Yes, the jobs situation in the United States is dismal, but for those in the right professions, the opportunities still abound, and one of those are phlebotomy jobs. The advantage of this profession is the fact that it is an important part of the healthcare industry, and is performed every day, all over the world.

If you really think about this, then you can see how just about every hospital and medical clinic in the country has a need to have professional clinicians to draw blood and other fluids for testing and diagnostics.

The fact that as the baby boomer generation is steadily moving into senior hood, there are more and more needs for trained and certified personnel to perform these types of services. This need, will certainly not diminish, but is expected to continue to grow by approximately 14% over the next decade.

In this article, we will attempt to provide you with the information you need, to know about phlebotomy job opportunities, where the jobs are, the industries with the highest employment, and the average salary range you can expect to earn.

Highest Employment Industries

Just to give you a picture of the employment possibilities for a person with a phlebotomy certification, After the Federal Government, the top employment industries for a phlebotomist are:

• General Medicine & Surgical Hospitals

• Universities & Colleges

• Physicians Private Offices

• Diagnostic and/or Medical Labs

According to the American Hospital Directory, as of April 2011, there were over 4,000, non-federal, short-term, acute care hospitals in the United States. If you realize that every one of those hospitals requires the services of multiple trained phlebotomists for proper patient testing and diagnosis, you can imagine how many phlebotomist jobs we’re talking about.

It gets better. Now imagine the fact that there are far more universities and colleges in this country than there are hospitals. There are far more physician’s offices than hospitals as well, so the numbers are even more staggering. Yes, I know, not every doctor’s office may employ a phlebotomist, but the statistics show that the vast majority does.

Jobs By State

The following list is for the top ten states with the most hospitals and gross patient revenue. Revenues are important because the more money they make, the more staff they can hire.

1. Texas -                    374 – $157,000,000
2. California -          355 – $256,000,000
3. Florida -                 212 – $159,000,000
4. New York -           207 – $129,000,000
5. Pennsylvania – 179 – $124,000,000
6. Ohio -                      158 – $85,000,000
7. Illinois -                143 – $86,000,000
8. Tennessee -        116 – $44,000,000
9. Georgia -               116 – $51,000,000
10. Louisiana -          114 – $30,000,000

* all figures denoted in billions

As mentioned before, this is only the list of states and the number of hospitals that are part of the Industry employing and paying the highest average phlebotomist salary. But this is also a good indicator of the potential for phlebotomy jobs with Universities & Colleges, Physicians Private Offices, and Diagnostic and Medical Labs within each state as well.

It may also be worth noting that the top four states enjoy very large populations of the aged who seem to group in locations with predictable climates. Another helpful tidbit to know is the fact that there were approximately 124,000,000 emergency department visits in 2008, resulting in over 16,000,000 hospital admissions, requiring phlebotomy services.

Salary Expectations

Salary expectations for phlebotomist jobs are like riding a roller coaster. The fluctuation can be significant based on the industry you work in, whether you work in the private or public sector, and the number of years of experience you bring to the job.

The bottom 10% can earn as little as $9.00 per hour, while the top 10% can earn over $14.00 per hour. The highest average annual salaries are paid in states such as New York, Massachusetts, Washington DC, California and Connecticut, with salary ranges from $37,000 to $34,000.

Jobs In Hospitals

If you work for a hospital, the salary will be affected by the size of the facility, and perhaps by the location of the facility. For example, if the hospital is a facility with fewer than 100 beds, your pay will be less than if the hospital is a megalith with over 500 beds.

For comparison purposes, here are some hospitals located in California:

• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center – Berkeley with 527 beds and $2,246,543,000 in gross patient revenue.

• California Pacific Medical Center – San Francisco with 540 beds and $2,700,935,000 in gross patient revenue.

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Los Angeles with 955 beds and $7,994,337,000 in gross patient revenue.

• Community Regional Medical Center – Fresno with 767 beds and $2,474,693,000 in gross patient revenue.

• University of Southern California Medical Center – Los Angeles with 724 and $1,870,786,000 in gross patient revenue.

All of the above hospital facilities pay their senior phlebotomists above the national average for a phlebotomy salary. All locations use multiple clinicians to perform the services of a certified phlebotomist. If you want to enjoy success in phlebotomy jobs, be sure to thoroughly research the hospital industry for your next opportunity.

If you happen to be searching for information about phlebotomy schools, then you’ve come to the right place. I’ve completed an exhaustive search for just about everything you will need to know when it comes to the training and education for the profession of phlebotomy.

Sure, you can spend a great deal of your own time zig zagging back and forth across the Internet, researching how to become a phlebotomist, but I have no doubt that after spending an inordinate amount of time and effort, you’ll realize that everything you needed was right in front of you, the whole time, in this blog.

So, let’s start at the beginning and take a look at just what kind of training and/or education is required for this occupation. The first thing you need to be aware of is, the fact that many or most states in this country, have little to no rules and requirements to engage in this occupation.

