Published
I think it might be facility specific. At my facility, the RNs do most lab draws especially on admission as we only have lab techs in the morning. I know there are probably more stringent protocols regarding everything related to administering blood products. RNs draw them and can, but two separate RNs must complete two separate pokes if the patient is new to the facility and they need both a type+screen and a blood type verification.
HeartsOpenWide, RN
1 Article; 2,889 Posts
Are nurses in California allowed to draw blood? We had an incident today where the nurse drew the patients blood during the I.V. start for a type and hold/cross because the patient was deathly afraid of needles and refused to be poke anymore. The lab tech got all bent out of shape and said she would have to check with the manager to make sure "us nurses" were "allowed to draw blood for cross match" I though drawing blood was with the nurses scope of practice, can we give blood but not draw specific labs??