I&#x27;m a Phlebotomist, AMA!

OP

Original post by Etomidate

I don't think there is a ladder as such. Phlebotomy is an entry level job with little to no progression.

Original post by Eroidthesteroid

Hi!
Sorry I have joined this discussion like a year later lol was just wondering, how is it going, are you still enjoying it?
Also I have a question, in what ways can you progress/climb the ladder of phlebotomy?

Kindest regards :smile:

Stay safe

Etomidate is right. There is no real progression other than a manager role. People like to do phlebotomy to give them a stepping stone into nursing though.

Reply 82

Meercat97

2

Happy to see this thread lives on! I'm going to ask a barrage of questions (sorry in advance).

1. Is it possible for a med student to become a part time phlebotomist?

2. How do I apply?

3. What are the requirements in the application process?

4. How long would training take place for before I can actually start the job?

Reply 83

Original post by Meercat97

Happy to see this thread lives on! I'm going to ask a barrage of questions (sorry in advance).

1. Is it possible for a med student to become a part time phlebotomist?

Yes. Some med students also work as HCAs (who might also be trained to take blood) - its very flexible work so exactly what you need as a med student.

Reply 84

OP

Original post by Meercat97

Happy to see this thread lives on! I'm going to ask a barrage of questions (sorry in advance).

1. Is it possible for a med student to become a part time phlebotomist?

2. How do I apply?

3. What are the requirements in the application process?

4. How long would training take place for before I can actually start the job?

1. Yes
2. Usually through job sites.
3. It's entry level so basic GCSEs and sometimes the use of a car. Previous experience not necessary. Requirements would change from job to job.
4. For me, I trained on the job which takes about 2-3 months.

Reply 85

Original post by -Eirlys-

4. For me, I trained on the job which takes about 2-3 months.

Wooow.

Training for a doctor, who often have to do the blood the phlebs consider too difficult - consists of about 10 tries then off you go!

Reply 86

Meercat97

2

This sounds very promising, I'll definitely be looking into this when I start med school in September. Just have to get over my fear of needles... (kidding).

Reply 87

bambi1425

how come doctors seem to order blood tests so much- like I once went for painful legs and headaches and I had to have like 6 vial things - which was horrific

are they each tested for only one thing?

Reply 88

Original post by bambi1425

how come doctors seem to order blood tests so much- like I once went for painful legs and headaches and I had to have like 6 vial things - which was horrific

are they each tested for only one thing?

Not everything that comes in needs a blood test, but a big proportion do, and if you wait for the doctor to see you then request the blood test that's an extra ~2 hours to wait, so its pretty standard now for everyone to have bloods by a phleb/HCA/nurse when they arrive in say A&E.

In your case there may have been reasons to do blood tests. There are two reasons to have lots of bottles: one is that there are different chemicals in each different tube and you need the right one for the right test. For example, one commonly used one is Citrate which is used for clotting - what the citrate does is it removes all of the calcium from the blood, which means it can't clot. Then, when you get to the lab, they add the calcium back in and time how long it takes to clot. However, if you were trying to measure the calcium in someone's blood, using that tube would clearly not go well!

The second reason is that you've sometimes got different labs to test different things so even if its the same bottle type, you might need one for biochemistry, one for immunology, one for microbiology etc.

Reply 89

bambi1425

Original post by nexttime

Not everything that comes in needs a blood test, but a big proportion do, and if you wait for the doctor to see you then request the blood test that's an extra ~2 hours to wait, so its pretty standard now for everyone to have bloods by a phleb/HCA/nurse when they arrive in say A&E.

In your case there may have been reasons to do blood tests. There are two reasons to have lots of bottles: one is that there are different chemicals in each different tube and you need the right one for the right test. For example, one commonly used one is Citrate which is used for clotting - what the citrate does is it removes all of the calcium from the blood, which means it can't clot. Then, when you get to the lab, they add the calcium back in and time how long it takes to clot. However, if you were trying to measure the calcium in someone's blood, using that tube would clearly not go well!

The second reason is that you've sometimes got different labs to test different things so even if its the same bottle type, you might need one for biochemistry, one for immunology, one for microbiology etc.

ohh okay- thank you for clearing that up :smile:

never even thought of the different labs thing!

Reply 90

OP

Original post by nexttime

Wooow.