As a matter of fact, it is very possible to experience on the job training in a variety of settings and eventually become proficient enough to earn a phlebotomist salary. As of this writing, there are only two states that have what could be considered restrictions against on the job training or such, and they are Louisiana and California.

Both states require that all people who are not medical doctors, registered nurses or clinical lab scientists, attain a license in order to draw blood. Yes, bummer indeed, but there are very important reasons for these requirements.

Society as a whole in America is very litigious and in order to minimize any repercussions concerning ill prepared or poorly trained clinicians, requiring licensure establishes at least a minimum standard of proficiency. The California medical insurance industry may also have a hand in this requirement.

A Word of Warning

Once you have decided to forge ahead with phlebotomy training, things begin to become a little tricky. For example, are you in a position where you need to earn a phlebotomy certification as quickly and as cheaply as possible, in order to begin working as soon as possible? Or can you carve out sufficient time to get a real education?

I’ll be up front with you here, the choice you make at this point will absolutely have a serious affect on future career aspirations as a phlebotomist. One of the things you will be confronted with are all the offers and come on’s to achieve your certification in as little as hours, or days.

I’m sure you’re aware of the warning, “a fool and his money are soon parted?” well, this definitely applies here. One thing these shysters all lack is, accreditation. Anyone who promises to train you and claims that accreditation isn’t necessary, or tries to proffer some razzle-dazzle dubious organizational ties, is only trying to rob you. Put both hands on your wallet and run.

Accreditation

Before making any commitments of any kind to phlebotomy schools, be certain that they are nationally accredited, and are considered “in good standing”, meaning they are accredited, and are not in danger of losing said accreditation. Some of the following associations can provide a wealth of information on the accreditation status of most phlebotomy schools:

American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians
PO Box 1831,
Hickory, NC 28603
www.aspt.org/

National Phlebotomy Association
1901 Brightseat Road
Landover, MD 20785
www.nationalphlebotomy.org/

National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel
P.O. Box 15945-289
Lenexa, KS 66285
www.nca-info.org

National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
5600 North River Road
Suite 720
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.naacls.org

American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
6701 Democracy Blvd
Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20817
www.ascls.org

American Medical Technologists
10700 W. Higgins Road
Suite 150
Rosemont, IL 60018
www.amt1.com

Recommendations

For anyone considering becoming a phlebotomy technician in the state of California, as I mentioned before, there are minimum standards that must be met. Not only must an aspirant be at least 18 years of age, but must also posses a high school diploma or a GED.

Such a person must have completed at least 20 hours of basic as well as 20 hours of advanced phlebotomy classes, and at least 40 hours of hands on intern training in a recognized clinical setting approved under the guidelines of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988. They must also have at least 50 venipunctures conducted successfully, with no less than 10 performed on live subjects.

As you will discover, these kinds of requirements are becoming the minimum standards that many major hospitals and clinical environments demand from anyone seeking after employment. Without these qualifications, you can’t even get your foot in the door, much less be considered a qualified applicant for available phlebotomy jobs.

As a possibility for your consideration, I’ve taken the liberty of listing two prominent schools in the healthcare field and specifically for the science of phlebotomy technician or phlebotomy technologist careers:

Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003
(703) 323-3000
(877) 408-2028
Email: mecbusinessoffice@nvcc.edu
www.nvcc.edu/campuses-and-centers/medical

Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences
938 Marina Way South
Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 231-5000
(888) 299-0077 Toll Free
(510) 231-5001 Fax
www.kpsahs.org
This California school is recognized by the California Department of Health.

One other option for potential aspirants is to conduct your training online, and there are many qualified phlebotomy schools available that can make this offer. Again, it is incumbent upon you to do your due-diligence to ensure the program is fully accredited. For many, this option may produce the most cost effective method to complete a quality education while managing financial responsibilities.

For the majority of healthcare career aspirants, today’s academic environment can offer a variety of options for you to complete your education in just about any medical field and for a variety of budgets. There are many phlebotomy schools across the nation, you just have to choose the one that fits you best.

We Americans, like the British, do love our titles, and phlebotomy technician is one of those fancy schmancy titles given to those who perform phlebotomy duties. I often think that these important sounding designations are just a way for management to be able to establish a tier system that forces employees to not expect too significant a raise each year.

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly don’t mean that the title is not earned or shouldn’t be awarded, but I’m not a fan of the “technologist I, technologist II, technologist III, type of promotional system. I much prefer to secure my promotions and raises the old fashion way, by academics and credentialing.

Any time you leave your career and financial future in the hands of those who may have an agenda of enacting barriers to slow the rise of salaries, this never works out for the benefit of the employee. This is why I am a little dubious of titles such as phlebotomy technician, senior phlebotomy technologist and others.

The Job

For the purposes of this article, we are going to focus on phlebotomy technicians that specialize in laboratory settings. Certainly there are many other environments that engage the activities of a phlebotomist, such as blood banks, and health clinics, but in this case we will examine the laboratory environment that affords some of the best career opportunities for someone who has completed their academic phlebotomy training.

