Phlebotomy is the act or practice of bloodletting as a therapeutic measure.

In laymans terms, for you and me, that means collecting blood from patients that have been sent to you by their doctor or medical practitioner.

A phlebotomist is the person qualified and given the responsibility of taking that blood from the patient and sending it onto the hospital laboratory for diagnosis.

The health and state of someone’s blood will tell the doctor the health of their body and usually highlight what they may be suffering from.

Phlebotomy is usually carried out in a hospital or clinic environment or even at your doctor’s surgery. Occasionally, by doctor’s request, a you, as the phlebotomist can even visit the patient in their home to collect the blood, especially if they are too ill or weak to attend at the hospital, but this is very rare.

Most doctors surgeries these days run phlebotomy clinics once or twice a week where parients will visit the surgery just to give their blood. This is different from blood donation where the giver is giving away blood to be used by someone else in need of it. A phlebotomist collects blood so it can be examined in a laboratory to check how healthy the patient is.

There are many different tests done on your blood these days to really find out the health of your blood. A phlebotomist usually doesn’t get involved in the diagnosis or analysis. Instead, the phlebotomist’s job is to take the blood is as healthy and comfortable way possible from the patient.

A phlebotomist usually takes up to 30 to 50 samples in a full-day so you can rest assured they have lots and lots of experience.

These days blood collection has changed from being therapeutic to being diagnostic and there are many different types of diagnostic tests available. Phlebotomists have become key players on health care team and also play an important role in the health center.

The job of the phlebotomist is to provide specimens for accurate and reliable test results as quickly as possible. The blood sample is labelled and sent to the lab usually the same day where it will be examined.

Phlebotomists are professionals and must conduct themselves accordingly. They must maintain a clean and neat appearance and must treat the patient with a gentle touch in a calm and unhurried manner. Customer satisfaction plays a big role in being a successful phlebotomist.