A phlebotomist is a professional employed at medical clinics and laboratories in order to assist doctors and nurses, his job being to collect blood. Phlebotomy means to extract blood, in order that tests would be performed on it, but also for transfusion. The blood can be collected in many ways, but the main method is by puncturing a vein or a fingertip - or by heel stick, in the case of babies. The phlebotomist must be a professional technician, that has been trained, in a phlebotomist school , how to obtain a blood sample, making sure that this is done by sterile means.
A phlebotomist school is, thus, necessary, as health care is a field that grows rapidly and the request for certified phlebotomists is raising accordingly. Long ago, phlebotomy was something one learned how to do on the job. But, today things are different. In a phlebotomist school, one has to go through almost a four-month training, in order to obtain a certificate.
A college training can take almost one year, as this includes practice in a hospital or a medical clinic. Certification in CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) is required, as well as anatomy, techniques of blood collection, how to safely handle the blood and also legal aspects of this procedure. All these are taught in a phlebotomist school. After finishing a phlebotomist school a certificate is given, only after the technician has been examined by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, by the American Association of Medical Personnel, as well as by the American Association of Medical Personnel Technologists. |