While the standard dictionary designation for phlebotomy is the act or practice of opening a vein for letting blood as a therapeutic measure; venesection; bleeding. The person performing these duties, called a phlebotomist or phlebotomy technician is a specialist in phlebotomy or a health worker trained in drawing venous blood for testing or donation.

In other words, this specialist should expect to be drawing blood and other bodily fluid samples for testing and analysis, but in the laboratory, there are many more duties that can be assigned.

The Clinical Lab Technician

Clinical laboratory technicians can be an important part of the initial testing process, as it is they, who must collect the appropriate samples on which the testing and analysis will be applied. Though they usually perform less complex tests or procedures than laboratory technologists do, technicians can prepare specimens and even operate automated analyzing equipment, or they may perform specific manual tests in accordance with detailed instructions.

Technicians usually work under the direct supervision of clinical laboratory technologists or laboratory managers. Like technologists, phlebotomy technicians may work in several areas of the clinical laboratory or specialize in just one. A move up the career ladder can include a promotion as a histotechnician. These lab professionals cut and stain organic tissue specimens for microscopic examination and evaluation by medical pathologists.

The Clinical Lab Technologist

One of the promotional advancements that a phlebotomy technician can aspire to is, the position of clinical laboratory technologist. But it must be clearly understood that there is no way that an aspirant can expect to achieve such an important position without attaining at least a bachelor’s degree.

Clinical laboratory technologists examine all types of specimens and analyze body fluids, and cells. They look for such things as bacteria, parasites, and other microorganisms, they analyze the chemical content of a variety of different fluids, and test for certain drug levels in the blood that show how a patient is responding to treatment.

Technologists can also prepare specimens for examination, as well as count cells, and look for abnormal cells in blood plasma and body fluids. They use high-powered microscopes, cell counters, and other sophisticated medical lab equipment.

They also use some of the most cutting edge automated equipment and computerized instruments capable of performing multiple tests simultaneously. After carefully testing and examining a specimen, they bring their academic training and work experience to bear to analyze the results and, relay the results to physicians and medical professionals.

Educational Requirements

It is important to state for the record that there are very few barriers to entry for this occupation. Few states (with the exception of California) have educational and licensing requirements to begin practicing this profession, but while it may only take a few weeks of training and passing a certification examination, this doesn’t mean that you can expect to experience significant raises or promotions in the future.

If you can be happy earning a phlebotomy certification and being relegated to doing nothing more than drawing samples, then this is perhaps your best bet to earning your phlebotomist salary with minimal out of pocket expense.

But if you have enough ambition and desire to experience the best in income and opportunity, then be prepared to commit to the best academic training you can afford, and you’ll find that a position as a phlebotomy technician will only be the first step to a rich and rewarding career.

The science of phlebotomy as practiced today differs enormously from the ancient science as practiced in the times of the earliest recorded history. While this art was spread over many civilizations during its origins such as the Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Greeks, it was more dominant within the Chinese and the Greco-Roman cultures for thousands of years.

From its popularity through medieval times, to its demise in the late 19th century, and its resurgence in the mid 20th century, this ancient practice has undergone hundreds of evolutions and adjustments to, its achievement as a bonafide medical practice.

From its earliest practitioners who are known as respected scientists and philosophers, to the thousands of quacks who, plied their trade on unsuspecting and desperate patients throughout millennia to, the current professionals who are now an important part of modern medicine, phlebotomy has stood the test of time, albeit in a completely new format and principle.

The tremendous expanse of phlebotomist history is very much a panoramic landscape filled with deep dark valleys, and few peaks. Certain avenues of medical experiment and development have proven to be blind alleys or dead ends, from a historical perspective, while others have been uncommonly fruitful. What is commendable, is the rugged ingenuity, persistence and resourcefulness of mankind in his ongoing struggle to overcome injury and disease.

The Greco-Romans

One of the earliest scientists, known for the systematizing and organizing of Greek medicine was Hippocrates, now known as the father of medicine. It was he who originated the theory of the humors. But even he was, preceded by a Greek named Pythagoras who may have actually had the basic notion of the humors.

The theory of the four elements came from a Greek named Empedocles who believed that everything in the universe, especially the human body is made up of the four elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air in varying proportions. But it was the physician Thales who, due to his concurrence of the four elements, added black bile to, the list of three humors, blood, phlegm, and yellow bile in order to match the four elements.

A young student of Pythagoras named Alcmaeon of Crotona promoted the theory of isonomia, which describes the perfect harmony and balance of all substances in the human metabolism. A person remained healthy as long as metabolic harmony was maintained, but disease was a result if there was an imbalance.

It was this, so-called, imbalance that phlebotomy was supposed to address. Though Hippocrates provided a great deal of phlebotomy training, he did not ascribe as much importance on the procedure as did his student, Galen and his followers.

But Hippocrates was not the originator of phlebotomy. It is believed that Greek Medicine actually came from the Egyptians who were already old and well established as the Golden Age of classical Greece was dawning.

