Phlebotomy: Another Nursing Career

Today, a lot of training institutions offering different trainings, form Basic Life Support, Advance Cardiovascular Life Support, ECG Training, Intravenous Therapy, up to the recent training the “Phlebotomy Training”.

Being a nurse requires you different skills to use in emergency cases. In the laboratory, medical technology personnel are the one to do blood extraction at the laboratory or in the wards and special areas, but now, through the phlebotomy training the nurse may now extract blood samples to their patient. Usually, the laboratory personnel is toxic in warding to get blood samples in the morning, instead of waiting the patient not to eat due to his/her blood extraction for cholesterol analysis and fasting blood sugar.

According to Wikipedia, Phlebotomy from the Greek words "Phleb-" meaning "pertaining to a vessel", and "-otomy", meaning "to make an incision" is the process of making an incision in a vein with a needle. The procedure itself is known as a “venipuncture”. A person who performs phlebotomy has the title "Phlebotomist", although doctors and nurses do portions of phlebotomy procedures in many countries.

Phlebotomists are people trained to draw blood from a patient for clinical or medical testing, transfusions, donations, or research. Phlebotomists are trained through a certification program; this program can be online, but it is recommended to be in a classroom. All training must also include a specific number of hours of practical training in all aspects of phlebotomy procedures. Phlebotomists collect blood primarily by performing venipunctures, (or, for collection of minute quantities of blood, fingersticks). Blood may be collected from infants by means of a heel stick.

Different blood containers for different test 

The duties of a Phlebotomist include properly identifying the patient, interpreting the tests requested on the requisition, drawing blood into the correct tubes with the proper additives, accurately explaining the procedure to the patients, preparing patients accordingly, practicing the required forms of asepsis, practicing standard and universal precautions, performing the skin/vein puncture, withdrawing blood into containers or tubes, restoring hemostasis of the puncture site, instructing patients on "post puncture care", delivering specimens back to a laboratory in the specified manner (as requested by the hospital and laboratory procedures of the hospital or outpatient phlebotomy center), ordering tests per the doctor requisition, affixing tubes with electronically printed labels, and giving specimens to a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) or a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS).

Here in the Philippines, there is a university offering certification on Phlebotomy.  The Philippine Women’s University in Manila offers a one (1) month certification in Phlebotomy. Other training institution offering one day or two days training provided with didactic and one on one practicum. There is no certifying body to control this training that’s why it is rampant and offers by different institution and training centers.

For more info about the one month certification of PWU, you may visit their website. 

Different Tubes and Its Uses

Advantages and Disadvantages 

I asked some of my colleagues regarding the advantages & disadvantages of this training and here are their responses:

Advantages:

1. It adds up the knowledge that we nurses had.
2. Additional acquired skills.
3. Increase employability of nurses in the hospital, in the laboratory, diagnostic clinic, etc. 
4. Highly compensated job abroad.
5. Offers another opportunity on laboratory and diagnostics clinics.

Disadvantages:  

1. In the long run, it will cause as an exploitation of nurses.
2. There is No legal and certifying body to assess the education & training programs.
3. One or 2 days training doesn't requires enough competencies in rendering venipuncture.
4. There is No existing law wherein they can back you up on other cases 

We know that this training will increase our skills and employability in the hospitals, laboratory and diagnostic clinics as well as abroad which gives you a high compensation. Basically, phlebotomy is a work of medical technology (I guess for those doesn't yet take their board exams here in the Philippines but in abroad there is a separate course on phlebotomy) which takes job for the nurses now a days due to limited numbers of medical technology in the country. That’s why this opportunity knocks for every nurse who wants to work related to their professions than working outside their shells.

As phlebotomist, you may also look a diagnostic clinic catering an Annual Physical Exam (APE) of different companies in the Philippines, going to their worked place for the APEs of their employees. You may apply as a part-timer. This part time job will earn you on a minimum rate per day plus additional over-time pay with food allowance depending on the clinic you applied for.

Moreover, form the listed pros and cons it is your decision if you are going to pursue it and make it as your bread and butter.

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