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If you’ve ever gone to your doctor or the hospital and have had blood drawn, you’ve probably met a phlebotomist as this was most likely the person who drew your blood.

Phlebotomy or being a phlebotomist is a growing career, due largely to America’s aging population. The sad fact is as people grow older their health tends to suffer and they require more medical attention. And almost everything that has to do with medicine requires the taking of blood samples or phlebotomy.

In the past, nurses, doctors or laboratory tax generally took blood samples. However medicine today has become so specialized there is an increasing need for more personnel including people trained to take blood samples. In fact, there are now programs available on designed to train people to become phlebotomists.

Phlebotomy as a career

A career as a phlebotomist is already a good one and is bound to grow even better in the future as more and more Americans continue to age And require more medical attention.

What you need to learn phlebotomy

Most phlebotomy training programs require that you have either a high school degree or a GED. You will also need to show that you can work with people and that you can follow directions correctly.

A typical curriculum

Regardless of where you get your phlebotomy training, it will most likely involve the following.

  • Human anatomy-learning the pathways of the various things throughout the body and those you will need to identify to obtain blood specimens.
  • Medical safety guidelines-most medical facilities and certain guidelines regarding how you handle bodily fluids safely. This includes both blood and blood products. As a phlebotomist, you must be familiar with these guidelines and able to perform procedures safely.
  • Using needles-this will involve learning the importance of using gloves and how to introduce a needle into the vein in a way that’s easiest and most comfortable for the patient. You will also learn about tourniquets, different size syringes and other instruments used and for bonhomie.
  • Record keeping-different facilities have different ways to keep records but you will be taught the importance of good record-keeping and how to record the various services you performed as instructed.
  • Infectious materials-since handling blood is a bit hazardous, you’ll learn about the risks of infection to both you and the patient and will be trained in the safe handling of infectious materials and how to dispose of needles and syringes.

Phlebotomy jobs

Where do you find phlebotomy jobs? Hospitals employ many phlebotomists as do blood banks and medical clinics. Physicians offices now often include a phlebotomist. You might also find a phlebotomy job in an emergency, walk-in facility.

How much you would earn in phlebotomy jobs will depend on where you live and the facility where you work. However, the salary range nationally for a phlebotomist is from $23,765 to $38,382 and the median salary in the United States is $29,359.

As you can see, the salary for a phlebotomist is relatively good, especially when you think about the training required. Unlike some medical specialties, you can become a certified phlebotomist in as few as 6 weeks to one semester.

However, just as salaries vary from state to state, so does certification. California actually licenses three different kinds of phlebotomists, while Colorado licenses only one.. To become licensed by the Association of Phlebotomy Technicians, you need to complete a minimum 6-month-long phlebotomy training program, while to be certified by the American Society for Clinical Pathology, you must complete 40 classroom hours, 120 hours of clinical experience and one hundred unaided blood collections.