Nurses and Blood Draws?

tiredfeetED · Mar 27, 2005

Thats too bad that you are not taught how to draw blood. In our second semester we spent a day with a phlebo drawing bloods...I admit at the time i was scared. Now a days I put a IV in and get bloods and if they do not need a IV the phlebo comes and gets it... the phlebos i work with have a good communication with the ED. They help me find the tuff IV starts, they also get ABGs for us.

lsyorke, RN · Mar 27, 2005

Our Nurses assistants draw most of our routine blood draws, but anything that comes up during the day I do myself. We don't have phlebotomists!!

*PICURN* · Mar 27, 2005

I draw blood in the ICU, however so far it has only been from a pre-existing line.

I was NEVER taught how to draw blood in nursing school, only how to start/work with an IV. But basically if you can start an IV, you can draw blood. It's the same concept.

nursemary9, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

i was never taught how to draw blood or start iv's in nsg. school. however, i had to know how for a home health job.

now, if i must say so myself, i am extremely good at both & am also a resource person here in the hospital.

at nite here, we don't have phlebotomists & must do our own.

mary ann

CA CoCoRN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

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 , 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

As an RN or LVN, you CAN NOT take on a position as MA or phlebotomist. Once you are a licensed or Registered Nurse, you will always be expected to function in that role if you are working in a patient care arena. Therefore, if something with a patient was awry, you couldn't say "well, I'm just the MA" because you're NOT that, and you'd be responsible in a greater fashion.

If you wanted a second job, you could always take on Registry/Agency work using your specified licensure. However, if you are looking for extra income without using your license, it would be best to look OUTSIDE of healthcare.

CA CoCoRN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

I work in OB When a patient comes in a labor, the nurses draw blood when starting an IV..

*edited for content*

I work in L&D as well, and as a courtesy to the pt, I also draw my labs off the IV stick. I figure, since I'm putting such a large bore catheter in them, I might as well pre-empt any other discomfort they'd feel with further sticks.

We have dedicated techs on our unit who draw our labs...but they know to leave the tubes and let me draw my pts.

SleeplessInNJ · Mar 27, 2005

I work in a neonatal ICU and phlebotomists do not come to our unit, nor do respiratory therapists draw blood gases. The nurses draw all bloodwork. If the baby doesn't have an umbilical line for blood draws, we obtain blood specimens from a heelstick if possible, but if a relatively large amount of blood is needed or if the baby doesn't bleed much from a heelstick, we will do a venipuncture to get the specimen. If a lot of tests are ordered and a really large amount of blood is needed, we will obtain blood from an arterial stick.

When starting a peripheral IV, we will get the blood specimen prior to connecting the line to save the baby from an extra stick.

I was not taught how to draw blood in school-I learned on the job while working in the NICU. Don't worry if you aren't taught this in school. Depending on where you get a job, you will either learn on the job (and you will become "good" at it through experience) or there will be phlebotomists who will draw the blood.

As far as your other question, being a nurse won't qualify you to get a second job as a phlebotomist or MA. But there are so many specialties you can do as a nurse that you will have no problem finding a second job within the nursing field!

zacarias, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2005

I was trained in phlebotomy and IV therapy at my nursing school. The first hospital I worked at is a world-famous teaching hospital and we did phlebotomy and IVs there too. If a nurse who hadn't been trained in nursing school worked there, they would be trained as part of the hospital's extensive orientation.

I strongly suggest if you want those invaluable skills, go to work as a nurse and major teaching hospital, possibly even a Magnet hospital.

Titiana · Mar 27, 2005

:) 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. :)

I wouldn't neccessarily say that, I live in Upstate New York and out BOCES runs a program, where for about $100 bucks and 30 days you can be a phlebotomist and I have known some nurses that are amazing at drawing blood and some phlebotomists (nurses too) that are REALLY, REALLY bad at it.

And in answer to the orginal question I'm a secound year nursing student in last semester and I haven't been taught to draw blood or put in an IV.

You know every day I get more and more worried about what I'm not learning and then their shipping me out to take care of sick people on my own. AHHHH.

ageless · Mar 27, 2005

I was taught how to draw blood in nursing school and also the order of lab draws....Hmm, I thought this was standard :stone

SharonH, RN · Mar 27, 2005

I was never taught phlebotomy in nursing school although we may have discussed priniciples of it, I don't remember. That is the type of skill that one has to perform multiple times to be proficient at anyway. I currently work in occupational health and I draw all my own labs, who else is there to do it? I also had to do my own labs when I worked in home health and pre-admission testing. In fact at the time that I work in PAT, that particular hospital did not have a phlebotomy team so all the nurses all over the hospital had to draw their own labs. Also when I worked peds, we drew our own admission labs. I can draw blood with the best of them. So, as a nurse there may be multiple situations in which you will need to practice phlebotomy so don't count on never having to do it.

shodobe · Mar 27, 2005

The first year out of school I took on, as a part-time job, a position at a local lab. Since I was an RN I did not need a special cert that the regular phlebotomist or LVNs needed to do the job. As an RN I was given the job on the spot without special needs. A couple of days with the lab manager and I was on my own! Of course if you aren't a licensed Rn then you do need to go through a program to obtain a cert to do this job, at least in Calif. But, now a days they are letting almost anyone do things that years ago wouldn't be allowed to do. Mike