English 111: Imformative Essay

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Following this step the cotton ball will then be applied over the needle and pushed down and the needle safely removed. Do to the toxic hazards of dealing with blood, the phlebotomist is going to want to get the needle away from any potential stick that could occur to them or the patient. Once she has it away she will then activate the safety device on the needles and discard of it in a biohazard safe container for sharps. Keep in mind while this is happening the other hand will be holding to cotton ball after twenty seconds of pressure on the draw site, the tech will then look to make sure the site looks clean. At this point they may apply some tape or a band aid just to assure no bacteria enter. The reason for the pressure on the cotton ball is to help blood clot but also to lessen a bruise occurring later.

The final and most important part a phlebotomist should always do is correctly identify the patient before allowing them to leave the room. This is crucial to make sure people aren't getting false recorded lab work or diagnosis. The lab tech should always ask for a name and date of birth. They will then follow that verification by initialing and writing the time on the label and then stick them to the tube. The phlebotomist will have received these labels when you first checked in. Once the process is finished the technician will then allow you to leave and rid of any trash, take the blood to a designated area, and then re wash their hands.

As you can see this is a very time consuming and rewarding process. Although people think they are there to hurt them, lab technicians just want to help pin point what exactly is wrong to assure better health. This is a job that can be very hard and rewarding at the same time. Some scenarios may vary from one another depending on the patient. At the end of the day regardless of what had happened phlebotomist can go home with the satisfaction that they might have made a difference.