Medical scholars believe that the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete became the intermediary in this transfer of medical theory and practice with Egypt. Two figures also stand out in this regard: Pythagoras and Thales. Pythagoras was well traveled throughout a wide region, and Thales actually received his physicians training in Egypt.

As was the case with Greek Medicine, the origins of Egyptian Medicine grew out of religious beliefs and spirituality. The Egyptian god of medicine was Imhotep. Prayers and supplications were made to this deity and a variety of other gods for healing intercessions. It was believed that a person or persons must entreat the gods to intervene in matters of health and disease.

Egyptian Medicine at the time was primarily scientific, civilized and rational. The heart was considered to be the center of the human circulatory system, and blood was considered to be an important regulatory, cleansing and nutritive substance.

Specialists in Egyptian medicine abounded for just about every field of medical practice. Every anatomical part of the human body had its own specialist who administered to it. This combination of medical specialist and Egyptian deity had, a profound effect on the medical outcomes, the populace experienced.

Although Hippocrates established the theoretical foundations of Greek medicine, they were vastly expanded by, later physicians and philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and Galen. Some of the most highly regarded Greek philosophers of their times.

The early Romans had very little use for physicians, preferring instead to live simple lives with healthy diets of wholesome varieties of foods, personal cleanliness and hygiene and vigorous hard work and exercise. But things began to change as the Roman Empire grew, and life became more complicated.

At a certain point, the skills and services of physicians came into greater demand and physicians from the major points of the empire, attracted by fame and fortune began flooding in. The most famous and highly regarded of these physicians were Greek. In this way, the practice of phlebotomy and an abundance of phlebotomy jobs were soon a mainstay in the Roman culture.

Two of the most prominent Roman physicians, were in fact Greek, and were named Galen and Dioscorides. Galen was regarded as the greatest medical practitioner of the Roman Empire, and Dioscorides was a master herbalist and eventually became known as the father of pharmacy.

When the Eastern Roman Empire finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, they had already passed on the medical teachings of classical Greek medicine to the Muslim Arabs of the Middle East. It was they, who kept this science alive while the rest of the world and Europe descended into the dark ages.

The Chinese

While ancient China’s medical development was relatively isolated for centuries, there was early contact with India and Tibet. Buddhism migrated to China from India, and many medical concepts and practices were an important part of its teachings.

The gymnastic combat movements and breathing exercises promoted, in Chinese medical and health methodology also came from India, and were closely related to the principles of Yoga and to aspects of Ayurvedic medicine found in India for centuries.

There were also similar contacts with regions in Southeast Asia, Persia (the Middle-East), and the Arabic world. At some point in the second century B.C., during the western Han Dynasty, the Chinese ambassador Chang Chien traveled more than a decade through Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia, bringing back information on medicine, drugs, viticulture, and other subjects. It was during this time that, knowledge of humoral medicine and new medical processes and procedures filtered into China.

Physiological bodily functions were assembled into a humoral system much like Greek concepts of the sixth century B.C. and Galenic theory of the second century A.D., with the exception that there were five instead of four essential humors. (The number “5” held mystical and spiritual value for the Chinese and was used for most designations: five colors, five elements, five emotions, five tastes, five seasons, five treatments, five solid organs, etc.)

The medical compendium Nei Ching compiled for the Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti stated that each emotion had its seat in a particular organ. Happiness dwelt in the heart, sorrow in the lungs, thought in the spleen, and the liver housed anger as well as the soul. One of the treatments to stimulate the life force or QI was acupuncture.

As a matter of fact acupuncture was originally a form of phlebotomy – the “needles” were really lances and the acupuncture points were locations over specific veins to be opened. Chi, or the Chinese concept of the life force, was believed to be a part of the blood, and phlebotomy could be used to free the flow of chi.

As an example, in the ancient Chinese medical text of Suwen, he writes:

“When heaven is warm and when the sun is bright,
then the blood in man is rich in liquid
and the protective qi is at the surface
Hence the blood can be drained easily, and the qi can be made to move on easily”

In general the ancient Chinese practice of phlebotomy has fallen out of popularity because it seems barbarous and because the real physiological function of blood is now a matter of modern science. The Chinese techniques that were originally developed for phlebotomy have been “rebranded” to be more acceptable to modern sensibilities, so acupuncture is now purely about chi and no longer about blood.

Phlebotomy in Summation

The ancient science of phlebotomy has a long and twisted history, but suffice to say that a practice begun in religious rites and ceremonies, eventually morphed into an honorable method of treatment by honest but ignorant medical practitioners, and then turned into a financial bonanza by medical quacksters, has finally come full circle to a needed and respected medical specialty once again.

The phlebotomy specialists of today have nothing to do with the treatment of disease, but everything to do with analysis and diagnosis.

No doubt in your research to establish an understanding of perhaps a variety of potential careers, you are now ready to look closer, and determine how to become a phlebotomist. In order to gain a reasonable answer to your query, we must first perform a series of introspection. We must ask a number of logical questions, the answers of which will become, the basis of our initial question and its result.

