Nurses and Blood Draws?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in cardiac/education.

I am a pre-nursing student so fogive me for not knowing this:

Can you do blood draws as a nurse? I had my blood done today at a lab and the phlebotomy girl told me that nurses don't get taught anymore how to draw blood and that they are actually "bad" at taking blood, in her opinion. I thought Block 1 of nursing school taught you this? No?

Also, as a nurse, can you get positions as a phlebotomist (this will depend on answer above happy.gif, or as a MA? I know you would be paid less, but just as a second job or something?

Thanks in advance to the nurses here that will reply!

Janice

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I am a pre-nursing student so fogive me for not knowing this:

Can you do blood draws as a nurse? I had my blood done today at a lab and the phlebotomy girl told me that nurses don't get taught anymore how to draw blood and that they are actually "bad" at taking blood, in her opinion. I thought Block 1 of nursing school taught you this? No?

Also, as a nurse, can you get positions as a phlebotomist (this will depend on answer above happy.gif, or as a MA? I know you would be paid less, but just as a second job or something?

Thanks in advance to the nurses here that will reply!

Janice

Hi! I am a RN in an ER and we have multi-techs that draw blood, but if my pt needs an IV line than I do the line, and draw out the bloods to save the pt the stick! Good Luck, milk being a student thing while ya can!! I sure did!!! Oh and TRUUSSST me, as an RN you won't want to take those jobs on.. and legally cannot in NJ because you are over qualified.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I have just recently applied for a position in which I actually WILL be drawing blood from patients... also, our ICU nurses draw blood from patients, but I think they usually use pre-existing IV lines if possible. If not, I suppose that they have to stick the patients for the blood.

And no, I was never taught how to draw blood in nursing school; wasn't even taught how to start IV's until the last semester. I think if you can start an IV, you can draw blood.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
I am a pre-nursing student so fogive me for not knowing this:

Can you do blood draws as a nurse? I had my blood done today at a lab and the phlebotomy girl told me that nurses don't get taught anymore how to draw blood and that they are actually "bad" at taking blood, in her opinion. I thought Block 1 of nursing school taught you this? No?

Also, as a nurse, can you get positions as a phlebotomist (this will depend on answer above happy.gif, or as a MA? I know you would be paid less, but just as a second job or something?

Thanks in advance to the nurses here that will reply!

Janice

The phlebotomy girl's opinion was obviously closed-minded and ignorant, for her to have made such a blanket statement.

Yes, some nurses do draw blood, and are actually really good at it. Some schools teach it, and some don't. A lot of jobs will include it in the nursing orientation.

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:) Yes I tend to agree the phlebs comments were inappropriate but if I get my blood taken I ALWAYS go to the phlebotomist - That is what she does all day everyday and is very skilled in that procedure. :)

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I work in anED, and we draw blood alot! We have techs who can draw bloods and start IVs, but usuakky it is done by whomever is least busy-the nurse or the tech. I do have to say that our techs are better at the difficult sticks-alot of them have been doing this for 15+ years!

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Specializes in ER.

It does depend on the hospital. I have almost always worked ER and as stated above, anytime I start an IV, I draw a rainbow of tubes and send to lab even if just to hold, because 2 hours later, the doc is going to remember the patient needs a protime or some obscure drug level.

Drawing blood and starting and IV are a bit different, and you need more technical skill to start the IV because you have to have a vein large enough to hold your catheter and you have to thread it into the vein. I have drawn blood from many tiny threads that would never hold an IV catheter.

I have also worked at hospitals where the lab was a contracted department and they had NO phlebotomists, the nurses and techs drew all the blood in every area. This hospital had the most advesarial relationship I have ever seen between hospital staff and lab. They were on a real power trip and sometimes would call us to redraw blood 3, 4 or more times on the same patient saying it was hemolysed, clotted, insufficient quantity, etc. It was so bad with one particular staff person, they actually fired him. He was ratted out by his fellow lab personal. He was heard to say he just enjoyed messing with the folks in the ER so he would constantly demand redraws. When the lab is so far removed from the patient care, they tend to forget that an actual person, who hates needles is being stuck repeatedly. What a jerk!

Currently in my ER, we draw all of our own labs, but if we have someone we can't get, we can call the lab to draw. I have yet to have a phlebotomist get blood when I have not been able to, but we call just in case!

Once you get your RN, you will definately not want to work as a phlebotomist, or MA primarily because the money is not there. You can work an extras shift as a nurse and do much better!

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I draw blood on patients on a daily basis, and I am very good at it...I am a R.N. and I'll draw any phlebotomist under the table!QUOTE=nursemeow]Hi! I am a RN in an ER and we have multi-techs that draw blood, but if my pt needs an IV line than I do the line, and draw out the bloods to save the pt the stick! Good Luck, milk being a student thing while ya can!! I sure did!!! Oh and TRUUSSST me, as an RN you won't want to take those jobs on.. and legally cannot in NJ because you are over qualified.

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Before I became a nurse I was a Phlebotomist, and still am. I don't draw blood that often where I work, but if they need me to I will. To whoever said nurses can't draw blood, well, there definately wrong.

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Specializes in Babies, peds, pain management.

I work in OB/NSY. When a patient comes in a labor, the nurses draw blood when starting an IV, usually. I mostly work in nursery and ICN and I draw the blood on the babies, with or without starting an IV. Most of the techs don't want to do babies. Funny thing, I learned to draw newborn labs from one of the best lab techs I ever worked with, not from school. Like everything else, it takes courage and practice.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I draw my own labs when I start IV's. Seems to make sense in that it saves time, and more importantly, the patient one more stick. We are not "bad" at lab draws, those of who start IVs everyday. We do this all the time. And the patients DO appreciate "one stick shopping".

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I draw blood routinely, and am so good at it I'm known facility-wide as the resource person for difficult blood draws and IV starts. That is both a blessing and a curse, as you can imagine.

We don't even have a phlebotomist.

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