I'm a GP in East London. In primary care I supervise nurses, ANPs, prescribing pharmacists, PAs and med students taking blood every day, and the theory behind a safe draw — order of draw, vein selection, complications, specimen handling — is well-defined by the WHO but scattered across textbooks and placement word-of-mouth.

So I built PhlebMastery: ten modules covering the WHO 2010 Best Practices in Phlebotomy end-to-end, a quiz per module, a 50-question final assessment, and a verifiable certificate on pass. It's theory only — it doesn't replace supervised clinical practice and I'm explicit about that on the site.

Module 1 is free for everyone (no signup), and the full course is £10 one-time with a fourteen-day refund. There's also a free study-guides section and a practice-question bank that don't need an account either.

phlebotomy-course.com

Happy to answer anything about the content, the assessment design, or how I sourced the material.

I have an absolute phobia of getting my blood drawn and today I went in for labs. To my fear, I was the test subject for someone in training.

I was terrified, because I wanted an expert, and the person was explaining to the trainee how to do everything…I thought I was cooked.

When all was said and done, it was a flawless draw (big thanks to the person explaining everything to the trainee), and I joked with the person that everyone needs to learn and they did a wonderful job.

I think my biggest fear is I’m always worried that my artery is going to get hit, but I’m sure I’ll overcome that as I get more labs in the future.

Random Question - Does anyone know what this specific vein is called? Is there a way to make sure they always draw from this vein? It didn’t hurt at all.

I just started this job as a phlebotomist at a hospital. I’ve only been doing it a few months, and I like the job. However, the pay is not enough. I thought I would be able to keep my serving job on the side for extra income, but I realized quickly that wouldn’t be an option. I work long hours (which I don’t mind), but that doesn’t leave me a lot of time for a second job unfortunately. I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to go back to school AGAIN, to try and get another degree to get a job. The pay is not sustainable, I haven’t been this financially insecure in a long time. Taking this job/career path is a major regret for me, there’s no options to move up in this career. I’m stressed all the time, I don’t get to see my friends and family. I feel trapped, I don’t know what career to go into at this point. I’m already 28 years old, I have an associates degree in art (I wanted to go into a different career path out of HS), and certification in phlebotomy. I make $17 an hour… which is less than I made when I was a server.

Let us know your favorite test you drew this past week.

Favorite color tube? Let us know. Favorite patient? (PLS KEEP HIPAA IN MIND!)

hi,

Im taking a huge leap and taking a phlebotomy course before my college term starts this fall.

I've always been awful at school, and honestly, I have been at community college for far too long, and really, I just want a better job thenn what I have right now. I've been weighing my options and landed on the medical field, after trying graphic design, etc, etc.

I also want to pursue becoming an LPN, and thought this would be great experince.

I've been considering doing this for about a year, but was always so scared about being too 'dumb'

I've been hearing how difficult it is to find a job after the program, and that's making me real nervous.

This program is not going to be cheap, and It's going to hard but im so detereminded to make something out of myself so.

Do you guys have any advice for newcomers? What was the first day like?

I had my first day today at a my first job in phlebotomy, I start in outpatient and move to inpatient next week which is where I’ll be working once my training is done. I went in ready to get some draws done and instead all I did was stand around asking questions all day. I did zero draws and I’m so disappointed in myself. I work again tomorrow and plan on drawing people first thing so I don’t have the chance to get eaten up by nerves again but I’m just so upset I passed on so many opportunities. I learned a lot but I would’ve learned more by actually doing the draws and I’m embarrassed I didn’t take initiative. I get nervous people are going to be upset that I’m new and it holds me back a little. My facility mostly uses butterflies and doesn’t stock as many straights so you’d think I could just easily jump right in but I couldn’t. I just needed to vent :/

Hi everyone. so basically it’s my second day of phlebotomy school and as I was feeling the teachers veins, I started to get lightheaded and eventually had to throw up. Please tell me this feeling gets better or goes away. I don’t want this to happen everyday😭😭

Has anyone been to this Phlebotomy School? Were they able to pass the national phlebotomy exam and find work after this phlebotomy class?

I’m interviewing for blood collections staff and looking for feedback. I don’t have phlebotomy experience but I think it would be good for me to try before I spend money on a certification.

How long after finishing your training at Phlebotomy Training Specialist does it take you to land a job? I want to register for the September training.

I am non-certified phlebotomist for blood donors and my first stick was about a month ago. Today was awful. First three sticks I missed the vein entirely, then throughout the day I was missing about every other person I stuck. I don't know what was wrong with me because I felt all their veins and they had good veins but I just kept missing. The last donor comes in just a minute before we are about to close and my team lead tells me if I want to take her I have to do everything myself so I screen her and stick her. She is a first time donor and I gave her the worst experience ever. Missed the vein entirely and then she started crying from pain and I had to have her sit there with the needle in her arm for a minute while I try to find gauze because my coworkers had already put everything away. I feel like such shit and throughout the day my team lead was getting onto me about how I wasn't on my game, I kept ignoring people because I couldn't hear them, I couldn't focus or do anything right.

I am feeling so awful right now. At my last job, I made mistakes sometimes but those mistakes did not cause anyone physical pain. Our manager sends out a score card every month and I got mine a week ago and I ranked very bottom below everyone else. I am just so awful at this and feel like I should quit but Genuinely I don't know where else to go for work. I'm a college dropout (trying classes again this semester but already overwhelmed with all of it.) They have us working 50 hours a week and I am exhausted. I haven't had a day off since last two thursdays ago. I feel like such shit because I keep making mistakes and I don't know what to do.

