Most of the job will be on the job training, but where can I learn this skill properly and quickly. I don't have the time with three small children nor money to take a class at my local community college and already up to my neck in debt at the university I attend. Where can I learn this skill?
2006-09-30 14:36:39 · 6 answers · asked by nene 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
If they hired you knowing that you did not have a phlebotomy certification, they will be planning to train you for this on the job as well. They will pair you with a lab technician, give you the basics, and then you'll just go around sticking patients to get the practice. When you've gotten good enough, they'll cut you loose to go it alone.
I hate to bring this up, but if you said you had the experience, and you don't...you're screwed. They will figure it out very quickly. ER patients come in all shapes and sizes and physical conditions; it takes practice to develop the skill needed to be able to consistently hit a vein and get the sample no matter what the circumstances. You can learn the basics quickly, but it is going to take you some time to be really good at it. You will miss a lot of the time when you first start, and you will have to keep sticking the patients until you get the sample. They tend to get upset over that.
As far as learning it somewhere outside of a medical facility or classroom environment--that would be difficult. You would have to acquire the different types of phlebotomy equipment that lab technicians use to get samples under differing circumstances. You have to be able to draw from babies, and elderly people, and obese people, and people whose veins collapse, and roll, and people with vascular disease--they use different things depending on the circumstances, and even then sometimes they can't get a sample. You need to be trained using different techniques and equipment. And you need to be trained to do the job safely. Infection is a serious issue for both care providers and patients.
The hospital is probably planning to train you; you'll be expert in no time. Good luck!
2006-09-30 15:11:27 · answer #1 · answered by functionary01 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to agree with the previous person ahead of me, how can they expect you to know and perform this skill if you don't? Something doesn't sound right. I attended a technical school for a year to learn venipuncture as well as many other skills. I'm not qualified to work in a surgical setting or ER, my skills ended up being utilized in a doctors office, some people ended up on the IV team in a hospital. The point is.....you have to have training in this you can't just pick it up in a hurry, that would get you sued.
Good luck though I wish you the best...Hey! I took too long to post and quite a few people got in ahead of the lady I was talking about....anyway I have to admit that after reading some of the post that I did not know that you could learn to draw blood while on the job at a hospital without having any experience. I stand corrected.
2006-09-30 21:54:08 · answer #2 · answered by Honeygirl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sorry to not give you an address or a video solution, but I know how to draw blood and do injections and you must practice on the patients at the hospital. On the job training is the fastest way for you to learn this skill. But here are some pointers. First, move the needle in to the skin at a low angle. Secondly, move at a steady pace, skin is tough and just press it in. Thirdly, veins roll. that is just a fact of life. If you don't get blood right away, don't pull out that will just hurt the patient more, re-adjust while under the skin and feel for the tough vein wall. And never forget to ask for more training time if you need it. hope this helped.
2006-09-30 21:51:37 · answer #3 · answered by scornedgypsy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way to do it would be to take a phlebotomy course at the local community college. Do you have any certifications? I find it odd that they would hire you without certifications to perform phlebotomy. Not to be judgemental, or anything, but were you totally honest on the application? It took me a few weeks to learn to draw blood, and years to perfect it. The best thing to do would be to talk to your training person at the ER and explain that you don't know this particular skill. That way they can train you according to their hospital procedure. Any other way is a shortcut that might hurt your patients someday.
Good luck!
2006-09-30 21:41:23 · answer #4 · answered by rita_alabama 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will get plenty of experience in the ER. Almost all of ER admissions require blood work drawn. Watch your preceptor and then go for it! Practice makes perfect.
2006-09-30 21:52:41 · answer #5 · answered by elease06 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the job training is all you need and the only way you get good at it is practice so dont worry about it , its not that bad....
2006-09-30 21:45:05 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