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Make Your Phlebotomist (and Yourself) Happy by Drinking Plenty of Water

Getting blood drawn is in important procedure, whether it is for blood work or a blood donation. Phlebotomy classes teach students the techniques behind drawing blood so that each blood draw is successful. While classes in focus on what they can do to make your blood draw more comfortable, there are a few things you […]

Getting blood drawn is in important procedure, whether it is for blood work or a blood donation. Phlebotomy classes teach students the techniques behind drawing blood so that each blood draw is successful. While classes in focus on what they can do to make your blood draw more comfortable, there are a few things you should do to make your life, as well as the phlebotomist?s, easier.

drink-plenty-of-water-before-you-donate-blood
Image courtesy of Flicker.com

First, most blood work procedures will require that you abstain from eating for about twelve hours before you get your blood drawn. It is important that you do this. Classes can teach how to draw blood, but they can?t change the fact that food can alter a blood test?s results. Drinking water before you get your blood drawn is equally important, too.

If you walk into a blood bank without drinking lots of water before, everyone involved will have a harder time. The more water you drink, the plumper your veins are. This makes it easier for the phlebotomist to find your vein. Phlebotomy classes teach students how to draw blood from veins that aren?t as plump, but more water means less time donating.

Why is hydration so important when donating blood? Maintaining hydration is critical not only for your physical well-being day to day, but also for your mental wellness too. And as long as you?re staying hydrated, why not ditch the soda and other caffeinated beverages? They contain no nutritional value, and can dehydrate you.

According to an article from U.S. News? Health and Wellness section, a good rule of thumb if you aren?t sure how much water you should drink each day, is as follows:

The basic equation for determining this is by dividing your body weight in half. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you would need 100 ounces of water per day, if you?re not doing anything strenuous. If you?re working out, hiking, at a high altitude, or outdoors a great deal, you?re going to need to add to those 100 ounces.

Another reason dehydration is bad for the blood donation experience, as that it will thicken your blood and lower your blood pressure. Phlebotomy classes from know that lower blood pressure is often better, but this isn?t always the case. If your blood pressure is lower, you have a higher chance of fainting during your procedure, which can make it harder for your body to recover from the procedure. When your blood thickens, it?s harder for the phlebotomy specialist to puncture the vein and draw blood.

It?s important to note, though, that some procedures require that you don?t drink water before getting blood drawn. This is generally the case for blood tests and surgeries. If your phlebotomy specialist says it is OK to drink water before getting blood drawn, try to drink the recommended daily amount of water, which is 64 ounces. Before you donate, drink a glass of water that?s about 16 ounces.

Although getting your blood drawn can be stressful, it doesn?t have to be. First, ensure you drink enough water before your procedure, if you?re allowed to do so, in order to reduce the difficulty of blood drawing. Next, try to take deep breaths during your donation and feel free to speak with the phlebotomist before, during, and after your procedure about any concerns you may have.

A couple more tips to help you have a better experience donating blood:

  • Avoid alcohol of any type for a full 24 hours before your donation
  • Get plenty of sleep the night before

Afterward:

  • If you feel dizzy at all after donating, lie down or sit down with your head between your knees at least until the dizziness passes
  • Drink plenty of fluid (more than you normally would) for the following four hours
  • Eat a light meal
  • Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol
  • Keep your venipuncture site clean and dry (the bandage can be removed after a few hours)
  • If there is any bleeding when you remove the bandage, raise your arm and apply some pressure to your inner bicep.
  • If you continue feeling unwell, it may be a good idea to consult with a physician

Phlebotomy or Phlebotomoney?

The healthcare field is ever trending upward, with several opportunities for career growth. Many people choose the healthcare field specifically because of these career opportunities, and many, like you, choose to begin their careers as a phlebotomist. In order to become certified in phlebotomy, an individual must take several classes. Once you are certified, your […]

The healthcare field is ever trending upward, with several opportunities for career growth. Many people choose the healthcare field specifically because of these career opportunities, and many, like you, choose to begin their careers as a phlebotomist.

In order to become certified in phlebotomy, an individual must take several classes. Once you are certified, your career choices don?t stop at being a phlebotomist. There are several other career paths you may choose if your interest in phlebotomy grows after you get certified.

phlebotomy-careers
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Let?s say you have just finished your phlebotomy certification. Your next step may be considering some career path options that involve what you?ve learned in your classes. Some career paths of phlebotomy-certified individuals include: nursing, medical assisting, physician assisting, EKG technician, and medical lab tech. The salaries of these careers range between $29,000 and $100,000 a year. Keep in mind that each of these career options beyond phlebotomy requires more classes and sometimes more schooling.

