Certified Phlebotomist
A certified phlebotomist is the one who collects blood by drawing it out from the inner elbow region of the arm or other part of the body of a patient or donor. Phlebotomists work in laboratories, where they perform simple and major blood specimen examination and analysis. Not only that, a certified phlebotomist is in charge of managing the blood bank – where blood samples collected from patients or donors are stored for analysis or future use. Phlebotomists also assist nurses, medical assistants and physicians by collecting and delivering the blood samples. They walk a lot while doing their job as they visit various wards and then proceed to the laboratory making medical reports and taking them back to the nurses, medical assistants and doctors.
A certified phlebotomist engages in several tasks such as collecting blood to check the level of the components present in the blood, and also diagnosing the presence of any disease in the blood. They make use of finger sticks to collect small quantity of the blood. This is occasionally used for grouping and also used to check the level of blood sugar for a diabetic patient. In some cases when they need to perform some checks on the blood of an infant, they make use of the heel stick or butterfly needle. A certified phlebotomist is also responsible for the blood group of a patient.
If you are interested in becoming a certified phlebotomist you’ll have to enroll in a phlebotomy training institute. The phlebotomy training courses in these institutes take 4 months to one year. This can also be done in a vocational school or a community college. This training encompasses courses like blood collection techniques, legal attributes of blood collection, maintenance of safety measures and also communication skills. Note that, a high school diploma or equivalent is required for you to attend these training classes. After this training, you can start working as a phlebotomist but being a certified phlebotomist is the best and most secured.
You can decide to become a certified phlebotomist solely because of the salary (even though that motive is not good enough). Sincerely, it’s worth it as you will always find a nice job, especially when you are certified. Certifications are meant to designate your skills and this gives employers a guarantee of your skills. By being a certified phlebotomist, you have the opportunity of working in world class organizations and in large hospitals with high pay scales. Also after being certified, you’ll be working as a certified phlebotomist which also gives you the passport to work as an administrative officer. You’ll be in charge of making reminder calls, following drug testing laws and ethics, verifying insurance details and blood handling.
As a certified phlebotomist, you are expected to have interpersonal skills as this is a tool which makes your interactions with nurses, doctors, laboratory technicians and also your patients smooth and friendly. As a phlebotomist, your job may demand that you work for almost 40 hours in a week and also work in different shift periods at times. However, you’ll always be entitled to at least two days as rest days. A certified phlebotomist annual salary ranges from $25,000 to $50,000, though you can be paid higher but this depends on your skills, experience and certification.
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[...] It requires a strict phlebotomy certification training program before one could become a qualified certified phlebotomist. The phlebotomy certification programs entail theoretical and practical training [...]
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