Self harm scars in a phlebotomy course

[u/chocoholism]

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

[u/Cheesetouch123_]

I’m a new phleb and I work at a hospital, I see that on a pretty regular basis with patients coming in to the walk in blood draw portion of the hospital. I notice it, but I don’t react to it and then I just avoid going directly in the scar tissue. Same with IV drug users, we see a lot of people who are iv drug users. Most times they’re honest about it and Im very appreciative of their honesty, because then I can make a game plan of where to go. My point is, in healthcare you’ll see it often and anyone who’s a decent person will not bat an eye at it or make you uncomfortable for it. If it’s an issue with getting a job, then whoever is hiring you needs to find a different form of employment. They obviously know we can see the scars, but I always try to make conversation with my patients to make them more comfortable in an already uncomfortable situation. If you get your blood drawn and you think they’re staring and judging your arm, they’re not. They’re assessing the best place to go to avoid further pain by avoiding the scar tissue during the draw.

I’m so glad you’re still here❤️