Training for a doctor, who often have to do the blood the phlebs consider too difficult - consists of about 10 tries then off you go!

Oh yes, lots of nurses and doctors are terrified of doing bloods and they will always palm them off to us. I always get told "if you can't do it, I won't be able to do it" but it's more about us having limited tries, they can try unlimited times. Plus another eye can be the most beneficial, sometimes you just miss something sometimes. However, 9/10 times, we're bleeding other professional's patients because they can't. But it's our job to do it so it makes sense we have more training and lots of practice.

Reply 91

OP

Original post by bambi1425

how come doctors seem to order blood tests so much- like I once went for painful legs and headaches and I had to have like 6 vial things - which was horrific

are they each tested for only one thing?

It's worse in hospital, they ask for bloods every day to monitor you. I almost never get blood tests from my GPs so I'd say you're lucky. :lol:

It isn't one test per vial, you get lots of tests from one vial usually. Sometimes one vial is used for one test but it depends on the test.

Reply 92

bambi1425

Original post by -Eirlys-

It's worse in hospital, they ask for bloods every day to monitor you. I almost never get blood tests from my GPs so I'd say you're lucky. :lol:

It isn't one test per vial, you get lots of tests from one vial usually. Sometimes one vial is used for one test but it depends on the test.

oo Eck avoiding hospital as much as possible 😂 tbf I am lucky compared to some people just that one time!!

Reply 93

Etomidate

15

Original post by -Eirlys-

Oh yes, lots of nurses and doctors are terrified of doing bloods and they will always palm them off to us. I always get told "if you can't do it, I won't be able to do it" but it's more about us having limited tries, they can try unlimited times. Plus another eye can be the most beneficial, sometimes you just miss something sometimes. However, 9/10 times, we're bleeding other professional's patients because they can't. But it's our job to do it so it makes sense we have more training and lots of practice.

The phlebotomists in my trust couldn’t the broad side of a barn with a needle. Just sayin.

They’ll also huff, puff and roll their eyes if you dare ask them to take another blood form after 8am.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 94

moonkatt

Original post by Etomidate

The phlebotomists in my trust couldn’t the broad side of a barn with a needle. Just sayin.

They’ll also huff, puff and roll their eyes if you dare ask them to take another blood form after 8am.

“Sample not taken due to patient not at bedside/IV fluids running/curtains round/wind blowing in wrong direction/no wristband/etc etc”

Reply 95

OP

Original post by Etomidate

The phlebotomists in my trust couldn’t the broad side of a barn with a needle. Just sayin.

They’ll also huff, puff and roll their eyes if you dare ask them to take another blood form after 8am.

Well that's not the case in my experience. :smile:

You need a better hiring and training process maybe.

After 8am? Isn't that like the start of their shift?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 96

OP

Glad you like it! :biggrin:

Reply 97

OP

Original post by moonkatt

“Sample not taken due to patient not at bedside/IV fluids running/curtains round/wind blowing in wrong direction/no wristband/etc etc”

If the patient isn't there, we move on and often come back. If they're not there the second or third time, we can't wait around and hope they come back and sometimes they've often gone for a scan or procedure anyway. They will always be done in the afternoon or if they're that urgent, there's other professionals around who can bleed patients.
We can't take bloods if an IV is running on both arms, it can take 15/20 minutes before we can then take their blood after the IV is paused which isn't feasible when they're your last patient on the ward. We don't know who's on IV before we get to them, that's just how it happens. It's surprising that nurses and doctors expect us to hang around when they know we have other wards to cover in a short space of time. We also don't wish to hand over too many forms to our colleagues in the afternoon so we make sure to do as many as possible in the morning.
If the curtain is around, we assess what is happening. If they're washing, we move on and come back or if we know they're going to be a couple of minutes, we'll wait around or at least finish the room. Again, we can't hang around when we may have to do 2-3 wards in 4 hours. I don't think the manager would be too happy and we're often understaffed and it's a race to get the wards done. I did wait for a patient with a medical photographer once and I was waiting for about 20 minutes whilst my colleagues left and it was nearing the end of our shift. The patient was still not available so I had no choice but to leave.
If they don't have a wristband, we request for one. We wouldn't not take someone's blood for that. But it's a case of finding someone to get us one.

Reply 98