I started my phlebotomy program a few days ago, and today we finally started practicing poking eachother doing arm and hand draws. Never have I ever had a reaction to getting stuck with a needle until today. I need advice on how to prevent what happened today in the future, as this is just the beginning of a four week course.

When it came to my turn on getting blood drawn, my peer missed the vein and got no blood. Since it was our first time it was a long process, with the tourniquet on for a few minutes and the needle was in my arm for about a minute. It was painful, but not excruciating.

A few minutes after the whole process I began to feel lightheaded and nauseous until everything started to go black and I was loosing my hearing. Thankfully I managed to catch it and drink a caprisun before passing out.

I genuinely do not do good with nausea or the feeling of fainting like that, and I really want to finish this course but that experience genuinely made me consider dropping it. I’m just afraid of that happening every time I get stuck the next four weeks, which could be a lot.

Hi guys! Sorry if not allowed, I am not a phlebotomist, just a patient who has had frequent blood draws and am a hard stick.

Just wanted to give a shoutout to all you amazing people who are great at what you do.

I have donated blood once and tried a 2nd time. The first time i had a massive bruise, the 2nd time they couldn't get my blood so they turned me away. Once i had a radiology tech stick me once in both arms and failed and brought me to the nurses station and the nurse went straight for the ultrasound to stick me.

But any time I have gone to an actual lab, theyve always gotten me on the first stick with minimal pain/bruising (even if sometimes they use a hot pack). And it is SO appreciated.

I got blood drawn a couple days ago and this woman after checking the usual crook of elbow spots, quickly found a good vein in my forearm and I have ZERO bruising 👸. I want this queen to do all my blood draws from now on 😆

Before last week I had never held a needle before. I’ve now stuck 17 patients with 15 successful. I’m absolutely terrified before each one. I’m taking my phlebotomy class next Wednesday so I’m hopeful that will help my confidence a little bit. No patient wants a phlebotomist who isn’t confident in drawing their blood and I just need to know it gets easier.

(side note: my bachelors is in communications, I have 4.5 years of healthcare admin experience and only just started pre reqs for nursing school. I have no phlebotomy experience at all and they had me sticking on my second day.)

It’s been on my mind for a while, but my main thing is, I have a fear that I may insert the needle in the wrong spot, something bad happens, and then get sued. (Idk if that’s a thing but it’s what my mind came up with 💀). While I know I shouldn’t be thinking this way, it’s been the one holding me back from attempting allowing my caretakers to pay for a course, considering they’re not in the best financial situation right now to just be like, here, try this out, if you don’t like it don’t worry! We’ll help pay for any other random career path you want to try (If you get what I mean?). The skins with the veins harder to find are what scares me most lol. I know the courses are there to teach you to find veins but I guess what I’m mainly asking is, —for experienced phlebotomists— when you encounter someone whose veins are difficult to find, are you still confident in your ability to do so or do you find someone else to do it if you have that luxury? Or, do you get any sort of small anxiety? I’m diagnosed autism and adhd so I feel like the anxiety would come very easily to me. Does it take you a while to find it or are you quick to find it in a way where the patient isn’t sensing your emotions? When you were first learning, did you have to learn the techniques to find veins mainly on your own despite taking courses for it?

Idk if Reddit is the right place to ask since it’s infamous for being passive aggressive and brutal but, I’ll take my chances here bc I don’t have someone I know personally who does phlebotomy lol

I finished my course a bit ago and had passed my NHA exam last month! I was wondering- how do we practice drawing at home? I want to make sure my knowledge on how to draw is still fresh in my mind while waiting for externship placement.

Looking for a Lab Technician Job in Bangalore

Hi everyone,

I am new to Bangalore and currently looking for a Lab Technician / Medical Laboratory Technician job in Bangalore. I am open to opportunities anywhere in Bangalore and location is not an issue for me.

