Resources and ways to become a phlebotomist
The health care industry is rapidly expanding and will continue to do so over the 30 years, which means health care jobs will be very stable for a long time. There are many specialized positions one can take up, and one of them is Phlebotomy. Become a phlebotomist, and you’ll be opening up many doors and opportunities that promise to make your future a bright one.
So what does a phlebotomist do ? A Phlebotomist collects, stores, and tests blood. A phlebotomist is a trained medical technician who identifies the patient, prepares the instruments and supplies, ensures all instruments are sterile, draws blood, labels it , stores it , and later on, runs basic lab tests, and records the results.
Phlebotomy can be practiced by both doctors and nurses, but both can tend to be overwhelmed with the volume of patients. Doctors and nurses cannot perform every single task or medical procedure, and more routine tasks are given to specialists. Drawing blood is one of those tasks, and this is where a Phlebotomist comes in. Hospitals, blood donation centers, and clinics all employ phlebotomists to handle blood collection, as well as blood sample testing. And with the increasing demand for skilled medical specialists, and competitive wages, it is a very smart idea to become a phlebotomist.
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To become a phlebotomist, you will need at the very basic, a high school diploma. Hospitals and clinics sometimes train high school gr aduates to become phlebotomists. In many states, it is not necessary to undergo any formal education or training, but many medical facilities prefer to hire trained , certified phlebotomists.
One way to become a certified phlebotomist does not include any formal training at all. There are many agencies that will certify you as long as you can prove you have at least one year of documented experience, and pass the certification exam. Your experience should include completing a specific number of venipuncture procedures. Venipuncture is what most of us think of when we think about drawing blood. Venipuncture is when a needle is inserted into a vein, and blood is collected into a tube. If you have one year of experience collecting blood, then you are eligible to become a phlebotomist.
You may also enroll in a specialized course to become a phlebotomist. You will find may colleges and medical institutions offer programs in phlebotomy that will prepare you for any aspects of th is position. There are two types of programs offered , one that will educate but do NOT certify graduates, and the other program has the certification exam included in the curriculum. If you want to become a phlebotomist, being certified will give you a huge advantage over uncertified applicants, so getting certified should be your first priority. Choose an accredited school that offers a phlebotomy program, or take it one step further, and find out what schools or certifications local employers prefer.
Enrolling in an online course is another option that can be very convenient if you work full-time or have other responsibilities. An online course allows you to work at your own pace, and will give you all the knowledge you need to become a phlebotomist, however, online courses don’t give you the hands-on experience needed to successfully perform the all procedures. If you want to become a phlebotomist, it would be very wise to select an online school that has partnered with a medical facility. This will make it much easier for you to gain the hands-on experience, and complete the practical requirements in order to become a phlebotomist.
How To Become A Nurse
Nursing can be a career for life. There has never a more exciting time to join the nursing profession if you decide that a career change in this direction is definitely for you. There are many nursing jobs and positions available to suit a host of people with a variety of skills. The number and variety of roles is big. However, the common role of a nurse is to tend to and concentrate on the needs of the patient, rather than the illness, disease or condition.
As a nurse it is possible to work in, among others, clinics, hospitals, GP surgeries, nursing and residential homes, occupational health services, voluntary organisations that run hospices or residential care and the pharmaceutical industry. Once you have completed your pre-registration course, there are a multitude of module options available.
Nurses also work in the prison service, university education, on leisure cruise ships or for the armed forces.
They help individuals and their families to live more comfortable lives by providing care, advice and counselling.
Nursing education
Before working on the national health service, you will need to complete a pre-registration course as mentioned above. There are many pre-registration courses available throughout the UK, and at present there is no set minimum entry qualification across the board.
The course is fifty per cent theory and fifty per cent practical. The first year is a Common Foundation Programme, which will introduce you to the basic principles of nursing. You will then specialise in either adult, children’s, mental health or learning disability nursing. Full time diploma courses last three years. Degree courses last three or four years.
You will need to be resident in the UK for at least three years to be eligible to apply for a place on a diploma or degree course.