Even though these possible career moves require more education and/or licensure, your employer may be willing to help cover the costs since you will become more valuable and marketable with your increased training. Also, since you will already be a phlebotomy technician, you can work and earn a good income while attending school, which will save you from a lot of student loan debt.

Let?s take a look at some of your options out there:

If an individual decides to stay focused on the isolated subject and become a phlebotomist, the average salary for a phlebotomist is $31,410 a year. This isn?t the highest paying phlebotomy related career, but it?s not the lowest either. The average phlebotomist salary in the United States is $33,424 as of October 31, 2018, and the range typically falls between $30,106 and $37,337 (The average phlebotomist salary in California is $36,473 as of September 28, 2018, and the range typically falls between $32,849 and $40,740) according to Salary.com

Medical Assistant. A career as a medical assistant is another option for individuals certified in phlebotomy. Medical assistants commonly work in various offices, such as physicians? offices. Medical assistants make an average of about $29,370 a year. This is just slightly less than a phlebotomist makes, but the duties of a medical assistant are more versatile than that of a phlebotomist.

EKG (electrocardiograph) Technician. EKG tech careers focus on the study of cardiology. The duties of an EKG technician include performing stress tests, recording EKG readings and then providing EKG test data to physicians. The average salary of an EKG technician is just under $50,000 a year.

Medical lab Technician. Medical lab techs work in a laboratory. They draw blood, and are also able to analyze the blood to help diagnose patients. Medical lab technicians require an associate?s degree or certificate program to get their licenses. Because of your phlebotomist experience, your classes will be easier and you will be able to enhance your resume. As of October 31, 2018, an average medical lab technician salary was $51,315, and the range typically falls between $45,947 and $56,350.

Nursing. Another high-paying career involving phlebotomy is nursing (LPN or RN). If an individual pursues taking classes at nursing school after a series of classes to launch a nursing career, he or she should expect to be making a salary of around $68,910 a year. Nursing requires much more schooling and more duties. Becoming an LPN takes one to two years, while becoming an RN takes two to three years. Both programs are demanding, but again, your experience from being a phlebotomist will come in handy with your coursework.

Physician?s Assistant. The highest paying career involving phlebotomy is a physician?s assistant. Physician?s assistants earn about $90,930 a year. Becoming a physician?s assistant requires much more schooling than the careers mentioned previously. This required schooling includes earning a specialized degree. Duties of a physician?s assistant include examining and treating patients, practicing medicine on a team under a physician or surgeon?s supervision and much more.

Those are just a few options. As you can see, with every career possibility there is an opportunity cost. No matter what the opportunity cost, you can rest assured that there is a career best suited for everyone certified in phlebotomy looking for the next step to take.

Debunking 8 Common Blood Clot Myths

From California to the farthest reaches of America?s East Coast, blood clots claim the lives of 300,000 people every year. As students quickly learn in phlebotomy courses, blood is essential to the human body. When a clot restricts the movement of blood, the health consequences for the victim can be severe. Fortunately, not all blood […]

From California to the farthest reaches of America?s East Coast, blood clots claim the lives of 300,000 people every year. As students quickly learn in phlebotomy courses, blood is essential to the human body. When a clot restricts the movement of blood, the health consequences for the victim can be severe. Fortunately, not all blood clot victims die. In fact, the majority of embolisms are eminently preventable.

As with everything in life, knowledge is power. Phlebotomy courses teach students extensively about the human circulatory system, but not everyone has the opportunity to attend such classes. In the absence of professional instruction, take a look at the truth behind some of the more common blood clot myths.

Myth 1. Blood clots only happen to older patients and those with poor health.

Perhaps the most prevalent myth is that blood clots only happen to patients who are older or in ill health. This is simply untrue. Everyone is at risk of embolism, even those who live an active lifestyle and are in their physical prime.

Myth 2. DVT??? What?s that?? It can?t be that serious.

phlebotomy school
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious and underdiagnosed medical condition resulting from a blood clot that forms in a vein. Blood clots generally originate in the legs. They can be exacerbated by long periods of inactivity. Travellers who regularly make long journeys on cramped airplanes can be at a higher risk of blood clots than those who don?t.

