Can nursing student working at the doctor's office perform blood draw?

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I am a nursing student but have a part time job at the doctor's office.

is it legal to ask my work place to let me learn how to draw blood?

I am not sure where to look online or what keyword to search for online regarding this.. =/

I live in CA.

emtoh17

63 Posts

Do you know how to draw blood? Are you a phlebotomist? I would be a bit uneasy practicing a skill that you are not certified to actually perform. How about trying the keyword phlebotomy??

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Usually with a job they will give you on-job training for things you are allowed to do. At my place they didn't, but all techs are nursing students and they assume that we know how to insert/d/c a foley, draw blood, do dressing changes, etc. I would ask your employer.

semester1kid

215 Posts

Some facilities will train a nurse (nursing student) to draw blood while others will leave it to the hands of a phlebotomist. In our school, nursing students are not introduced to phlebotomy (although I guess inserting an IV would essentially be the same principle)...Family members of mine who are nurses also state that drawing blood is something that's taught on a facility by facility basis depending on their own policies.

Eek. Unless you work as a tech and your scope includes skills that you've learnt in nursing school, don't ask to do those skills and put your foot down when your employer asks you to do such skills.

HeartsOpenWide, RN

1 Article; 2,889 Posts

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I use to work as a medical assistant before nursing school. Here in California I could draw blood in the physicians office. Never the hospital. Unless the rules have changed you should be able to draw blood if it is in the office setting.

elkpark

14,633 Posts

If the office at which you work routinely trains people from off the street, with no credentials or background, to draw blood, and that is within the official scope of practice for your position in the office, that's one thing -- but being a nursing student does not give you any professional status/authority to do anything nursing-related (anything that a ordinary "person on the street" couldn't do) outside of your school's clinical experiences where you are being directly supervised by an authorized, credentialed nursing instructor.

Unless your employer would provide you the same training and authorize you to perform the same procedures if you weren't a nursing student, I wouldn't touch that with the proverbial ten-foot pole.

Specializes in Emergency Department.
I use to work as a medical assistant before nursing school. Here in California I could draw blood in the physicians office. Never the hospital. Unless the rules have changed you should be able to draw blood if it is in the office setting.

In CA we have to be phlebotomists now if you're not an MA or RN.

Specializes in Cardiology.

I'm just chiming in to say that when I checked last year, phlebotomists need to be certified in CA, so I'd agree with the above poster.

I would certainly look in the regulations before doing anything. Here in NY, you needn't be certified, so I was surprised to learn that some states do require it.

miniangel729

79 Posts

wow, thanks for all the input!

I am not a phlebotomist, just a nursing student.

I have learned how to do IV already, but we rarely get to practice the skill at all. we also are not allowed to practice on students. through out the 4 semester of nursing school, i have only started IV twice. and so i was just thinking maybe if I can learn how to draw blood, it would be another good way to gain some experience.

right now at our office, we have one medical assistant and a nurse that does the blood draw. they are very willing to teach me as long as my manager says ok. But I just kinda wanted to know if its even legal before I ask my manager.

sounds like it varies depending on the place you work, I guess I will talk to my manager about it =].

thanks again for everyone's help!

Thank you all again~

MInurse.st

181 Posts

I work at a women's clinic, and they trained me to draw blood (as well as do Depo injections, handle lab specimens, etc.). But this is in MI.

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