Welcome to PhlebotomyTrainingResource.com, one of the best sites online for phlebotomy training information! On this site, you’ll find a number of great resources including information about where you may be able to find phlebotomy training (listed at the bottom of each state page), state-specific phlebotomy certification information, as well as other helpful articles and information. With that said, let’s take a minute to look at what a phlebotomist does, and learn a little more about the career in general.

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What is a Phlebotomist?

A phlebotomist is someone who is trained in the procedure of drawing blood, which may also be referred to as phlebotomy. A phlebotomist may work in a number of settings, such as a laboratory, blood bank, or possibly even a doctor’s office or hospital. The procedure that a phlebotomist typically performs is called a “venipuncture,” which is the process of puncturing a vein and using a needle to draw blood from the vein for collection. A phlebotomist may also perform “dermal puncture,” which is the process of poking the top layer of skin and collecting the smaller amount of blood that comes out. Once the blood is collected via either procedure, it may be used for a number of things such as patient tests or blood donation. The duties of a phlebotomist may also include things like performing pin pricks, and preparing the skin puncture site in order to prevent infection, as well as maintaining a sterile work environment, entering information into a computer, and counseling nervous patients.

While there are other health care professionals trained in drawing blood such as nurses, paramedics, and doctors, in certain settings it may make sense for a hospital, doctor’s office, or laboratory to employ a dedicated phlebotomist. This way, they can have a dedicated team member who specializes in drawing blood, which may serve multiple purposes. It may free up other staff such as nurses so they can concentrate on other things, and because phlebotomists specialize in drawing blood, they may be the most efficient and skilled at it, which may lead to the best experience for patients. You can also visit the “what is a phlebotomist” page on this site for even more information about phlebotomists and the field of phlebotomy.

Phlebotomy Training & Certification Information

The path to becoming a phlebotomist may differ quite a bit, depending upon a number of factors such as where you live and the exact requirements in your state. For example, California, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington state may require a person to attend a state-approved training course, complete a specific amount of in-person clinical hours, and also receive certification credentials from a state-approved certification agency. For example, California only recognizes phlebotomy credentials from these organizations: American Certification Agency (ACA), American Medical Technologists (AMT), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ACSP), National Center for Competency Testing/Multi-skilled Medical Certification Institute (NCCT), National Credentialing Agency (NCA), and National Healthcareer Association (NCA). In states other than the four mentioned above, there aren’t state-specific requirements for licensure or certification, but hospitals, laboratories other employers may require phlebotomists to be certified by a reputable certification agency. You can learn more about some of the various certification agencies/organizations on this page.

People who have previous medical training and experience may be able to obtain a phlebotomy certification or potentially work as a phlebotomist in certain states in a faster amount of time than those without previous experience. For example, if you’re currently an RN or LPN and have performed blood draws as part of your work, the training and certification you already have may qualify you to take the phlebotomy certification exam at some certification agencies/organizations and bypass some of the steps that someone with no experience may have to go through. Also, as referenced above, not all states require working phlebotomists to be certified by one of the popular certification associations, so if you’re already an RN you might be allowed to work as a phlebotomy technician as well depending upon where you live. Again, this depends largely upon where you live, the local rules, and your previous training and career background. If you have no prior experience, you will likely need to take a phlebotomy training course in order to become a phlebotomist. Local community colleges, private training schools, and other organizations (like the Red Cross) may offer training courses in phlebotomy. If you select your state from the map above, you can view a list of local schools and organizations at the bottom of each state page that may offer phlebotomy training courses.

Basic Phlebotomy Career Information

Phlebotomists may work in a number of health care settings, wherever blood drawing is required. This may include places like:

Hospitals

Laboratories

Doctor’s offices & clinics

Blood banks

In some situations, a phlebotomist may also be mobile, and travel to nursing homes or other health care settings where they may be needed, but this might depend upon a wide variety of factors like the specific organization employing a phlebotomist, as well as any local regulations. The main thing to understand here is that generally speaking, there are a number of places where a phlebotomist may work.

According to BLS data (you can read more on this page), the demand for phlebotomists is expected to grow 27% in the next 10 years, which is “much faster than average.” This may make the idea of phlebotomy attractive to someone looking for a career where the growth potential is projected to be above average.

Learning More About Phlebotomy

Like many other health care careers, phlebotomy may be attractive to someone who has a heart for helping other people and enjoys assisting people in need.

If you’re interested in the idea of phlebotomy, there’s a lot of great information on this site. Each state page has basic information about phlebotomy, as well as information at the bottom of each page detailing places that you might be able to find local classes and training. Each state page also has some basic information about the training process, although the best place to get information about specific and current training requirements and is from the Department of Health in your state (as they may be subject to change at any time), and also from the particular certification agency or organization that you’re interested in getting your phlebotomist certification from. This site also has a salary page that contains aggregated BLS data where you can find information about statistical phlebotomy salaries across the US.

There’s even an interview with a real phlebotomist on this site in PDF form as a free download (located in the upper-right sidebar area), which asks 20 various questions in order to give people who are interested in becoming a phlebotomist a first-hand look at what the job is like from the view point of someone who is actually a practicing phlebotomist.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this site! Please take some time to look around and read some of the helpful information. As mentioned above, there are a lot of great resources here from salary information to an interview with an actual phlebotomist, and much more! This site was created to be a resource that is truly helpful and useful to people, so please feel free to look around! Thanks for stopping by!