Blood clots deep in the legs (DVT) can be painful and inconvenient, but they don?t typically result in death. If caught early, doctors can treat them with relative ease using blood thinners. Most patients recover fully. Problems arise when an embolism breaks apart and moves from the legs to the lungs. Although phlebotomy courses can help teach ways to prevent blood clots, a resulting pulmonary embolism (PE) can be potentially fatal.

Myth 3. Me? Get DVT? No way!

About 900,000 people are affected by DVT or PE each year in the United States, and up to 100,000 of them die of DVT/PE. DVT can strike anyone and can cause serious illness, disability, and even death. Risk of DVT increases for those having major surgery, for those with cancer or heart or lung disease, for those on birth control pills, and for those with a family history of DVT.

Myth 4. I don?t need a blood thinner! I?m not having a coagulum!

Another common myth is that blood thinners only need to be administered to those currently experiencing a coagulum. Unfortunately, this too is false. If a recovering patient goes off blood thinners too quickly, the clots can remain or even break up further. In fact, new clots can form as a result.

?A patient I just saw this week had a history of blood clots when she was on birth control,? says Dr. Andra James, a professor at Duke University Medical School. ?She had factor V Leiden (a genetic blood clotting disorder), but at eight weeks pregnant, she was not on an anticoagulant (blood thinner). This patient should have had a plan in place. She didn?t,? says James, ?and she had a DVT.?

Myth 5. Blood clots most often occur at home or during travel.

Many people believe that blood clots most often occur at home or while traveling. Students in phlebotomy courses know differently. In fact, blood clots occur more often in hospitals than anywhere else.

Myth 6. I stay active, and am in great shape. I don?t need to worry about DVT.

The truth is, just about anyone can be affected by DVT, no matter age or level of activity. Athletes are actually at increased risk after a recent physical injury, when dehydrated, or are traveling long distances for events.

Myth 7. Birth control pills will give me DVT.

There is definitely a higher chance of blood clots for those on contraceptive meds (this is because of a boost in estrogen), but most women on birth control don?t have any complications. Obese women, those who are older than 40, and those who smoke actually have a higher risk of developing clots. Managing weight, maintaining a healthy diet, and consulting with a physician about birth control medications can be a huge help.

Myth 8. Women are at greater risk of DVT.
Women do have an increased risk of blood clots while on birth control or pregnant, but it is actually men who have greater occurrence of DVT and PE.

The Heart of the Matter: The Lifecycle of Human Blood Cells

Doctors and scientists alike have always been fascinated with blood. The thin red, water-based fluid can easily determine life or death in humans. How can such a simple concept bare such significance? From the world?s earliest shamans and medicine men to lecturers in modern-day phlebotomy classes, researchers have sought to delve into the mysteries surrounding […]

Doctors and scientists alike have always been fascinated with blood. The thin red, water-based fluid can easily determine life or death in humans.

How can such a simple concept bare such significance? From the world?s earliest shamans and medicine men to lecturers in modern-day phlebotomy classes, researchers have sought to delve into the mysteries surrounding life?s second-most precious liquid.

Phlebotomy-life-cycle-of-red-blood-cells

In phlebotomy classes around the country, students learn about the biological processes that ultimately result in the creation of blood. For students in places like Van Nuys, Calif., this knowledge finds a direct application in the plasma donation centers and blood drives where they begin their career. The human body is full of fascinating processes?the creation of blood is only one of many.

Most parts of the human body are not capable of regeneration. For instance, it is impossible for people in Van Nuys to grow new spinal tissue. However, other parts of the body do experience regeneration?blood fits into that category. As long as you are alive, your body is producing new blood cells.

As students learn in phlebotomy classes in Van Nuys, blood consists of two primary elements:  plasma and platelets. Plasma is a clear liquid that courses through the veins. It makes up a little more than half of blood?s ingredients. Composed primarily of water and salts, it carries platelets throughout the circulatory system.

Platelets?small, disc-shaped cells?float along in the plasma. Depending on the type of cell, platelets are either responsible for fighting blood-borne pathogens or carrying essential oxygen to the body?s organs. Red blood cells carrying oxygen make up 99 percent of platelets. White blood cells are the larger of the two cells, attacking diseases and keeping the body healthy.

The plasma creation process begins when the body absorbs water through the digestive tract. As opposed to the plasma formation process, platelets are born deep in the body.

