Phlebotomy Employment opportunities

Phlebotomy Employment: An Exciting Career!

Blood has often been referred to as the “Elixir of Life.” If that is indeed true, than phlebotomy employment offers an exciting career choice that ensures this elixir is properly extracted and fed. In terms of patient care, blood-work in its many forms can be the terrifying part of a hospital stay. Fear of needles and the sight of blood can affect children as well as adults. It’s no wonder then, that a skilled phlebotomist knows not only how to calm a patient’s fears but also perform their job in a timely manner.

Career Guide
Phlebotomy employment as a phlebotomist involves not only drawing blood from patients or blood donors for medical testing, but can also include peripheral duties such as measuring blood pressure, respiration rate and the patient's pulse. Other duties can include updating patient records, preparing blood stains, not to mention cleaning and sterilizing needles and related equipment.

But phlebotomy employment is more than just pricking someone with a needle. Every time a phlebotomist takes and analyzes a blood sample, they are in effect amending a patient's blood history. And simply put, this history is an integral part of a patient's health profile that stays with the patient throughout their life and can impact any number of healthcare and medical procedures.

Stay Certified

Certification is optional for phlebotomy employment, but highly recommended, because most employers require it. Phlebotomists must recertify each year to maintain their certification. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), American Medical Technologists (AMT) and the American Society for Phlebotomy Technicians (ASPT) are just a few of the organizations that offer national certification and testing and which awards phlebotomists the title Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) or Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT).

Phlebotomy Courses

In order to engage in phlebotomy employment, individuals are required to have at least a GED or high school diploma in addition to the successful completion of an accredited phlebotomist program. Typically, phlebotomy courses include classes on anatomy and circulatory system physiology in addition to current phlebotomy techniques. Students will also need to suppliment their classwork with on-the-job training in the deleicate art of drawing blood through vein and skin punctures.

One of the most overlooked pointers directed at those who draw blood specimens for a living focuses on psychology, as the phlebotomist must know how to deal with skittish patients in order to minimize the trauma of phlebotomy.

Phlebotomist Salary
The American Society of Clinical Pathologists reports that phlebotomy employment salary averages can range from $25,000-29,000. Meaning that phlebotomy employment offers individuals the chance to earn a good living and provide an important service to the community.