Without knowing what knowledge you may have gained in order to get to this point, I will go on the assumption that you have enough information to be excited at the prospect of beginning the process to enter this medical field, and now you want the specifics on what must be undertaken in order to begin practicing this potential avocation.

The Emotional Aspects

Sure, everyone thinks they have the emotional strength to conduct themselves in a medical setting day in and day out, but the same is said about how everyone thinks they know how to tell a joke. They don’t, no matter how much they may delude themselves about whether they have good comic timing or not, most people can not pull off a good joke.

Taken a step further, the same situation confronts many police officers. Though they may begin as idealistic peace officers, trying to protect the public from the predators, they are confronted every day by the lowest dregs of society. Dealing with this flotsam and jetsam of human degradation, they eventually become very jaded. They soon lose much of the enthusiasm they began with, and are just happy to end each day without injury or death.

The medical setting can be very emotionally taxing. When you are in the middle of any number of sick and injured people, from kids to the aged, it can take a dramatic toll on your psyche. It takes a trained phlebotomist who can disassociate themselves from the daily exposure of people in need, while still maintaining a professional demeanor for patient contact, to manage emotional control. That is an important factor in how to become a phlebotomist.

Phlebotomist- The Icky Factor

The next factor to consider about yourself is how you feel, about exposing yourself to the icky side of human experience. Do things such as blood, and gore and expectorated muck give you the willies, or worse, do you find yourself retching uncontrollably when exposed to such things? Even the best phlebotomy training will probably not be able to overcome such an impediment. If none of this negatively affects you, you are a more viable candidate for this field.

The Training and Certification

Now that we have ascertained your physical and emotional capability to conduct your duties, we can move on to the training. You have several choices available that can catapult you into this profession, one is to decide if you want to study onsite or online, and another is if you want to minimize your academic requirements and study only enough to qualify for the certifying examination, or if you foresee an eventual move into a much higher paying role as a lab technologist, and will complete all the necessary scholastic requirements, such as a baccalaureate degree in advance.

It is important to remember that, any school or training facility, must be accredited by a known phlebotomy association, and must offer phlebotomy certification upon completion of their program. The following are two well know associations in this field.

National Accrediting
Agency for Clinical
Laboratory Sciences
5600 N. River Rd.
Suite 720
Rosemont, IL 60018-5119
(847) 939-3597
(773) 714-8880
(773) 714-8886 (FAX)

http://www.naacls.org

National Phlebotomy Association
1901 Brightseat Road
Landover, MD 20785
Phone: (301) 386-4200
Fax: (301) 386-4203

http://www.nationalphlebotomy.org/

No matter what school you choose, remember that the better and more renowned the educational institution, the more doors will open when you come knocking. And the answer to your original question, how to become a phlebotomist, will be exposed.

For those of you who are ready to move to the next step and consider taking phlebotomy classes for this profession, look no further. This article will expound on the curriculum and the academic associations that provide much of the training and certifications in order to compete for the best opportunities this field has to offer.

The first thing you need to consider is if you want to attend phlebotomy classes in person, or would you rather take your phlebotomy training online. Obviously there are pro’s and con’s to either choice, and your ultimate decision should be based on not only your current lifestyle, but your financial situation as well.

Classes and Certifying Associations

Once you’ve made up your mind, you are ready to choose your training and phlebotomy certification academy. The following are some of the associations you might want to consider:

American Phlebotomy Association
848 N. Rainbow Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89107
Email: pmintzer@apa2.com
Fax: 1-866-469-3688
Phone: 1-866-935-3339

This association was established in 1990 and has a mobile classroom that can conduct phlebotomy classes throughout the US. They do not offer nationally recognized certification.

American Medical Technologists
10700 West Higgins,
Suite 150 Rosemont, IL 60018
Phone: 847-823-5169
800-275-1268
Fax: 847-823-0458

Certification processing only. Students are allowed to complete the phlebotomist certification exam at their training school, or at a recognized VUE testing center near them. The best advantage of testing online is that the student can immediately see their score, but certification is not completed until the AMT has received the scores and completed processing of Cert. Applications. Official notification is mailed individually.

National Healthcareer Association
7500 West 160th St.
Stilwell, KS 66085
Phone: (800) 499-9092
Fax: (913) 661-6291
www.nhanow.com

Universities and colleges, healthcare training programs and healthcare employers throughout the country recognize NHA. Offering national certification opportunities as part of a students academic program helps many schools recruit, and retain the best candidates, including providing students with a competitive edge in the career marketplace.