On the interior of human bones are composed of bone marrow. Bone marrow stem cells differentiate into all formed elements of blood, including red blood cells. The new red blood cells then make their way into the bloodstream, joining their older brethren. Human bone marrow stem cells create two million red blood cells a second.

Red blood cells, after separating from erythroblasts in the bone marrow, enter into the bloodstream and survive in circulation for about 3-1/2 months, though this lifespan can vary between 70 and 140 days. Different estimations of a cell?s lifespan have ranged from 5 to 200 days.

Interestingly enough, a person?s health has a lot to do with how long his or her red blood cells survive. For example, the red blood cells of patients on dialysis die live significantly shorter lifespans than the cells of healthy persons (only about 70 days, on average). There is still little information regarding the main causes for the significantly shorter lifespan of the red blood cells in less healthy individuals.

Blood cells reach the end of their lifespans in the spleen. Here dead cells are stripped of iron and disintegrated. The body then uses the iron to produce new red blood cells. Phlebotomy classes in Van Nuys and elsewhere help students understand the lifecycle of blood so that they can go on to save lives.

Golden arm golden heart he man who saved over two million babies lives

James Harrison, otherwise known as The Man with the Golden Arm, isnt just typical, good-hearted blood donor. Harrison has donated blood weekly for the past sixty years, specifically blood plasma from his right arm. He is famous at phlebotomy schools from Denver to the East Coast. So why is he donating so much blood? First, […]

James Harrison, otherwise known as The Man with the Golden Arm, isnt just typical, good-hearted blood donor. Harrison has donated blood weekly for the past sixty years, specifically blood plasma from his right arm. He is famous at phlebotomy schools from Denver to the East Coast. So why is he donating so much blood?

phlebotomy schools in denver

First, Harrisons blood is special. Few individuals from Denver to Australia have Harrisons rare blood. When Harrison was age 14, he had a chest operation for a lung removal and received a thirteen-liter transfusion. Struck by the kindness of the strangers behind this act, and touched by all the people involved to help him, Harrison decided he must reciprocate later in his life. So, he began donating blood weekly when he was 18-years-old. Harrison is one of only about 200 people in Australia (and less than .1 percent of the population worldwide) known to create this antibody.

Individuals enrolled in phlebotomy schools anywhere from Denver to Australia would agree that Harrisons blood is not normal blood. It just so happens that Harrison holds a rare antibody in his blood. Luckily, doctors figured out how to leverage Harrisons rarity and use the antibodies to create Anti-D, an injection which saves lives from rhesus disease by preventing the antibodies in pregnant women with rhesus-negative blood.

Those enrolled in phlebotomy schools learn that rhesus disease occurs when a pregnant womans blood attacks an unborn babys blood cells, which can cause death or brain damage for the baby. More than 17 percent of mothers in Australia are at risk, so its no exaggeration to say that Harrison has helped save a lot of lives.

This occurs when women have rhesus-negative blood and their babies have rhesus positive blood. Because of the opposition, the mother produces antibodies that fight to destroy the babys blood cells because they are seen as foreign and dangerous.

Harrison was one of the first humans to hold the valuable antibody that fights the antibodies of these pregnant women. Australia is still seen as revolutionary for pioneering the science behind
antibodies. In fact, Australia was one of the first countries to discover a blood donor with this antibody, so it was considered quite revolutionary at the time. Phlebotomy schools in metropolises like Denver still learn about this topic.

Harrisons weekly donations are not simply blood donations, they are medication, too. In 1999, Harrison received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his amazing attitude and continuing support of the Blood Service and the Anti-D program. It still remains a mystery as to why Harrison possesses this rare and extraordinary blood type.

In 2007, Harrison criticized plans to open up Australias plasma donation to foreign corporations, claiming that opening up the trade will discourage volunteer donations. This opening of trade came as a result of a review of the countrys free trade agreement with the United States.

Over the course of his giving lifetime, Harrison has donated plasma more than 1,100 times. Interestingly, according to an interview with CNN, Harrison never watches the needle enter his arm. Apparently, he actually hates pain and the sight of blood, which makes him even more of a hero.

In 2018, Harrison, at age 81, retired his golden arm. Harrison is considered a pioneer of the Australian Red Cross Anti-D program, with more than 3 million doses of Anti-D containing Harrisons blood being issued to Australian mothers with a negative blood type since 1967. His generous blood donations have saved over 2.4 million babies lives. He has created an incredible legacy, and he challenges the Australian community at large to top him.