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Choose your Specialty
It is possible to choose to only work with a certain type of patient, and in a certain type of environment. You actually have the choice about which specific place you would be most comfortable working in. If you prefer to work in a clerical environment, you may choose to work in a clinic or in a nursing home. If the fast-paced situation is what you are looking for, perhaps you would like to work in a hospital emergency room or assisting in surgery. Some of the other nurse jobs you may pursue are: resident nursing, nursing for the armed forces, nursing education, or in the pharmaceutical industry.
Lets look at some of the most preferred nursing jobs:
Learning disability nursing
About two to three percent of the population has some sort of learning disability. Nurses who qualify in this branch of nursing help those with learning disabilities to live independent and fulfilling lives. This may involve working with people in supported accommodation – typically three to four people with learning disabilities live together in flats or houses, with 24 hour support. Some nurses work with individuals who require more intensive support – for instance, in hospitals or in specialist secure units for offenders with severe learning disabilities. Others specialise in areas such as epilepsy management or working with people with sensory impairment so that you can choose the direction and area of healthcare that you’d like to work in.
Mental health nursing
Mental health nurses work with GPs, psychiatrists, social workers and others to co-ordinate the care of people suffering from mental illness. The vast majority of people with mental health problems live in the community. Nurses plan and deliver care for people living in their own home, in small residential units or specialist hospital services. Some are based in health centres. It is possible to develop expertise in areas such as rehabilitation, child and adolescent mental health, substance misuse and working with offenders.
There are opportunities to specialise in public health, women’s health and to run specialist services, such as teenage pregnancy clinics.
Children’s nursing
Those qualified in the children’s branch of nursing work with 0 to 18 year olds in a variety of settings, from specialist baby care units to adolescent services. Children react to illness in a very different way to adults, which is why they need to be cared for and supported by specially trained nurses who understand their particular needs. Children’s nurses also support, advise and educate parents and other close relatives. Once qualified, it is possible to specialise in hospital and community settings in areas such as burns and plastics, intensive care, child protection and cancer care.
Nursing for adults
The number of opportunities for those qualifying in the adult branch of nursing is very wide. It is possible to work in hospitals or the community – in peoples homes, attached to a health centre or in nursing homes. You will care for, support and educate people of all ages. Once you have qualified, many nurses take extra courses to specialise in areas such as cancer care or women’s health or accident and emergency also preferred choices are critical care, practice nursing, health visiting or school nursing.
Nursing Programs – Become a Registered Nurse
The nursing area is among the couple of regions of the economy that keeps growing. For anybody wanting to become nurse you’ll want an agenda. Naturally, you’ll need instruction to both enter and also to advance within the area. This information is a guide to attain your ultimate goal.
You will find a number of ways to begin a career in nursing. Some begin like a nurse’s assistant. This route allows you get earnings yet still time attaining working experience because they work their way up. Others goes to college to allow them to begin like a rn. You have to be considered a senior high school graduate or posses a GED.
Since you will find various nursing schools in the United States, expect these nursing schools offer various nursing education including the Registered Nursing degree, RN to BSN programs, licensed practical nursing schools, RN to MSN programs, CAN training in addition to Parish nursing. It is dependent about the type of nursing job you want to pursue later once you graduate in the nursing school.
Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nursing
The licensed practical nurse scope of practice is much more limited compared to a RN, as Licensed Practical Nurses have to work underneath the supervision of the licensed professional like a physician, dental professional, psychiatrist, eye doctor, nurse specialist, podiatric physician, homeopath, or RN.
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You will find many different ways to pursue work being an LPN nurse. Are all distinctively rewarding, and something might be the perfect match for the interests and personality. It’s not necessary to know the specific area you need to focus on prior to licensed practical nurse training course, but it may be very useful should you choose. Students are frequently in a position to focus their studies, especially their clinical hrs, to satisfy their lengthy-term career goals.
Registered Nursing: If you’re working towards having your qualifications within the area of Nursing, then you might want to consider working towards obtaining a RN certification. This certification will certainly increase your odds of enhancing your job as well as for allowing you to obtain a good salary.
Registered Nurses are frequently general duty nurses who concentrate on supplying the entire take care of their sufferers. They often administer medications underneath the supervision of doctors. Additionally they keep records from the medications given, the signs and symptoms from the patient as well as the progress produced by the individual.
LPN to RN schools are institutions offering licensed practical nursing programs made to be complementary of the full registered nursing degree.