American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians
PO Box 1831,
Hickory, NC 28603
Tel: (828) 294-0078
Fax:(828) 327-2969

http://www.aspt.org/

American Society for Clinical Pathology
(Headquarters)
33 West Monroe Street, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60603
Tel (312) 541-4999
Fax (312) 541-4998

http://www.ascp.org/

National Accrediting Agency
For Clinical Laboratory Sciences
5600 N. River Rd. Suite 720
Rosemont, IL 60018-5119
(847) 939.3597
(773) 714.8880
(773) 714.8886 (FAX)

http://www.naacls.org

National Phlebotomy Association
1901 Brightseat Road
Landover, MD 20785
Phone: (301) 386-4200
Fax: (301) 386-4203

http://www.nationalphlebotomy.org/

Classes and Curriculum

The curriculum for the study of phlebotomy can include such topics as the history of phlebotomy, how to conduct medical billing, processes for achieving quality assurance, different medical terminology, the anatomy and the physiology of the human body, the human circulatory system, safety and infection control, patient safety, lab testing, dealing with difficult patients, legal situations in phlebotomy, customer service, the practice and process of venipuncture, and the methods of specimen collection and supplies.

For most certification programs, part of the required curriculum can include the completion of an approved or accredited phlebotomy training program, a minimum of forty hours of clinical laboratory and instructive lecture training, the performance of at least fifty successful venipunctures while in a classroom setting or at a field clinical site, a high school diploma or a GED certificate, and finally, the successful passing of an accredited certification examination.

Classes and Schools

Of the top five states, paying the highest salaries for this occupation, all are coastal states, and the highest wages are paid on the east coast and the west coast. Two of the most prestigious schools for this profession, are also located on the east and west costs, and are as follows:

Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences
938 Marina Way South
Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 231-5000
(888) 299-0077 Toll Free
(510) 231-5001 Fax
www.kpsahs.org

Both of the basic and the advanced courses for Phlebotomy Technician training programs are accredited by the California Department of Health Services.

Northern Virginia Community College
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003
(703) 323-3000
(877) 408-2028
Email: mecbusinessoffice@nvcc.edu
www.nvcc.edu/campuses-and-centers/medical

The Annandale, Virginia Campus is the largest NOVA campus location with approximately 15 buildings. There are numerous medical classroom buildings, including a gymnasium, theater, greenhouse, and a police station.

Certainly there are many more locations throughout the nation that offer phlebotomy classes, and many are, accredited by the national associations that offer certifying examinations, for this profession.

In order to answer the question, what is phlebotomy? I will break down the answer into three main parts, Phlebotomy – the past, phlebotomy- the present, and phlebotomy- the future.

If you’ve done any research on this subject, you’ll find that the actual amount of information is rather limited. That is not to say that you won’t find a ton of web sites, all blathering on, through their content about phlebotomy. The problem is that they are all saying pretty much the same thing. It’s almost like a broken record, repeating the same verse over and over again.

Unfortunately, what I have found is that most of them only provide one side of the equation, the rosy side. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to dissuade you from considering phlebotomy jobs as a career if that is the purpose of your search.

What I will do is to lay out all the information that my research has uncovered, and present it warts and all, to you for your perusal. When you truly know all the skinny, you can make the best-informed decision, and whether a phlebotomist salary is for you.

The Past

The history of this medical practice reads like a true crime novel. The fact that the practice of draining blood, and other bodily fluids from human beings, goes farther back than Jesus Christ is alarming at best, and dreadfully terrifying at worst.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes phlebotomy as: the letting of blood for transfusion, diagnosis, or experiment, but from a historical standpoint, the only word that best describes how it was used is “experiment”, because no one, not even the father of medicine himself, Hippocrates the Greek physician from the fifth century BC, knew what he was doing.

In fact it was from Hippocrates himself that the modern day medical oath given to newly minted doctors, “do no harm” is so ironic. By bleeding his patients, that is exactly what Hippocrates was doing. An argument can be made that Hippocrates may well have also been the father of phlebotomy training and defining what is phlebotomy, in it’s current modern day practice.

Apparently, ancient physicians associated the monthly menstrual cycle of women as a template for the body being purged of toxic and unhealthy waste. They reasoned that if this was a normal process for women to undergo each month, and they were the healthier for it, there must be a way for man to experience the same healthy blood loss and resulting emergence from illness.

It was also at this time that the creation of the so-called four humors (body fluids) was created as the diagnosis or reasons for illness and disease. The balance of these fluids throughout the body created a stability, it was believed. If any of the humors were to be deficient or too abundant in relation to the others, then illness was sure to follow and the only way to return the body to a balanced state was to remove a prescribed amount of blood.

This myth of the four humors persisted for many centuries, including up to the mid 1800’s when a new wrinkle was developed by the American physicians of the day. They determined that any wound could be protected from infection as long as the bad or infected blood in and around the wound was exorcized.

Unfortunately, this diagnosis meant that many soldiers, wounded in battle, and suffering relatively minor injuries, or symptoms related to blood loss, were soon fighting for their lives as more and more blood was withdrawn “to save them”. It was also at this time that the term phlebotomy was coined as a description of the process of bloodletting.

It wasn’t until medical research and scientific discovery in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that the ancient art of bloodletting was exposed as quackery. No longer would patients be subject to the horrors of blood loss for everything from colds, headaches, nausea, pimples, and constipation.

