How to become a Phlebotomist?

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Phlebotomists are healthcare professionals who are responsible for collecting specimens such as blood, bodily fluids, urine, feces, and sputum from patients in a safe and sanitary manner. They may also collect blood samples for testing purposes or blood donations. They are mainly responsible for collecting blood. Besides, they also need to prepare and maintain necessary supplies and equipment, keep document results and necessary records.

As a phlebotomist, you can work in a variety of environments, which include military field hospital, blood bank, pharmaceutical lab, prison infirmary, hospice center, public health clinic, doctor's office, hospitals, etc. If you are working in a small office, you need to do almost all types of work from front office to record keeping besides blood draws and testing.

How much does a Phlebotomist Make?

In this modern day, you need to work under a variety of conditions and cannot expect a standard salary. The salary of a phlebotomist will depend on a number of factors such as location, type and size of work institution, experience, etc. However, as per salary.com, the US national average salary of a certified phlebotomist ranges from $22,932-$48,000 per year. The medium salary of Phlebotomist in the Northeast region is around $29,300. The salary in Mid Atlantic region is around $28,900. Phlebotomists earn a lowest salary in Southern region, which is $26,000. The salary of phlebotomist will also depend of the cost of living in that particular area. So, when you select a city for seeking employment, you must also consider this matter as well. The demand for phlebotomists is very high in the United States. It will further induce the salary of phlebotomists.

Who should become a Phlebotomist?

You can become a phlebotomist, if you have appropriate vision, standard manual dexterity, excellent organizational and people skills, and are able to and willing to stand for long periods of time. Dedication to medical science and well-being of patients, attention to detail, etc are the minimum requirements for succeeding in this field.

How do you become a Phlebotomist?

In order to become a phlebotomist, you must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. This is the stepping stone for getting future education or training in the field of phlebotomy. You can enter in a phlebotomy training program if your age is 18 years or more. Phlebotomy training programs are usually conducted by colleges and technical schools. This is a short term training, which may complete in less than one year. During the course, you need to learn topics such as:

* Anatomy and physiology (It include circulatory system, composition of blood, typical blood draw sites in arteries and veins, etc)
* Blood draw practices
* Safety procedures for patients and technicians (Infection control, avoiding needle sticks to muscles and arteries, preventing unprotected needle sticks, etc)
* Patient privacy
* Professional standards
* Quality assurance
* Patient care
* Collecting and handling blood specimen
* Clinic and hospital legal issues

Besides classroom training, you will also get hands-on training in hospitals or other clinical environments. You must also complete skin punctures and repeated disease tests successfully.

Certification and Licensure

Obtaining a certification is the next step after completing phlebotomist training program successfully. If you seek certification from American Association of Medical Personnel (AMT), you can become a Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT). Certification from American Certification Agency for Healthcare Professionals or American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians helps you to become a Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT). You can also work as a Phlebotomy Technician if you obtain certification from American Society for Clinical Pathology. American Medical Technologists, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, etc are the other certifying agencies for phlebotomists.

There are also certain eligibility requirements to become a certified phlebotomist. If you want to become an AMT, you must be a graduate from accredited training institution and must complete at least 1,040 hours of work experience. Employers prefer to hire phlebotomists with a national certification credential.

Before joining in a phlebotomist training program, you must be very careful to select the right training program or school. There are also lots of online phlebotomy training programs. However, you must select an accredited school or program. Regional accreditation agency will be highly helpful in this regard. There will be some additional accreditation bodies in some states like California. California Department of Public health is certification agency for phlebotomy in California.

As per the findings of US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the demand for phlebotomists is showing an upward trend and it is expected that the job growth will be 14% from 2008-2018.

Jess Varkey

Some say he’s half man half fish, others say he’s more of a seventy/thirty split. Either way he’s a fishy bastard.

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