I've been offered 2 HCA roles, one in rheumatology outpatients and another on a surgical ward. My question is this.......
What learning opportunities will be available to me in either one of those posts? I really want the opportunity to learn both phlebotomy, cannulation in particular and ECG if possible?
100% Go for the surgical ward if that's what you want to learn!
No cannulas in outpatient setting, very very very few ECGs and most patients will be sent to the hospital phlebotomy service for bloods, not have them done in an OP clinic.
Quick question. Do you normally get to learn phlebotomy on surgical ward or do they normally send them to the hospitals phlebotomy department there as well like with outpatients?
100% Go for the surgical ward if that's what you want to learn!
No cannulas in outpatient setting, very very very few ECGs and most patients will be sent to the hospital phlebotomy service for bloods, not have them done in an OP clinic.
Quick question. Do you normally get to learn phlebotomy on surgical ward or do they normally send them to the hospitals phlebotomy department there as well like with outpatients?
Thanks :-)
No inpatients won't go to phlebotomy just for bloods. There's a phlebotomy service in most hospitals that comes round the wards and does the bloods put out by the doctors in the morning. However there will inevitably be some left to do, either discovered during the day or because the inpatient phlebotomists have a list of about 1000 excuses why they don't want to take a particular blood, and will always leave at least one. "Patient busy", "patient refused", "patient behind curtain", "patient has cannula in arm"... etc.
"Patient infectious" was the best one. On the Infectious Diseases ward! It's both hilarious but also heart breaking because it means the doctors have to do those jobs as well.
If you learn to take bloods & cannulate as an HCA people will love you! Ask the doctors, they'll always be happy to help you get signed off for them Then after you've done enough to get fed up of them, you can do what most competent HCAs/nurses seem to do and pretend you have no idea how to take them for the rest of your career.
No inpatients won't go to phlebotomy just for bloods. There's a phlebotomy service in most hospitals that comes round the wards and does the bloods put out by the doctors in the morning. However there will inevitably be some left to do, either discovered during the day or because the inpatient phlebotomists have a list of about 1000 excuses why they don't want to take a particular blood, and will always leave at least one. "Patient busy", "patient refused", "patient behind curtain", "patient has cannula in arm"... etc.
"Patient infectious" was the best one. On the Infectious Diseases ward! It's both hilarious but also heart breaking because it means the doctors have to do those jobs as well.
If you learn to take bloods & cannulate as an HCA people will love you! Ask the doctors, they'll always be happy to help you get signed off for them Then after you've done enough to get fed up of them, you can do what most competent HCAs/nurses seem to do and pretend you have no idea how to take them for the rest of your career.