What is A Phlebotomy Technician?

What Is a Phlebotomy Technician and what do they do? Phlebotomy is a procedure that involves drawing a small amount of blood from the patient's body and taking it to the laboratory for testing. A phlebotomy technician or Phlebotomist is a qualified professional that performs this procedure on the patients and is a very important member of the laboratory team in a medical facility. Why do we need Phlebotmists?

Blood tests are performed for a lot of reasons. When your blood needs to be analyzed to detect any infection, or when you want to donate blood, a phlebotomy is performed. A phlebotomist or a phlebotomy technician finds the right vein to draw blood and send the specimens for laboratory testing. Unlike what many people may think, drawing blood without injuring the person is not an easy task. That is why there is always a demand for qualified phlebotomists around the world. Besides having the qualifications and the experience, a phlebotomy technician should also have the right kind of personality to work with people. Clinical and laboratory work A phlebotomy technician works in:

• Clinics
• Labs
• Doctors' offices
• Hospitals

When a patient is asked to get a blood test, the technician has to find the right vein from which a blood sample can be drawn. Even though phlebotomy is a painless and simple procedure, many people have the fear of needles and may not be comfortable with the procedure. That is why a phlebotomist should also be social and friendly, to make the procedure as easy as possible for the patient. In the laboratory, the phlebotomy technician has to test the blood and analyze it to identify hemoglobin levels, the white and red blood cell count, and to detect any illnesses in the body. The main things a Phlebotomy technician does are:

• Interview the patients to get their medical history
• Verify and analyze the medical records of a patient
• Check the patient's vital signs
• Obtain blood samples through micro-collection and venipuncture
• Prepare the blood samples drawn from patients fro laboratory testing
• Test and analyze the blood samples to detect illnesses and infections

Phlebotomy technician Career There is a great demand for phlebotomy technicians in hospitals and diagnostic centers. More than half the phlebotomy technicians in the US are employed in hospitals, while 20 percent work in diagnostic centers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for phlebotomy professionals is likely to increase by 14 percent, as need for diagnostic testing also increases.