Blood specimens in laboratories or physicians clinics are collected by different healthcare professionals, medical technologists, or certified medical laboratory technicians, or specially trained individuals who do the blood collecting. Phlebotomists are allied health professionals who draw blood from patients for medical testing. Phlebotomists usually work under the supervision of nurses, medical technologists or laboratory managers.

Blood specimens in laboratories or physicians clinics are collected by different healthcare professionals, medical technologists, or certified medical laboratory technicians, or specially trained individuals who do the blood collecting. Phlebotomists are allied health professionals who draw blood from patients for medical testing. Phlebotomists usually work under the supervision of nurses, medical technologists or laboratory managers.

In addition to drawing blood, phlebotomists are also responsible for following aspects of sample collection:

1. Explaining the rationale of procedure to the patient, Patients Bill of Rights, and considerations for patients during venipuncture.

2. Basic record keeping for laboratory reports in patient files

3. Phlebotomists should know how to prepare laboratory reagents and stains

4. Maintaining, and sterilizing equipment in the lab, waste disposal, decontamination procedures

5. Monitoring TPR (temperature, blood pressure, respiration) and pulse rate.

6. Transportation of urine and fecal samples to reference lab for testing

Training in the technical skill of blood collection is required for a professional phlebotomist. The phlebotomist is the critical link between the patient and the testing laboratory. Professional phlebotomists is proficient in drawing blood using various methods like venipuncture, capillary blood collections and to perform special skin punctures, such a collecting specimens from infants in neonatal care units as per the sample requirements. Collection of blood from indwelling catheter lines is another field of specialization for phlebotomists.

Related areas of specimen transportation, handling, and processing must also by fully understood and practiced by phlebotomist. It is important to understand the proper means for collecting, preserving, and processing blood samples. Usually a 5 ml to 25 ml sample of blood is adequate depending on what blood tests have been requested. In many circumstances this is done by a phlebotomist, although medical practitioners, some EMTs, paramedics, other nursing staff are also trained to take blood.

Due to the relative ease of obtaining blood samples, many studies are done on blood in diseased and normal states. Much valuable information is available to physicians in timely manner and low cost with least discomfort to the patients. Certain routine blood tests are part of new hospital admissions, in hematology and chemistry departments. Blood is also cultured in microbiology department. Immunological and serology tests are performed by detection of antibodies in patient blood serum. Majority of immunology tests are done on serum for which blood is collected in a plain tube and allowed to clot completely before being centrifuged.

Any clinic or hospital cannot function without utilizing medical laboratory. Information obtained from laboratory testing is used for upto 85% of patients clinical decisions. Major changes in patient treatments can result due to minute errors in pre-analytical procedures or small changes in test results. The quality of data provided by lab technicians and phlebotomists is the key to patient diagnosis, for managing therapy, and to determine prognosis of disease in that patient.

Proper training, good understanding of good laboratory practices, and reduced personnel turnover rate of phlebotomy technicians is therefore necessary to reduce the chances of errors which can range from patient misidentification, mislabeling, wrong collection tube used, to collection of improper specimens unsuitable for analysis due to unsuited venous access, venous stasis, inappropriate collection devices and containers. Continuous education and certification, training and standardization of techniques is therefore very important for the phlebotomists to obtain high quality specimens, which would ultimately result in better patient service and improved health care system.

Though it is not compulsory for a phlebotomist to be certified, but it definitely gives an added advantage and confidence in the job market to a phlebotomist. Education and certification requirements for phlebotomists vary from state to state. State of California and Louisiana have enforced mandatory licensing for all persons who are not doctors, nurses, or clinical lab scientists. Whereas, in other states phlebotomists can work and draw blood under the supervision of medical staff regardless of former experience. Phlebotomists need to be thoroughly trained to take blood regardless of state of practice. Phlebotomists can choose an associates degree program at a community college, or phlebotomy diploma, which are offered through vocational/technical schools lasting for a couple of months. Before beginning practice, phlebotomists should be licensed and registered as required in some states, in addition to being educated and certified. State departments of health and phlebotomy schools can give an overview about these regulations.

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