Are you considering a career as a Phlebotomist?
Welcome to Phlebotomy-Jobs.net. To save you time and help you avoid some costly mistakes, we have collected the best, most current information about becoming and working as a phlebotomist. The information on this site is organized around the main topics of:
1) the outlook for phlebotomy jobs;
2) determining if the phlebotomy job is right for you;
3) learning about phlebotomy training options, costs and other considerations;
4) understanding the phlebotomy certification process and the certification exam; and
5) developing a longer-term career plan.
Use the category links at the right, or the buttons at the top to get more information about these topics.
The Phlebotomy Job Outlook
Like almost all healthcare careers, demand for phlebotomists is increasing. Healthcare occupations account for twelve of the top-20 fastest-growing careers in the U.S. This growth means that qualified applicants should have little trouble finding a job, especially in metropolitan areas that tend to have more and larger healthcare facilities – hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices, urgent care centers, and clinical labs.
Click here to read more about the phlebotomy job outlook.
Is the phlebotomy job right for you?
Phlebotomists draw blood samples from patients for testing, transfusions, or blood donation. When your physician needs a blood sample to monitor your health, the person who draws the blood is a trained phlebotomist.
So, you will have to be comfortable sticking a needle into someone’s arm. Now, maybe today you think, “oh, I could NEVER do that,” but your training, which includes a lot of clinical pratice, will prepare you to take blood samples confidently and easily.
Obviously, phlebotomists work directly with patients, you must enjoy working with people and be the kind of person who can reassure and calm a child (or an adult!) who is afraid of being stuck.
Because phlebotomists are potentially exposed to infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis, you must be able to follow complex procedures accurately and consistently. Procedural accuracy and consistency are also needed to insure that blood samples are correctly drawn, labeled, handled, and transported so that they produce accurate results. So phlebotomists must have a high attention to detail, even for procedures they may have done hundreds of times before.
Most physicians’ offices, clinics and labs work a typical Monday-Friday daytime schedule. If you work in a hospital, though, patients need care 24/7/365 and you will likely find yourself working nights, weekends and holidays, especially if you are the junior person.
Click here to read more about the specific tasks that phlebotomists perform.
Phlebotomy training options, costs and other considerations
You will find phlebotomy training programs at many community colleges, vocational-technical schools, and private for-profit schools. Training usually consists of classroom lectures, practice in a simulated lab, and a clinical externship where you work with actual patients.
The classroom/lab portion is typically about 50 hours, given in one 4-hour class/week for 12 weeks. Some programs, though, have as much as 120 classroom and lab hours.
The externship will typically be scheduled for about 120 hours, and requires a certain number of successful procedures with actual patients to demonstrate competency.
Like most anything, training programs vary greatly in cost and effectiveness. We urge you to research the options in your area and evaluate them carefully before committing to a program.
Click here to read more about how to find and evaluate phlebotomy training programs.
The phlebotomy certification process and exam
After you successfully complete your training program, we recommend you take a nationally-recognized phlebotomy certification exam, even if not required by your state. Certification will make it easier for you to find a job, and you will typically earn a higher salary.
We will help you get ready for the exam by showing you specifically what the exam covers. We will also direct you to exam prep resources and inexpensive practice exams that will help boost your confidence.
Click here to read more about phlebotomy certification
Develop your healthcare career plan
Before beginning a training program, you will probably want to have an idea of your future healthcare career options. We will direct to some information that will help with this task.