Earning a Living as a Phlebotomist Technician

After finishing high school, the next step in life is to choose a career for us. Nowadays, there are a lot of career options to choose from that causes newly graduates to be confused on what they really wanted to be. We all know that one of the best and chosen careers are those under health care like nurses, sonographer, doctor’s and so on. Today, another area in health care is making its name in the world of careers and this is by becoming a phlebotomist technician.

Not all people are familiar about phlebotomy. Phlebotomy is a method of getting or drawing blood from a patient in order to diagnose and treat a health problem. Although nurses, paramedics and doctors may be trained for phlebotomy still a phlebotomy technician is the one specially trained in performing this blood drawing process from patients. To give you a more detailed description on what a phlebotomist technician is, the next paragraphs will give you everything that you need.

Let us start by knowing what phlebotomist technician’s do. The main and basic job of a phlebotomy technician is to take blood from a patient for sampling. The blood samples are very helpful in diagnosing diseases and once the disease has been identified, it would be easier for other members of the health care team to provide and make a place of care for the patient. Phlebotomist technicians work in different work settings. But usually, they can be found working in laboratories, hospitals, diagnostic centers and blood banks.

Being a phlebotomist technician is a very neither fragile nor delicate job thus it is important to keep and maintain hygiene during the whole blood extraction method. To keep everything clean, it is important for them to always wear gloves while taking the samples. The phlebotomist technician must also know how to keep the patients relax to reduce and lessen their fear and anxiety since most patients are afraid of needles and injections. This can be done by explaining every procedure to the patient. They should also make sure that they will do the procedure with care and in a safe manner. To start the procedure, first monitor the vital signs of the patient. Make sure that all equipments and tools are clean and sterilized to prevent the spread of infection. Keep all medical records and make sure that everything is accurate. After the blood samples have been drawn, next step is to send it to the laboratory for further evaluation.

Seeking an insight and discovering the world of phlebotomy would give you one answer, this is a career that may be easy but drawing blood from a patient is a skill that is needed to be learned. That is by equipping yourself with the needed knowledge and skills needed to be a successful phlebotomist technician is the best thing to do. First thing that is needed to be done is to learn how to provide an environment for a patient where there is trust and confidence in your part while you are doing the procedure in a safe manner. The first step is to get a phlebotomist technician training from a recognized school that in the end will give you a degree. In looking for a school, it is important for you to be in an accredited phlebotomy technician school that will offer a program that can be finished for 6 months to one year. These schools provide classes on anatomy and physiology, blood extraction and blood sampling. Students are taught about the different venipuncture techniques that will not cause damage on the veins. Once the whole program has been completed, the students have an option to obtain a certification or not. A certification will give you a chance and opportunity to apply as an intern in a health care facility where you will be trained.

One of the most important aspects that have been attracting aspiring phlebotomist technicians is the phlebotomist technician salary. From the start of their career, new phlebotomist technicians will earn eight dollars up to ten dollars per hour which is good for those who do not have any working experience as a phlebotomist technician. If one has three to four years of working experience then they can earn more.
When it comes to an annual salary, phlebotomist technicians may earn $42,000 a year. The lowest salary earned can be less than $25,000 a year and the highest salary paid can go as high as $60,000 a year. For those phlebotomist technicians receiving the lowest salary can earn an average wage of $13 or even less than that. The lower wages are paid to those who are working in rural areas. Highest pay is given to those who are working in urban areas where they receive a salary of more than $40,000. For those who wanted to earn more, the location of the work is one factor that can help a lot. The five top paying states are Tennessee, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota and Alaska. These states will pay more than $50,000 a year.