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.
What is Phlebotomy – 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.
What is Phlebotomy – 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.
What is Phlebotomy – 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.
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