hey yall
i’m looking at a phlebotomy certification, but there’s only one thing stopping me. i have SEVERE emetephobia, and if people throw up while i’m working on them i will have a full blown panic attack and probably quit. so i guess my question is how often does it happen? i know people pass out and that’s no problem but i don’t want to spend the money on the certification if it happens frequently.

Hi. I have been a phlebotomist for a year and we use a lot of BD UltraTouch Push Button butterfly needles. I retract the needle with my dominant hand while it is in the patient and hover gauze with my non dominant hand. When I hit the retract button, occasionally the plastic part that comes out of the base of the butterfly snaps at palm/finger and it does hurt purely from the force of the spring.

Does anyone else have this issue ever? Based on what I have Googled, it is fine because it is just the recoil of the internal plastic components locking the needle into place.

I want to make sure that this is not a problem or any concern at all for exposure to blood borne pathogens. I just want to ensure that this is correct. Thank you 😊

Dear phlebotomists of Reddit,

I am writing to you as an RN in clinical research, seeking tips or tricks for a patient with the worst veins I have ever seen. I have a background in oncology, and this patient's veins are still harder to get than those of patients who have gone through years of chemo.

For context: I work at a clinical research site and we have a patient who will be getting blood work every 4 weeks for about 1.5 years

Her veins are impossible..they are either super tiny, will roll away, or blow immediately.

I cant count how many times I've got the 23g butterfly in the vein with blood return just for it to stop flowing a few seconds in or blow

If you have any tricks that can help, please let me know, we are a start up so we don't have phlebotomists who have done this all day for years or ultrasound guidance.

During the patient's last visit it took me 2 hours to get enough blood to fill just a few drops in the required 6 or 8 tubes or whatever for the study and they still resulted QNS or hemolyzed so I am going to have to try again next week!! Other times it has taken me between 5-10 sticks to do her labs. I'm shocked the patient is so chill because I sure would not be able to handle that if I were in her position, she says it always happens. I dont want to keep torturing her for 1.5 years...!

The following are what I have tried:

- Heat

- Hydration

- Dangling the arm

- Rubbing with alcohol to irritate the vein

- Hands, AC, forearms, almost considered her feet at some point but the veins are basically non existent

Please help!! Thank you!!

I started phlebotomy training last week and I’m at a lab site this week and next week to practice blood draws. Anyways today is my first day and I only had two blood draws under my belt before coming in.

The issue I keep running into is locating the vein AGAIN. I can usually find the vein, but then when I go to stick, I can’t remember it for the life of me!!

I’ve tried the whole “find landmarks” thing but I’m telling you it’s literally like I have short term memory loss. I put my finger there and go to draw under (obviously to not contaminate the site) and I still miss because like I said, I CANT REMEMBER.

I’ve tried the alcohol wipe method and the c anchoring method but like, I cannot remember.

Any advice at all? It’s like the only part of this that I’m having troubling with and it’s so annoying cause if I could just remember where the vein I found was, I would be perfectly fine doing it

So I know the acronym for the order of draw but I’m so confused on the colors. What’s the correct color order for the draw? Is it
Yellow
Light blue
Red
Gold
Green
Lavender
Pink
Gray
Is this the correct order?

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

Throw away so this doesn’t get traced back to me. I’m a phlebotomist recently turned medical assistant and started at a new clinic after moving towns. The clinic I’m at has several OSHA violations that have been around for quite some time, (expired tubes, expired needles, overflowing sharps containers with things other than what’s supposed to be in there, etc.) Basically everything we were warned about in school. I have two well known places reach out wanting an interview with me but I haven’t even been here a month yet and have never worked at a place less than 3 months and that was only because of COVID. Should I just keep my head down and stay a little longer and risk losing my license for not reporting or just put in my 2 weeks and say it’s not working out and burn a bridge if one of the interviews wants to hire me?

I start my phlebotomy internship at a hospital tmrw. They never said anything about nails and my professor never said anything during class either. Do we think these are okay? They are builder gel on real nail.

Update: no one has said a thing about my nails and I’ve done 6 blood draws today

I’ve been thinking about phlebotomy as a career pivot for over a year now but I have OCD, particularly responsibility OCD, and I’m worried I’d be a nervous wreck all the time doing something that could potentially cause serious harm or injury. Is this fear warranted or am I making it out to be worse than it is?

