Most probably, you’ve once visited the doctor either in your locality or some far-off hospital. After the doctor is done with the initial diagnosis, he must have written some kind of information on a form and sent you to another specialist who then obtains a blood sample from you for further diagnosis. This is the person we refer to as a Phlebotomist. The act of making an incision in a vein and drawing blood from a patient is what is called phlebotomy.

In some hospitals and other medical centers, the obtaining of blood samples and performing other blood tests is done by the doctor or the nurse. This was also the case in the recent past. However, due to the ever developing medical sector, the need has arisen to have specialists for this specific job. Training institutions for phlebotomy have thus been put in place, with state examinations and various certifications in place.

As a matter of fact, the phlebotomist cannot operate in isolation. Once the case is brought to the doctor, he/she may require some blood tests to be done, either for further diagnosis or just to determine and monitor the levels of important blood components such as sugar, hemoglobin count, blood proteins, etc. The doctor therefore writes a requisition form in which he specifies the tests to be done, the patient’s information and any other specific requirement. This is the starting point of phlebotomy.

 
Upon the study of the requisition form, the phlebotomist makes a decision on what to do. Depending on the age and condition of the patient, he can perform venipuncture, fingersticks or heel sticks. The patient must first be correctly identified by checking the previous medical records. His/her physical disposition is then carefully assessed so that the specialist may know exactly how to handle the situation. The medical profession is particularly known to be tough because the patient can be “anything” from “anywhere”. Some come with serious injuries, maybe from accidents, others suffer trauma from great shock, others fear anything called a hospital and thus contact white-coat hypertension, some may want to control what the doctor does and does not do, some come unconscious, some come dangerously mutilated, etc, etc. With so many varied conditions, it requires proper training to perform the job skillfully. Phlebotomists are thus trained to perform their job without reaction to the patient’s medical condition or state of being.

 
The only precaution they should take is protecting themselves from coming into contact with the patient’s blood and other body fluids. These may contain harmful protozoa which may lead to spreading of dangerous diseases. Likewise, the blood should be drawn using aseptic techniques to avoid contamination of the blood. This behooves the phlebotomist to learn how to correctly use all the equipment involved. These include: evacuated collection tubes, needles, holders, tourniquet, alcohol wipes, gauze sponges, adhesive bandages, needle disposal units, gloves and syringes.

The blood should be collected in vacuum-sealed sample tubes. This should immediately be labeled at the drawing area to avoid confusion. The need for sample recollection or rejection should then be assessed there and then. Depending on the operation of the hospital, it may be the phlebotomist’s job description to also perform the required tests on the blood sample. Interpretation of the results is done and the relevant authorities contacted thereafter.

With the introduction of phlebotomy, the operations in the medical industry have become more specialized, thus efficiency greatly improved.

You may be interested in pursuing phlebotomy as a career. Follow this link for more information on how to become a phlebotomist, how much you’ll earn and how to improve yourself.

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