Incorrect Labeling and Contamination Risks
February 16, 2012
While hospitals and other health care facilities have a mandate to be more fiscally responsible, there are areas that can pose risks in the effort to save money. One of these is having nurses and doctors drawing blood samples for testing rather than by trained professionals who hold a phlebotomy certification. Although eliminating a phlebotomy technician from regular staffing will in the short run save money, the repercussions do not outweigh the savings. It has been found that when medical staff, who have minimal phlebotomy training, routinely perform blood draws, there is a higher rate of specimen contamination. Incorrect labeling and turnaround time can also be adversely affected by the use of non laboratory trained personnel.
There are many vital areas that accredited phlebotomy courses teach including the color coding and patient identification procedures required for all blood draws. Both the laboratory and phlebotomy technician understands when to use, what to do with and how to differentiate between specimens containing, for example a bright yellow or white label. When specific procedures are either not understood or not followed properly delays in getting results for a patient in a hospital emergency room can be devastating.
More and more hospitals and health care facilities have come to understand the serious implications of not staffing trained phlebotomy technicians. Although not all facilities can staff a full time phlebotomist 24 hours a day many have come to realize the need to have them either on call or on staff during peak operating hours.
If you are interested in working in the medical field, enrolling in an accredited phlebotomy course is an excellent way to begin your career. For those looking to secure phlebotomy jobs but have limited time to attend school, an excellent choice is by enrolling in an online phlebotomy certification program. It is important to keep in mind that students must still conduct a predetermined number of actual blood draws in order to qualify for their final certification exams. Students who already work in a health care facility can often gain this hands-on experience through their employer alternatively; most phlebotomy schools do have practical training modules as part of their phlebotomy programs.
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