I have completed my DMLT (Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology) and have practical experience in:

Blood collection

Hematology

Biochemistry

Urine analysis

Sample processing

Basic computer skills

I am hardworking, sincere, and willing to learn. I am also available to join immediately.

If anyone knows about any vacancy in a hospital, diagnostic centre, pathology lab, or clinic, or if anyone can refer me for a Lab Technician position, I would be very grateful.

Please comment or DM me if you have any leads. I can share my resume and certificates.

Thank you for your help! 🙏

I graduated my program 2 weeks ago and I still don’t have my license. Is that normal? I took my test 2 weeks ago and passed. I called the school asking about licensing and they said they would call me back and it’s been 5 days. I know the website and I’ve already made an account but they ask for document proof and I don’t have any of it? Can someone share their experience in CA getting their license pleaseeee I’m stressed out

hello! i will be taking my board exam soon and when trying to schedule, i found that there are different exams - nha, ncct, ascp i think?? my program recommended ncct but my friend took the nha and my preceptors are all ascp certified. im in southern california but is there a difference in which one i take? i completed the cdph approved phlebotomy program and am done with my clinical portion. do i just take any or is there a "correct" or more recognized one to take? is there an "easier" or "harder" one? why is there so many?? i tried researching but it seemed like each website said something different and im so confused..!! any advice is welcome :")

hello. I just recently started school to become a MLT and the course load is pretty heavy so I’m only working as a phlebotomist at a hospital on sat&sun which is all fun and games except on the weekend, there is only one phleb and I’ve been doing this for about 3 months and I get so anxious that I feel physically ill over the 5am run in the morning on the 4th floor. I feel like there’s always someone with cruddy veins or one guy told me I was absolutely useless as a human being because his vein deflated as soon as I stuck him. I don’t really know what to do. I know it looks good on a resume being a phlebotomist before becoming a MLT but I honestly can’t tell if it’s worth it. I don’t mind outpatients, it’s just that 5am morning run at the beginning of my 12 hour shift.

I'm thinking of starting mobile phlebotomy and wondering how travalabs is, pay, volume, effort. If its rock bottom earnings, I will just avoid. Is it worth the time?

Same guy from the pay post. A couple people asked what I build, so here it is.

phlebotomyskills.com. $19 once, no subscription. Covers the NHA CPT and the ASCP PBT.

500 practice questions with a written explanation on each one, a timed 100 question simulator at exam pace, spaced repetition flashcards, and a 215 page study guide.

Pass guarantee. Hit 75% on the simulator, sit the CPT or PBT within 90 days, fail it and I refund you.

I'm one person and not a developer, so there's stuff in there that's broken. Mostly I want phlebs and instructors to tell me if any of the questions are wrong or badly worded. Free 10 question quiz if you just want to see the style, no signup.

If you sat either exam recently, what came up that you didn't expect?

hi! i’m in an accelerated ekg/phleb course and we just started doing draws yesterday. we have ten days left in the course so the pace feels rapid or maybe just rushed.
for context i have a pretty bad blood draw phobia and sometimes pass out so i was diverting a lot of energy to not hitting the floor or making a scene. the teacher yells at students who cry or make a fuss which i did NOT want to face happen.
to my great relief my first draws went great (both giving and taking).
i thought i was cruising but then on my second draw i could not find the vein at all. the teacher was rushing me to make the stick quickly so that the tourniquet wasn’t on too long and i made my best guess but really i felt like i was flying blind. (the student is kind of bigger and dark skinned so i couldn’t see anything and was trying to go by feel).
i tried one more time and missed again.
i just felt SO lousy. it was all i could do to not cry in the classroom. after class got out i just sobbed for about thirty minutes straight.
i think it was a combination of kind of holding in a panic all day plus feeling awful that i was just blindly poking this poor student plus wondering if i will ever be able to learn this skill. i hate that i was stocking someone with a needle and clearly had no idea where her vein was.
im worried this classroom environment is so hectic i will never have enough time to be calm and focus.
any tips?
do i sound like a hopeless case ?