Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Allied Health Career Spotlight of Phlebotomy Technician


Phlebotomy is a medical term used primarily to describe the act of drawing blood from a vein and the professionals who are trained to collect blood in a clinical setting are known as phlebotomists. Overview Phlebotomy technicians are important members of the health team who usually work with doctors, laboratory staff, nurses and patients. Health care professionals who are trained to draw blood from patients, usually defined as Phlebotomists sometimes their responsibility also revolves around taking finger-prick hemoglobin tests, which do not involve the use of a needle. Its main function is not limited only to collect blood for laboratory tests accurate and reliable. In fact, their responsibility also includes venipuncture or capillary collection.

On the other hand, may even be expected to carry out the responsibilities for routine laboratory medicine and some clerical duties. You may even need to perform other tasks such as collecting donated blood, bleeding time tests, therapeutic phlebotomies or specimen preparation. They act as guardians living with their services to blood banks encourage blood donation campaigns. Also control blood pressure and pulse rate in different conditions such as blood transfusions or blood donation in blood banks.

Phlebotomy Technicians are mainly used in hospitals and clinics, but sometimes may require the performance of their duties in private home care and the insurance industry or research institutions or nursing homes. Besides this, these days many private clinics and laboratories are also recruiting phlebotomy technicians. But today if you look at the prospect of working phlebotomy technicians then, for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities are expected to grow by 14% between 2006 and 2016. This is expected to increase due to frequent invention of new types of medical tests and population growth.

Salary Outlook

In terms of salary, phlebotomy technicians can earn a decent wage compared to any technician working in the health care industry. In general, normal wage varies from $ 21,356 phlebotomist to $ 25,779. However, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, phlebotomists can earn from $ 18,720 to $ 25,168, with a median salary of $ 21,944. Although certification is not a requirement for employment important phlebotomy technicians, but they can help in increasing their income, these days, there are several national organizations, including the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Sciences (NAACS) offer certification exams. Apart from this, wage levels may also be affected depending on the work environment (hospitals, blood banks and laboratories), experience and state / area of residence.

Phlebotomy Technician

Becoming a phlebotomy technician usually requires a high school diploma or equivalent and three or more months of specialized training, either on the job or through a formal medical care program. Today there are many universities and schools offering Phlebotomy Technician programs. During these programs, students learn to draw blood and how to work with patients. Once the student completes the program, he can choose to become certified professionals. These days, the certifications are available from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP), American Medical Technologists (AMT) and the American Association of Medical Personnel (AAMP). Regarding the formation of phlebotomy generally includes venipuncture, record keeping and security of the sample. 

Certainly, working as a phlebotomy technician is a brilliant career opportunity if you are looking to get into a different health career. The rewards are plentiful and longstanding profession may find great satisfaction in helping people in desperate need of medical help.