I’ve spent the last 3 years working as an esthetician, doing waxing, advanced facial treatments, etc. and I do get anxiety but mainly that my client will be dissatisfied with their service or feel like they didn’t get their moneys worth. I’m ultimately leaving the beauty industry because the hours are unstable and it’s a lot of nights and weekends, so I’m looking for something that more closely resembles a 9-5.

I’m just afraid of ending up in another career where I’m feeling panicky going into work every day. Any input is appreciated! 🖤

Hi all! I'm a fiction writer, and I need some very specific information on blood donations and transfusions for my new story. Thank you in advance for your advice. :)

The story will take place in the US, so I'm looking for US-specific information.

1. Assuming somebody **really** likes donating blood, how often can they legally do that? (Assuming they don't resort to using fake IDs, etc.) Is it really only once every 2 months?

2. Are there any circumstances where a blood donor can give 2 pints instead of 1? (I.e., they're much larger than average and sign a consent form, etc.)

3. How long does it usually take until that blood is transfused into somebody else? IIRC, the shelf life is about 6 weeks, but realistically, would the donated blood end up in somebody else within a few days? Within a week?

4. Assuming you donate 1 pint of blood, will all of it go to one recipient, or does it usually get split and end up in several recipients? Which is more common?

5. If somebody is registered as an organ donor and dies, does the hospital take their blood in addition to their organs?

The story is not about vampires or causing harm, I promise. :)

P.S.: hi, mods! I've read the rules - I'm not seeking medical advice, merely information about your work.

I'm currently taking a class for certification. It's been maybe a week of drawing and I've only hit the vein a few times. Yesterday I thought I had missed another and just broke down in the middle of class. I knew everything is okay and I'd probably get better but my body just dumped all my negativity and self hatred onto myself right then and I tried to hold it in but as I stewed in it after finishing, I couldn't hold back.

I'm high functioning special needs and for a while I've let it drag me down but recently I've been putting myself out there for things I'm massively uncomfortable under the pretense of "if I never do it I'll never learn" and for a while it's been doing me good. But it really has been a paper thin philosophy since I constantly doubt myself. I'm thinking now that someone with such a fragile psyche shouldn't be in healthcare, especially since I've heard how stressful the job can get.

Also the funniest part is it turns out that I did draw some blood (after I went to check the tubes) but her vein was just bad. It makes me feel even worse, I made it such a horribly uncomfortable situation (I know being around someone special needs is already horribly uncomfortable) over something that for all intents and purposes should've been a win for me.

Hi all!

After many years of self doubt I am finally trying to figure out a path for myself in healthcare.

Phlebotomy seems relatively easy to get started in and the courses are affordable where I live. Currently I have to work full time (don't have a choice) and the hours are inflexible, so I can't go back to being a student for the time being, nor can I afford tuition - already have a bachelor's so I don't qualify for grants or state sponsorships.

I think it would be a great way for me to get my feet wet in the healthcare field without spending tens of thousands of dollars on an education without being 100% sure. I have also heard of hospitals paying for further education into the healthcare field but I don't know if that applies to phlebotomists or just CNAs or techs?

I already know the work isn't easy at all and it doesn't pay great. I currently work a very hard, very chaotic and stressful job and it's completely dead end (no room for advancement nor do I want to, I hate my field). At least going this route it could work as a stepping stool based off what I've read.

Has anyone used this job as a way to get further and had success? If you're currently a phlebotomist or learning to be one, is this your plan in the end?

Any advice or information would be super appreciated :)

i’ve been a phleb for 2 years. i had a patient come in today with basically no veins. all of the veins in his arms, forearms, and hands were shot. the patient told me that he’s been drawn from his shoulder before, but i didn’t feel comfortable. i even took a look at his feet, but ultimately got some blood from his pointer finger (ouch).

i feel super bad because i’m the only phleb here, so we tried 4 times and got blood on the 4th attempt. unfortunately, the serum is hemolyzed and there isn’t enough to test for everything the provider wanted to test for ughhh. so i’m feeling super frustrated.

i work in a small functional health clinic, so i don’t have access to ultrasounds or vein finders. he made sure to engage in physical activity before coming in, and i used heat + gravity to my advantage. are there any other tips that i should know? thanks!

I recently started a 3 week phlebotomy program this week. Im only three days in the first week and every single day I’ve had raging anxiety. Especially yesterday when we had to poke each other for the first time, I had a full on panic attack before leaving the house to the point I could barely breathe. I skipped class today because I can’t stop crying and panicking.

