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The Art of Hemolysis

The Art of Hemolysis

Red is such a pretty color... unless it tinges the serum or plasma of the specimen you collected. Then it’s ugly. It’s ugly because it usually means the time you spent drawing the specimen was wasted and the draw will have to be repeated. But it’s more than a time killer. Having to recollect a hemolyzed specimen that is incapable of rendering accurate and useful results to the physician delays treatment, diagnosis, and/or much-needed medications. In critical situations, time

15 Best Jobs You've Never Heard Of

15 Best Jobs You've Never Heard Of

Check out US News's article about 15 of the best jobs you've never heard of. Discover these awesome, lesser-known careers in technology, business and health care. The first job mentioned in the article is phlebotomist! Unemployment rate: 3.4% Expected job openings: 28,100 Phlebotomists can't be scared of needles. They specialize in drawing blood and maintaining blood-drawing equipment. Learn more about phlebotomists here. #phlebotomists #phlebotomy #jobs

Reducing Phlebotomy Pain and Anxiety

Reducing Phlebotomy Pain and Anxiety

Last month we got curious about pain and anxiety. Researchers are reporting a dramatic increase in the number of needle-phobic patients and those who express significant anxiety about needles in healthcare. So we asked our subscribers and visitors to our web site what they are using to reduce the pain and anxiety of phlebotomy on pediatric and adult patients. For pediatrics, over 70 percent of those responding said they use verbal distraction (conversing, small talk, etc,)(85

Phlebotomist sued for allegedly injuring nerve in woman's arm while trying to draw blood

Phlebotomist sued for allegedly injuring nerve in woman's arm while trying to draw blood

A Louisiana patient is suing for damages allegedly sustained during a routine venipuncture. According to an online article from the Louisiana Record, the patient had her blood drawn on July 30, 2015. The suit claims an employee of the lab injured the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve of her left arm. The suit accuses the lab of negligence by failing to train its employees and failing to safely draw blood. In Louisiana, those who draw blood samples are required by law to be

Pre-analytic errors: Blood-Collection Errors and Their Impact on Patients

There are many details that are critical for every venipuncture. In this post, we connect the dots between pre-analytical errors and patient outcomes. Numerous errors can be committed during the collection, transport, and handling of blood samples. We also list the impact each error can have on the test result and patient. • ERROR: Delay in transporting/testing coagulation specimens • POTENTIAL IMPACT: Stroke, thrombophlebitis, and pulmonary embolism caused by unwarran

Phlebotomy's Seven Deadly Sins

Drawing blood is serious business. When performed incorrectly it’s not only a shame, it can be deadly. Consequences for deviating from the standards may not be immediate, but sooner or later these “Seven Deadly Sins” of phlebotomy can condemn not only your patient’s hope for health and wellness, but yours as well. Ignorance. It isn’t bliss. It’s dangerous. Those who draw blood samples can’t afford to be uninformed regarding phlebotomy’s prevailing standards. When you don’t kn

Ten Things Not to Say to Your Patients

Ten Things Not to Say to Your Patients

1. You have rolling veins. When a vein “rolls” it’s not the patient’s fault. It’s usually because the vein wasn’t properly anchored in the first place. 2. Your veins collapse. When patients hear this, their confidence in your abilities is likely to collapse, too. As trained healthcare professionals, it’s our job to know what equipment is needed to access the vein the first time. Make sure syringes, small-bore needles and low-volume tubes are in your arsenal. 3. I promise I'll

Best Practices in Tube Handling

Handling all the threats to blood-sample integrity is an enormously complex undertaking. Human blood is complicated. We’ve been studying it for centuries and we still don’t know everything there is to know about it. And what we do know is exceedingly difficult to apply every time we handle a sample. That’s because the preanalytical phase, or pre-examination phase, is predominantly a manual process that requires human programming. At the point of collection, machines don’t dra

Study: Single-Drop Test Results Not Reproducible

Phlebotomists: Your job isn't in danger anytime soon! Read on... A study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology suggests test results from a single drop of blood may not be as reliable as we think. Researchers at Rice University's department of Bioengineering collected six consecutive drops of blood into separate containers from 11 donors. Each sample on each patient was tested for hemoglobin levels, WBC counts, differentials, and platelet counts. In

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