Most students want to know what phlebotomy is before pursuing their career. What is phlebotomy? Phlebotomy is the practice of collecting, testing, and analyzing blood specimen, usually done in laboratories, hospitals, and other health care institutions. Phlebotomist are also referred to as “blood collecting technicians”. The practice of phlebotomy is crucial to the health care industries, is a growing opportunity, and can be your stepping stone for more career opportunities in the health care field.
Phlebotomy Training
Unlike most health care careers, phlebotomy does not require as much training and education, such as becoming a doctor or a nurse. Most phlebotomy courses can be finished as little as twelve weeks.
Other training courses are available for those who need help and need more clinical experience and practice. Before obtaining your phlebotomy certification, you must have a high school diploma or equivalent, taken courses in basic anatomy, medical technology, and circulatory systems. In order to take the phlebotomy certification exam, you must have one hundred clinical hours, one hundred successful venipunctures, and ten dermal punctures (twenty five if you live in Louisiana). Certification is only required in two states out of fifty two. It is possible to obtain a career in phlebotomy without certification but is very difficult. Certification shows employers that you have taken courses and have basic knowledge of the career responsibilities. Certification also shows you have at least one hundred hours of clinical experience, using needles, and collecting blood specimen from patients. Employers rarely hire anyone without certification any more. Employers are at high risk of a lawsuit if they were to hire someone with no training and something were to go wrong.
Phlebotomy Responsibilities
Phlebotomy technician responsibilities do not only include collecting, analyzing, and testing blood specimen. The job is more about understanding the thought of process of the patients and less about collecting blood specimens. Other professional phlebotomist work as clinical laboratory technologists, veterinary technicians, and scientific researchers. Clinical Laboratory technologists analyze blood after it has been collected, use microscopes and other equipment to check for abnormal material in blood cells and conduct chemical experiments to detect different diseases. Basic requirements to be a clinical laboratory technologists, is having a bachelor’s degree in medical technology, anatomy, or similar field and it may require that you pass state licensing exams. Pet and farm animals often need blood drawn as well. Phlebotomist that work with animals do a similar job that of a phlebotomist who works with people. Most veterinary technicians are required to pass licensing exams and obtain an associates or bachelor’s degree to work with animal clinics and animal hospitals. Many skilled biological scientist specialize in phlebotomy research to pinpoint diseases, test new medicines and to understand why certain blood components react to pathogens. Biological Scientific Researcher usually obtain a doctoral degree on microbiology, chemistry, or medicine. These professionals usually work in private laboratories, pharmacology companies, or biotechnology firms.
Phlebotomy Salary
Salaries for an career in the health field varies depending on where you live or your location, what kind of experience you have, seniority, and what type of education and certifications you have. The more education and certifications you have, the more money you make. People who are employed in bigger cities will also have a bigger phlebotomy salary of those who work in smaller cities.