The list of famous historical patients who ultimately died or experienced the administration of this snake oil medicine is long and includes such luminaries as, President George Washington, Johann Sebastian Bach, Christopher Columbus, Catherine the Great, Shakespeare and, Mozart, though it can be said that because he was being treated for syphilis and was experiencing severe mercury poisoning, the blood lettings only exacerbated an existing problem.

As the science of diagnostics improved in the early 1900’s, it became necessary to take samples of body fluids in order to examine under a microscope and assign a verifiable diagnosis and treatment plan. It was at this time that phlebotomy enjoyed a resurgence although under a far stricter regimen.

The Present

Today, the certified phlebotomist is kept busy at places such as hospitals, outpatient clinics, private doctors practices and blood banks. They handle glass vacuum tubes that draw blood samples quickly and efficiently, enabling more samples to be collected at one sitting than in the past.

The needles used are also more refined causing less pain and a quicker collection process that even the most reticent of patients can endure. The color-coding of collection tubes also allows for more standardized collection procedures. Depending upon the number of samples necessary, a standard collection event can be completed in less than five minutes, a win-win for everyone concerned.

The training to allow a phlebotomist the skill to puncture the right vein correctly and effectively has been vastly improved in order to increase the ability to address the millions of tests that must be conducted every week in this country.

The Future

The problem with the current status of this occupation, is that there are too many players trying to exert their will own the definition, training and certification of its practitioners. Even most of the states in this country don’t adhere to any specific rules and regulations that allow someone to conduct this practice.

The bureau of labor statistics, which compiles data on just about every profession in America, doesn’t even have a separate listing for a phlebotomist. The occupation is blended in among lab technicians and technologists for a broader description and data set.

Until a unifying body can nationalize the rules for accreditation, training, and phlebotomy certification beyond the simplistic drawing of blood samples, this profession will continue to endure minimal pay status, and low esteem.

What this means for you, is that when you ask, what is phlebotomy, the answers you discover will either direct or deter you from this potential career opportunity.

Yes, the jobs situation in the United States is dismal, but for those in the right professions, the opportunities still abound, and one of those are phlebotomy jobs.

The advantage of this profession is the fact that it is an important part of the healthcare industry, and is performed every day, all over the world.

If you really think about this, then you can see how just about every hospital and medical clinic in the country has a need to have professional clinicians to draw blood and other fluids for testing and diagnostics.

Phlebotomist Jobs

The fact that as the baby boomer generation is steadily moving into senior hood, there are more and more needs for trained and certified personnel to perform these types of services. This need, will certainly not diminish, but is expected to continue to grow by approximately 14% over the next decade.

In this article, we will attempt to provide you with the information you need, to know about phlebotomy job opportunities, where the jobs are, the industries with the highest employment, and the average salary range you can expect to earn.

Highest Employment Industries

Just to give you a picture of the employment possibilities for a person with a phlebotomy certification, After the Federal Government, the top employment industries for a phlebotomist are:

• General Medicine & Surgical Hospitals
• Universities & Colleges
• Physicians Private Offices
• Diagnostic and/or Medical Labs

According to the American Hospital Directory, as of April 2011, there were over 4,000, non-federal, short-term, acute care hospitals in the United States. If you realize that every one of those hospitals requires the services of multiple trained phlebotomists for proper patient testing and diagnosis, you can imagine how many phlebotomist jobs we’re talking about.

It gets better. Now imagine the fact that there are far more universities and colleges in this country than there are hospitals. There are far more physician’s offices than hospitals as well, so the numbers are even more staggering. Yes, I know, not every doctor’s office may employ a phlebotomist, but the statistics show that the vast majority does.

Jobs By State

The following list is for the top ten states with the most hospitals and gross patient revenue. Revenues are important because the more money they make, the more staff they can hire.

1. Texas -                         374  – $157,000,000
2. California -               355 -   $256,000,000
3. Florida -                      212 -   $159,000,000
4. New York -                207 -  $129,000,000
5. Pennsylvania -      179 -   $124,000,000
6. Ohio -                           158 -   $85,000,000
7. Illinois -                     143 -   $86,000,000
8. Tennessee -             116 -   $44,000,000
9. Georgia -                    116 -   $51,000,000
10. Louisiana -               114 -   $30,000,000

* all figures denoted in billions

As mentioned before, this is only the list of states and the number of hospitals that are part of the Industry employing and paying the highest average phlebotomist salary. But this is also a good indicator of the potential for phlebotomy jobs with Universities & Colleges, Physicians Private Offices, and Diagnostic and Medical Labs within each state as well.

It may also be worth noting that the top four states enjoy very large populations of the aged who seem to group in locations with predictable climates. Another helpful tidbit to know is the fact that there were approximately 124,000,000 emergency department visits in 2008, resulting in over 16,000,000 hospital admissions, requiring phlebotomy services.

Salary Expectations

Salary expectations for phlebotomist jobs are like riding a roller coaster. The fluctuation can be significant based on the industry you work in, whether you work in the private or public sector, and the number of years of experience you bring to the job.