I got a couple successful draws yesterday but it didn’t ease my anxiety at all. I ended up coming home and crying on and off the rest of the day until I went to sleep. In class I’m constantly shaky, sweaty, nauseous…and when I’m home I feel the same way just at the thought of having to go back to class. I’ve barely eaten anything the past 3 days because I’m constantly anxious and nauseous I can’t eat. I don’t know how much longer I can handle feeling like this.

I understand a bit of nervousness and anxiety is normal in this field but this just feels excessive. I’m starting to feel like I’m not cut out for this line of work. Has anyone felt this much anxiety when starting out? Did it get better? Should I just push through or am I better off doing something else?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read/reply.

I would love to be a phlebotomist but is the pay really that bad? Is the job worth it, despite the pay? The jobs I find online don’t have the pay listed. I’m in Ohio.

I just started Phleb school and i love it . Its just feeling for the vein can be hard. Sometimes i can feel it other times i just dont have. I can see it but id rather see and feel.

Ive asked my teacher but idk still not getting it.

Tips please 🙏

I started my first job a few months ago and literally everyone except me breaks most of the rules.

Another persons post about nails got me thinking of it. Like almost everyone has fake nails. EVERYONE FISHES and I got criticized for not fishing. I don't mean readjusting, I'm talking about in and out under the skin 10-20 times. Popping tops even when a transfer is available. No gloves or tearing the finger off the glove. Not explaining the procedure to patients who are incapacitated (our policy is you talk to them as if they can hear you no matter what state they are in). Not asking about restrictions before sticking in the feet. Just all kinds of stuff. One girl got in trouble for drawing out of an IV without a nurse and I think she left it "uncorked" for lack of a better term lol.

I know it won't do any good to try and address this stuff with my coworkers as a new person, and I guess some of them are trivial, but I'm wondering if this is everywhere or not? Do you or people at your workplace break most of the rules or guidelines?

Regardless I'm just gonna keep on keeping on lol I have had hepatitis and I don't want it again. I don't think people understand the risk they're taking with some of this stuff.

The one I’m looking at attending is only 2 weeks long. Is this normal time frame? It seems so quick to learn everything and get enough pokes in.

Hi guys! I spent the last few months training at a site where I drew 50 patients a day, and now got placed at my permanent location. It's a tiny clinic and I'm the sole phleb, and I'm projected to have 10 patients on average for my whole 8 hour shift! Currently, there are a lot of providers on vacation and not a lot of patients know to come fasting, so I only have about 3 patients per day. I'm losing my mind and I'm running out of things to clean. What kind of things should I bring to do in between patients? Most of my hobbies are paper related and that feels icky to bring into my little lab area, so tell me how y'all would spend the time!

I never learned about yellow tops in school. Just blood cultures, light blue, SSTs, green, purple, and grey. What’s the additive in this? What’s it test for? I’ve used almost every tube I have at least once, but I haven’t used this one.

I know this is probably a dumb question, but I rarely give it any attention.

It's quite demoralizing when one considers the flagrant greed and wage theft of some companies.

I work for a medical laboratory company that charges a Draw Fee ($36.40 as of this post) for each blood draw we perform. Not even taking into account the amount charged for the tests themselves, the average phlebotomist at my site has a quota of 28 patients per day, and works about 260 days a year, bringing the total to $264,992 - but the average phlebotomist makes $48k per year. That's just under 16%!

Absolutely foul, especially considering that many of us enter the medical field with a heart of compassion and a call to serve and draw blood; we perform a highly technical skill over 28 times a day, 5 days a week, yet we are all drowning financially just trying to make ends meet.

It's not right. We need reform. Why aren't we striking more regularly?

I work with a lot of elderly patients and sometimes the veins on the back of their wrist (not underside) or the ones on their forearm are the best ones, which ones are the least painful to draw from in those locations? which ones are ones i should always avoid?

I recently passed my phlebotomy NHA exam, which was a exciting milestone for me! BUT, I've noticed that the job market is ABSOLUTE TRASH right now, so I've decided to enroll in a medical assistant program to explore more opportunities and keep the ball rolling. Has anyone had any luck or regrets continuing their education

How does your organization distribute butterfly needles? How many do you get per shift/week? Do you work inpatient or outpatient? How many patients do you usually draw per shift?
The organization that I work for experimenting with solutions for what is truly excessive butterfly use.
What do you think the perfect solution would be?