Certain attributes are crucial no matter which profession you choose. This holds true if you plan to go to school to become a phlebotomist. You should definitely ask yourself if you have these traits, so you know prior to attending school, if this profession is really for you or not.
Steady Handed
If you’re more of the nervous type or just have an unsteady hand, this field may not be for you. In order to successfully practice venipuncture, you must be able to hit the vein with the needle. If you have an unsteady hand, you increase the risk of habitually missing the vein. In addition, the patient will feel any shakiness you may have. In fact, an unsteady hand can hurt a patient.
Enjoy People
While some phlebotomists spend time actually testing the blood, a majority of them must work one-on-one with patients most of the day. In this particular profession, you can expect to come across a variety of personality types—some good, some bad. Depending on where you work, you may even work in various units, meaning you will deal with infants, teenagers, toddlers and adults.
Strong Stomach
Blood makes some people extremely queasy. Due to the fact that phlebotomists deal with blood and other bodily functions, only the non-squeamish should apply for this type of work. Remember, your patients might not always be in the best of health, so you’ll witness patients who have various medical conditions, including visible skin conditions, women in labor and open wounds and sores. Of course, the type of encounters you have is based upon the location where you work.
Caring/Compassionate
Anyone who works in the medical profession, especially if they actually come in contact with patients, should be a caring and compassionate individual. You need to be able to sympathize with your patients and in some cases be a shoulder to cry on. You need to be a kind individual who genuinely wants what is best for the patients.
Detail Oriented
If you want to be able to draw blood accurately, you need to pay close attention to what you’re doing. When you don’t focus on the small details, this can mean serious medical errors that may harm the patient. In addition, these errors might cause a physician to misdiagnose, depending on the mistake.
Knowledgeable
Individuals who work in the medical field must be well informed about the health and wellness of human beings. This comes from your education; however, this is one of the training programs where you need to pay attention and soak in all the material that you possibly can. In other words, you should study to gain knowledge, not just to pass a test.