Phlebotomy is one of the crucial medical sectors yet quite underrated. Most people have never even heard of phlebotomists before, yet they have interacted on various occasions.
Phlebotomists are the health care professionals who draw blood from your body for tests, donation, research, or during a blood transfusion. They make it possible for clinical laboratorians to collect quality samples. All the laboratory reports depend on the quality of the sample. For accurate results, the phlebotomists coordinated everything in a clinical laboratory.
While the fundamental role of the phlebotomist is to draw blood, they play various roles to ensure accuracy for the results from the lab. It is important that phlebotomists always demonstrate proper blood collecting skills. If taken lightly, the sample can get contaminated due to errors or incorrect labeling. It can also lead to the destruction of red blood cells. It then becomes difficult to reach an accurate diagnosis.
How Phlebotomists Save Lives
While most people tend to overlook the role of phlebotomists, they play such a crucial role. Here are some of the life-saving roles in the field of phlebotomy:
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Drawing Blood for Testing
Taking blood is the main function of phlebotomists. Every medical facility depends on the blood for specimens when conducting various tests. As most patients fear needles, the prospect of pain can get even the toughest of the patients squirming. It gets even tougher when the process involves a child who doesn’t understand the need for a blood draw.
As professionals, phlebotomists understand how best to draw blood and make sure that patients feel comfortable during the process. They ensure the least pain to the patient while drawing enough blood. Once drawn they avoid compromising the quality of the sample.
With the right sample, the laboratory can come up with the correct results for a medical diagnosis and create a positive impact on others and save lives. The wrong diagnosis can always lead to the wrong medication which is life-threatening in some cases.
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Donor Phlebotomy
The other life-saving role of phlebotomists is in blood collection during blood donation. Blood is such a crucial medical element with one pint of donated blood saving up to three lives.
Each day over 43,000 units of donated blood are used in the US for all kinds of patients. Leukemia patients, prematurely born babies, victims of automobile accidents and individuals undergoing heart transplants are some of the groups that benefit from donated blood.
Donating blood is one thing, collecting and ensuring the correct quality that can be used by others is another thing. Blood is so delicate, and any contamination renders it becomes useless. Contaminated blood is also life-threatening to the one who receives it. It is the work of the phlebotomist to ensure the best quality of blood.
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Easing Concerns
Drawing blood whether during treatment or for blood testing is not an easy task. Otherwise, it would be a popular medical process among professionals. It comes with various concerns that make it a challenging task. Most people fear seeing blood while others just don’t want the pain that comes with it.
It takes the intervention of an experienced professional to make the process comfortable enough and ease patient concerns. This occurs before and after the blood draw.
Tips to Improve Skills
Phlebotomy is a skill that is learned. Like any other skill, it can be improved. Here are some of the ways to improve your phlebotomy skills.
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Partake in Continuing Education
Before you become a phlebotomist, you must learn and pass your assessment. However, this is not enough. Continued education is important for phlebotomists as it helps to ensure that patients receive high-quality care as well. One way to do this is by regularly attending phlebotomy or healthcare-related community events and conferences.
By learning continuously, you keep up with the industry’s inventions and best practices. You’ll also need a refresher for safety and preparedness. Learning also increases your professional standing and helps expand practice opportunities for specializations in the field and the possibility of higher earnings and advancement.
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Always Aim for Accuracy
No matter how much you study, there are also various things the come with clinical experience. One of these is perfecting your skill. As a life-saving process, you need to ensure accuracy when drawing. Use all the tools for appropriate roles, despite time consumption. With experience, you’ll learn how to handle various types of patients and improve your overall performance of job-related duties.
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