Phlebotomy is the medical practice of drawing blood from a patient through venipuncture, bloodletting and other means. The job of the phlebotomist is not easy, but compared to other medical professions available today; the work requirements are also not very overwhelming. Phlebotomy is very popular amongst medical students today for many reasons. One of which is that phlebotomy jobs pay quite well for a short-term degree. Another reason is that the training takes only a matter of time. Best of all, it can be a medical student’s entryway to a better medical career.
A lot of students who take this career do it to have a preparatory education before they take on a full-length medical course. Often students will spend years doing part-time work in between education. That’s because, with the salary a phlebotomist receives, it’s very easy to save in order to enroll for an associate, bachelor or doctorate’s degree course.
All of these things play a part when it comes to the demand for a phlebotomist today. It’s not that people are just more willing to get their veins punctured and their blood drawn out. It’s just that phlebotomy is a great career and offers a great opportunity that other entry-level medical paths have to offer.
The phlebotomy coursework
The coursework for phlebotomy is fairly straightforward at first glance. However, there’s an important reason why phlebotomists have to take training before they can begin their work. The first and most obvious reason is that puncturing the wrong vein can lead to serious complications. With that said, the phlebotomy tech need to spend hours and hours in practical hands-on training before attempting to do it on a real person.
Skill is necessary for this job, the United States Bureau of Labor tells new medical professionals. As such, medical facilities in the United States are always looking for highly skilled medical professionals. As for the pay, it varies according to experience, so the phlebotomists can expect a rise in their paychecks once they become more skilled and/or more qualified.
Job trends for phlebotomists
In a recent study undertaken by the United States Bureau of Labor, the trends for phlebotomy jobs and opportunities are projecting a 14% increase over the next five years. The study considered the job trends from the year 2006 to the present time and then these figures were used as a basis to predict the percentage of increase in jobs up to the year 2016. The 14% increase is definitely something to look forward to, considering the fact that the numbers of available phlebotomy jobs today are already staggering.
If you are a new phlebotomist technician fresh from school, you can expect a great future ahead of you. If you are an experienced medical practitioner with qualifying skills, you can expect better. Whether you want to use this educational achievement as a first step to a higher medical degree, or you simply want to make a decent income with the shortest amount of training possible, then the continually improving trend is an advantage that you should explore.
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