3 answers
Asked
1178 views
What is a typical day like as a phlebotomist?
I would like to learn more about a day as a phlebotomist because I want to gain more knowledge to determine if this is the career I'll like to move forward with in the future.
Login to comment
3 answers
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
It depends on what kind of phlebotomy you wish to do.
If you are in a hospital you start your day with a large draw of a bunch of tests at the start of the day and just fill draws while helping out the lab as time permits, until the next shift joins the party.
If you are in a blood donation center/mobile . You start out by loading/prepping for the drive and screening and drawing donors till the drive is over. You pack up and done.
There are other kinds but they split mainly into those two until you have a few years under your belt.
If you have a few years, you could be a travel Phleb and go to different nursing homes and draw or to patients house and draw
Other wise you could go for dialysis tech and run a dialysis machine but I can’t speak to a day there
A lot of hospitals used to have shadow opportunities where you could follow a medical professional around.
If you are in a hospital you start your day with a large draw of a bunch of tests at the start of the day and just fill draws while helping out the lab as time permits, until the next shift joins the party.
If you are in a blood donation center/mobile . You start out by loading/prepping for the drive and screening and drawing donors till the drive is over. You pack up and done.
There are other kinds but they split mainly into those two until you have a few years under your belt.
If you have a few years, you could be a travel Phleb and go to different nursing homes and draw or to patients house and draw
Other wise you could go for dialysis tech and run a dialysis machine but I can’t speak to a day there
Thomas recommends the following next steps:
Thank you for giving me advice.
Bria
Updated
Stephanie’s Answer
I agree with Thomas and ill answer whatever he has not mention. Normally phlebotomy is a start up if you want to be Clinical Laboratory Scientist or Medical Laboratory Technician. Also, Ofcourse after your school you need internship and get national license and it depends on your state. However, in California you need your state license no matter what. Also, it's better to get a job in the hospital to gain more experience than in the clinic because sometimes you will be the only one in the clinic therefore, if your patient is a hard stick you will have a hard time. I will say get as much experience you need from different ages because you will need it. In the bright side phlebotomy makes pretty decent money just for drawing blood. Some of my friends making above $30 an hr with experience ofcourse. Once you get enough experience it's best to negotiate as well.
Thank you, Stephanie!
Bria
Updated
Elisa’s Answer
Typical day in Phlebotomy- typical starts at 4:00am (it’s called the 4o’clock run) when pretty much all patients get their labs drawn before the doctors or residents make their rounds on patients. From there the floors are split among the phlebotomists and then around 7am the next shift joins you to finish the remainder of patients.