Phlebotomy Question

I took a phlebetomy course before I started nursing school. We practiced on a fake arm and on each other. After that I went did clinical hours and had to have minimum #100 sticks. Honestly, you can do this on the floor. Why pay for it? There were nurses when I started that did not know how to draw blood and they learned because they worked night shift. During daylight, the lab would come and draw. You will be fine. You learned to put IV's in. I hope this helps.

Phlebotomy training is not always provided by your hospital or unit, depending on where you work your facility may not deem it neccesary for you to do phlebotomy. If you have access to learn it I encourage it, usually your facility will provide your training if you ask.

I am starting nursing school in the fall and have a related question about phlebotomy practice. I have a serious problem being instructed to let someone practice on me. Is this required? When I used to donate platelets or whole blood regularly (10 years or so), I developed hemotoma's 25% of the time from poor technique by the techs. The last time I volunteered for apheresis, I developed hemotoma's in BOTH arms...:angryfire

That was the end of my donations. I don't like being a practice pin cushion - I've done that already. How does it work in nursing school?

some facilities have an outside lab come in or have an internal lab to draw all specimens, and if you work in a speciality like ER you may just draw the labs along with an IV start. if you are required to draw your own labs the hospital may provide training for you, but the best training is OJT if possible. when i first started paramedic school, we had to stick each other, and i couldnt hit the broad side of a barn.... practice and confidence makes perfect.. now i am the one anesthesia calls when they can't get an IV in...

We were taught venipuncture, both in NS and then again in orientation at the facility that I work at. We have phlebotomists that do lab draws, though.

I learned about half of my nursing after nursing school. School (in 1986)concentrated on theory, and the only techniques we actively practiced were general sterile technique, injections (on fruit), Foley insertion (on a dummy) and physical assessment. The rest was taught in clinical if you had an opportunity, or you learned it in your first job.

During nursing school, I was an EMT working with a couple of paramedics who thought it would be fun to teach the basic EMT/nursing student to start an IV. So I got to practice on them and their GIANT hand veins with my shaky little 22! :chuckle They were very kind and I never forgot their willingness to show me anything they were doing. I was/am a better ED nurse for it. They taught me EKG basics, IV lines/starts, how to handle emergency meds, etc, etc. So when it was time to be taught in the hospital, I already had a bit of the basics in mind.

Point is, don't plan on school teaching it all. Start looking for opportunities yourself. You are ultimately responsible for your own education.

I wasn't taught how to do phlebotomy in nursing school or during orientation. Lucky for me I already had phlebotomy experience working as an aide in one hospital which allowed the aides to draw blood and do EKG's. So I had those basics down at least and it was good experience.

ETA: we have phlebotomists that draw all the labs...but something like stat labs or labs I can't wait for phlebotomy to come up and draw I do them myself (I work the night shift.).