The bottom 10% can earn as little as $9.00 per hour, while the top 10% can earn over $14.00 per hour. The highest average annual salaries are paid in states such as New York, Massachusetts, Washington DC, California and Connecticut, with salary ranges from $37,000 to $34,000.

Jobs In Hospitals

If you work for a hospital, the salary will be affected by the size of the facility, and perhaps by the location of the facility. For example, if the hospital is a facility with fewer than 100 beds, your pay will be less than if the hospital is a megalith with over 500 beds.

For comparison purposes, here are some hospitals located in California:

• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center – Berkeley with 527 beds and $2,246,543,000 in gross patient revenue.

• California Pacific Medical Center – San Francisco with 540 beds and $2,700,935,000 in gross patient revenue.

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Los Angeles with 955 beds and $7,994,337,000 in gross patient revenue.

• Community Regional Medical Center – Fresno with 767 beds and $2,474,693,000 in gross patient revenue.

• University of Southern California Medical Center – Los Angeles with 724 and $1,870,786,000 in gross patient revenue.

All of the above hospital facilities pay their senior phlebotomists above the national average for a phlebotomy salary. All locations use multiple clinicians to perform the services of a certified phlebotomist. If you want to enjoy success in phlebotomy jobs, be sure to thoroughly research the hospital industry for your next opportunity.

The origins of the phlebotomist profession are cloaked in a history of misinformation, incorrect assumptions, skullduggery, and outright lies. In fact the activities of the oldest practitioners of this ancient practice were in wide use even before the time of Hippocrates, the father of medical scientists, in the fifth century BC.

Medieval clinicians clung to unfounded and unproven beliefs that in order to heal a body, it was important to purge it from evil spirits that were causing the illness or infirmity. Part of the process of purging was to exorcise an amount of blood that carried the evil spirits throughout the body. The phlebotomist (blood-letter) was the expert at knowing where, and how much blood to draw.

Ancient Phlebotomists and Civilization

It is important to understand that these phlebotomist jobs were performed all over the world, and in some of the most modern civilizations of the times. The Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese were the hubs of many different types of human exchanges. Exchanges such as technology, fashion, food, weaponry, and yes, even medicine, were traded from civilization to civilization in order to promote a culture, and progress.

Ignorant populations of agrarian societies held the original phlebotomist’s in the highest regard. Many of these traveling clinicians, bent on a sizable phlebotomist salary went from town to town, to ply their trade on the unsuspecting. The most popular were those who killed the fewest patients. Although it was altogether too easy to blame an expired patient, on the evil that he carried within his body, than the questionable treatment supplied.

The Tools of the Trade

At a certain point the ancient phlebotomists even developed an anatomical map of the human body, in order to pinpoint the specific locations where cuts were to be made, to bleed a person for certain specific maladies. This no doubt had the effect of bolstering their aura of expertise to fearful family members hoping for cures for the afflicted.

As part of the bloodletting process, a patient was stabbed with a sharp instrument and the blood was collected in shallow bowls until a suitable amount was collected. The reason that the blood letter would know, that a suitable amount was collected was because the patient, would usually pass out from blood loss.

There is a story about a French Soldier in the early 1800’s who suffered a stab wound to the chest during hand-to-hand combat. The wound was serious enough to cause the soldier to black out from loss of blood. On his arrival at the local hospital, the physicians on duty saw the serious nature of his wound and immediately bled 20 ounces from his body so the wound would not become inflamed.

During that night after his arrival, he was bled an additional 24 ounces, and the next morning the chief surgeon ordered him bled another 10 ounces. The soldier endured five more bleedings during a 14-hour period later that day, until approximately one half of his total blood supply had been taken from his body, not including the original blood loss that had contributed to him passing out.

Bleedings would continue over the following few days, until the wound did in fact become inflamed. The doctors then applied leeches to the wound, and continued bleedings and new leeches over three days. Somehow the patient survived, and was released from the hospital with the doctor declaring “ by the large amount of blood lost (170 ounces) and the applications of leeches (72 leeches), the life of the patient was saved”.

The Famous

There are many famous historical figures that also had less than exemplary experiences with the quacks proclaiming a phlebotomy certification. Napoleon after his venesection said of practitioners “ Medicine is the science of Murderers”

• In 1492 the Pope (Innocent VIII) required a blood transfusion, and three youngsters were chosen to donate their blood. Unfortunately, all three youths died in the process, as well as the Pope.

• In 1685 King Charles II of Great Britain was felled by a stroke. His physicians quickly bled 24 ounces from him, and though he was able to communicate a little better, he died shortly after. His physicians quickly left the country.

• In 1791 Mozart who was probably experiencing renal failure, finally succumbed after his doctors removed severe amounts of blood and forced him to undergo purgation.

• In 1799 the first American president, George Washington became ill from a cold and a minor throat infection after riding through snowy weather. His physician a prominent medical professional ordered a bleeding of approximately 80 ounces. The president fell into shock and died the following day.

Professional Definition In Modern Day

Today a phlebotomist is someone who works face to face with patients, and collects and processes, blood and other body fluid specimens, for laboratory testing and diagnostic analysis.