Roll Up Your Sleeves and Draw Blood (No, Not just because It's Halloween!)

Although the current unemployment rate in the United States remains high, the demand for phlebotomists continues to rise.

The job market in medicine and healthcare seems to be relatively immune to economic downturns primarily due to significant changes of rules and regulations, new discoveries and advances and the demographics of a growing and aging population.

Best Time to Become a Phlebotomist

A strong desire on the part of health insurers to focus more on preventive care and regular early medical screening has also significantly contributed to the increased need for drawing blood, which places phlebotomists in very high demand. Phlebotomists collect most of the ordered blood samples and also often perform simple blood screening tests as requested by physicians or other healthcare practitioners.

What is a Phlebotomist?

The phlebotomist is a specialized healthcare professional in the area of handling certain laboratory specimens, specifically blood and urine samples for diagnostic purposes.

• Assembles equipment, such as tourniquet, needles, blood collection devices, gauze, cotton, and alcohol on work tray, according to requirements for specified tests or procedures.
• Verifies or records identity of patient or donor and converses with patient or donor to allay fear of procedure.
• Applies tourniquet to arm, locates accessible vein, swabs puncture area with disinfectant, and inserts needle into vein to draw blood into collection tube or bag.
• Withdraws needle, applies treatment to puncture site, and labels and stores blood container for subsequent processing.
• May prick finger to draw blood. May conduct interview, take vital signs, and draw and test blood samples to screen donors at blood bank.

For more tips and insights on the phlebotomist career please visit PhlebotomyPages.com on the Internet.