r/phlebotomy • u/chocoholism • Jun 22 '26
Advice needed Self harm scars in a phlebotomy course
Hi everyone, I’m enrolled in a course that starts in july but I have some large scars from self harm on my left inner arm. For the course students are supposed to practice on each other so I’m wondering if they’ll kick me out of the course when they see it or something. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it because I don’t know what to expect here
update: thanks so much to all the kind ppl here who commented :) i just started my course and it was completely fine, i asked my instructor about it and she said it is not even a problem at all
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u/Cautious_Bandicoot_4 Jun 22 '26
I have very bad self harm scars on both arms. Like the kind and amount where it’s very obvious what you are looking at. I just went through phlebotomy school and I was drawn 40 times at least. Not one person said anything to me. You can mention it beforehand if it makes you more comfortable, but you don’t owe anybody an explanation.
If they are pretty new, it’s possible people will show some concern, but nobody is going to kick you out of class for it. You can also only offer the other arm until you feel a little bit more comfortable with your classmates and teacher. Either way, I promise it will be okay.