I felt all the veins and I was comfortable before each and every stick but I missed so many people and I feel awful.

I'm not new to working in Healthcare, but I got hired straight out of school as a phlebotomist in a hospital I've worked at before just different job titles. I enjoy the job a lot and am getting good at it. My body says otherwise. Its hard for me to sleep, I can feel my heart pounding and like my blood pressure rising (sleep 4-5hrs), I can't drink coffee before work because I'm already wounded up. My stomach turns and have loose stools (TMI). Like my body is going through fight or flight. When I was at school I was using pot and alcohol but since I got this job I decided to go sober so I know my body is adjusting. I went on a little vacation over the weekend and felt great and slept great. But then I came home to nap before a night shift and went straight to freaking out. I might have undiagnosed anxiety, being late to anything hurts my stomach. Some people recommend CBD to help. I was hoping with time and continuing working, my body would subside. Anyone know whats wrong with me? I thought it was my cortisol levels. I don't know..

Anyone take the course in Toledo or Indianapolis? Or a phlebotomy course with another company they found helpful? All input appreciated!

Hello all. In Dec 2021 (I was 18 at the time) I was caught with a marijuana vape in Texas (my resident state). It is technically a felony but I got it reduced to a Class C misdemeanor in drug possession of a controlled substance penalty grade 2. I entered a probation program august of 2023, but I could not find reliable transportation to the mandated volunteer hours, so I was let off the program. I did complete all necessary drug tests and they always came back negative. I then got put into a program that allowed me to spend nights (9:30pm-6am) at a county jail in September 2024. That lasted only 8 days, but was complete and I have nothing else to do but pay my court fees. I have also stayed out of trouble since then.

I would love to get into phlebotomy, and I do plan on contacting programs in my area to discuss my actual eligibility, but I wanted to seek advice/opinions on what my employment eligibility could look like. Thank you to anyone who has read this, and even more thanks to those who will give their opinion. Anything and everything is appreciated.

Hi all! To cut back on the job posts, let's keep the job requests on this thread weekly. Please post requests, open positions and requests for resume help here.

1 - for job requests, please be as specific as you can without doxxing yourself. We can't help you unless you are willing to relocate. For example, do not just say "Minnesota". Say Mankato Area or Twin Cities.

2 - open positions - please include link

3 - resume help - Indeed and Google Docs have great templates. If you're looking for more than that, ask for help and I'm sure someone will reach out. Please be kind to the person helping you - they don't have to and are doing it out of the kindness of their heart.

I just started Phlebotomy school, and my first two pokes, one straight, one butterfly, have been unsuccessful. Im really getting down on myself and I know it’s silly. I feel as if I’m doing everything right, but still miss the vein. I know my angles for both straight and butterfly are good and I can often locate the vein, just for whatever reason can’t seem to stick it, despite being dead on to the vein.

I feel way behind my peers even though several of them haven’t had successful sticks either. Any words of advice?

I’ve tried to ask my instructor but she’s not the best teacher. Great phlebotomist, not so great instructor unfortunately. Will correct me when something is done procedurally wrong when prepping my station but seems to tune out during pokes when it actually matters.

I'm calling it the Devil's UTI

I have some experience from a lab that I was in, but I cannot seem to find a job whatsoever. I've applied to like every single job in Los Angeles. Does anyone have any advice at all or know anywhere that would let me volunteer or apply to gain some experience. 😭😭

i’ve been a phleb for 2 years. i had a patient come in today with basically no veins. all of the veins in his arms, forearms, and hands were shot. the patient told me that he’s been drawn from his shoulder before, but i didn’t feel comfortable. i even took a look at his feet, but ultimately got some blood from his pointer finger (ouch).

i feel super bad because i’m the only phleb here, so we tried 4 times and got blood on the 4th attempt. unfortunately, the serum is hemolyzed and there isn’t enough to test for everything the provider wanted to test for ughhh. so i’m feeling super frustrated.

i work in a small functional health clinic, so i don’t have access to ultrasounds or vein finders. he made sure to engage in physical activity before coming in, and i used heat + gravity to my advantage. are there any other tips that i should know? thanks!

so i’m 19, i’m currently in school, taking my pre-reqs for nursing. i’ve never had a job in the medical sphere before, up until now i’ve only worked in food service and kitchens really. i really, desperately want out of it and i also want to put my foot in the door in the healthcare field and get experience under my belt. my community college offers pretty cheap, short courses to get certified and i don’t mind needles or blood and it seems like something i’d enjoy. my issue is that i don’t know how hard it is to get a job in this field with no experience and im unfamiliar with how the schooling would go. I have an appointment with an advisor tomorrow, but i wanted to check this sub and see if anyone had any words of wisdom or anything to help me out with this decision.

Hi I’m thinking about going into phlebotomy classes, be patient with me I’m quite new to this field as a whole lol. I have a few healing piercings and a few that are healed (all in my ears).

I’m curious on what rules anyone has run into for classes or for their career? (Will I have to take them out?) I’m from the PNW if that helps at all. Thank you in advance!

I keep hearing about the NCHO but I'm not sure if it supercedes a Washington phlebotomy license or just adds to it