If you don't faint at the sight of blood and desire to work directly with patients, consider phlebotomist training as a possible career field. The health care arena provides an array of employment opportunities due to factors such as the country's aging population and the workforce shortage in the industry. That's caused many people to seek a career or new opportunities in this field.
 
Careers in demand include clinical laboratory positions such as working as a phlebotomist, who collects patients' blood samples for analysis and transfusions.

Phlebotomists must be able to draw blood through a variety of means, including from veins, mainly in patients' arms, fingersticks, heelsticks in infants, and from scalp veins with a butterfly needle. Expert phlebotomists can take arterial blood samples from wrists and administer injections with the correct training. As health care professionals, phlebotomists also should constantly strive for accuracy on the job, be able to handle pressure situations, and boast strong communication skills with patients and physicians, which could help in the diagnosis of diseases.

Job growth for phlebotomists and other clinical laboratory workers is expected to increase 14 percent by 2016, a faster average than other occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics. In fact, studies by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) show that phlebotomist turnover is the highest in the west south central states and in the far west, with 56 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Community colleges, technical and vocational schools, state universities, and schools affiliated with hospitals offer courses, programs, and continuing education for phlebotomists. More than 60 schools offering phlebotomy training are accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Services. The programs prepare students to receive certificates as a phlebotomy technician (PBT) or advanced certifications such as a donor phlebotomy technician (DPT) employed by blood centers (the ASCP gives those two national certification exams). The minimum education requirement for most schooling for phlebotomists is a high school degree, according to the ASCP, and subjects such as math and science should be strong areas for you.

Put Yourself in a Crucial Healthcare Position
Choosing to become a phlebotomist means taking on an enormous responsibility, where you must provide reliable specimens for valid patient results and avoid harming patients, according to the ASCP. To do this, it's important to have not only the technical expertise provided by phlebotomist training programs but also the type of personality to easily interact with patients, making them feel comfortable in the situation, and serve as a representative of the laboratory to the patient and staff.

Specialties such as phlebotomists earn $27,040 annually, according to the American Society for Clinical Pathology's Wage & Vacancy survey. The median hourly wage varies, depending on the work environment, with $11.70 in a hospital setting, $12.15 in a private clinic, and $11.25 in a physician office or laboratory, according to ASCP data. Many phlebotomists advance their career by going into nursing or other health care opportunities.

A clinical laboratory career in roles such as a phlebotomist is a way to get involved in the health care industry and play a key supportive role in the business of medicine.