. These can be short or long-term classes and training can last as long as a year.
You will want to consider accreditation and cost. Research any prospective school and make sure they are offering the classes and training you will need to eventually become a certified professional. Also, the higher the price to attend does not mean a better education.
To be able to test for your certification you must have completed 100 to 120 hours of classroom instruction and 100 to 120 hours of clinical practice. You must also have successfully completed 50 to 100 extractions and 10 to 25 dermal punctures.
Once you have your certification as a professional in the field of phlebotomy you will be able to work for any physician’s office, research facility, blood bank, clinical laboratory or hospital that is in need of your services.
How to Become a Phlebotomist: Pay
How to Become a Phlebotomist: An important aspect you want to consider when learning how to become a phlebotomist is pay. Phlebotomists are generally paid anywhere from a little over $8.00 an hour for those who are starting out up to $16.00 an hour for those who have more experience in the field. If that sounds low you might want to consider training and certification in an accompanying field of health care to increase your pay.