Licensed Vocational Nurse
Within an LVN trade school, students will often have hands-on classes in subjects like anatomy, physiology, patient care and pharmacology. Additional models in medical ethics and legal concepts will also be presented to equip the scholars using the winning attitude, in addition to train them about their social duties. Some schools have even carried out classes for certifications on handling diagnostic tests and equipment procedures. Most programs in LVN trade schools create LVN graduates in as soon as twelve months. Upon the conclusion from the training course, the candidates must sit lower for that National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Passing this exam can give the candidates the license being practical nurses for hospitals, convalescent houses along with other medical institutions that need intensive patient care. Most LVN schools are providing review classes when preparing for that stated licensure exam.
How to Become a Women’s Health Nurse
Learning how to become a women’s health nurse or nurse practitioner is the first step towards this challenging and rewarding career. Women’s health nurses have many varied career options including work in college health clinics, community health centers, hospitals, long-term care facilities, physician offices and primary care clinics. The job involves working under a doctor or nurse practitioner to provide a wide range of women’s health care services. There are many challenges to this kind of work, but there are many rewards as well.
The most important information regarding how to become a women’s health nurse pertains to the types of care that this nursing specialist must be prepared to provide. Women’s health nurses or nurse practitioners must be able to care for women with various diseases and disabilities (including STDs), women with substance abuse problems, women going through menopause and women who are suffering from abuse. They must also be able to provide assessment, counseling, health education, family planning services, prenatal and postpartum care, disease management and prevention services, well-woman care and more.
The degrees needed to become a women’s health nurse are the same as for any other nursing specialization – nurses must earn a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and nurse practitioners must also earn a master’s degree focused on this specialization. Women’s health nurses also gain hands-on experience in the field through internships and work study, and before they can become registered they must seek recognition by the state board of nursing as an APN. A women’s health nurse practitioner may also be required to pursue certification in this specialty after completing the master’s degree, depending on the state he or she lives in.
As a women’s health nurse, one can expect to earn an average salary of ,280 or more with additional experience and over time. A women’s health nurse practitioner can earn between ,000 and ,000 per year. The job outlook looks good, as the demand for this nursing specialty is expected to rise. More information on how to become a women’s health nurse is available at local nursing schools and college campuses, so if this career interests you, speak with admissions personnel about your options.
Scientists Identify Tumours that are more likely to become Resistant to Cancer Drugs
Cancer Research UK scientists have made an important step towards developing personalised bowel cancer treatment by identifying which tumours are more likely to become drug resistant, according to research published in Cancer Research today. The team at Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute treated two classes of bowel cancer cells grown in the laboratory with around 250 compounds. These included common chemotherapy drugs used in bowel cancer and newer ‘targeted’ drugs which block specific faults in cancer cells.
Cells in one group had a stable set of 46 chromosomes. The cells in the other group were chromosomally unstable bowel cancer cells produced when faults occurred whilst the cells were dividing.
The team found that chromosomally unstable bowel cancer cells are significantly more resistant to a large number of chemotherapy treatments and targeted drugs, than cells with a stable chromosome number. And tumours with stable chromosomes are more likely to respond to drugs. These results mean that determining the chromosomal status of tumours may provide useful information on whether bowel cancer patients will benefit from certain treatments. Chromosomally unstable tumours are the most aggressive, accounting for 70 per cent of all bowel cancer cases.
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Lead author of the report, Dr Charles Swanton, said: “One of the most important questions in cancer medicine is to find out why drugs work better in some patients than others – so doctors can prescribe the most beneficial treatments. “
Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s Director of Cancer Information, said: “We’re making excellent progress in the treatment of bowel cancer. People diagnosed today are twice as likely to survive for at least ten years than those diagnosed in the 1970s and our work has played a significant part in this progress.”
“Developing treatments according to the genetic profile of patients is the next big focus – as not all bowel cancers are the same. These findings will help us unravel the underlying disease causes to tailor treatment to different groups of patients and find better drugs for advanced disease. The next stage will be to confirm this early research with larger studies.”
Mr Austin Obichere, UK Colorectal Cancer expert comments, “This is extraordinary work towards the creation of ‘designer chemotherapy agents’ for patients with colorectal cancer.
The concept is simple – can we predict from the characteristics of cancer cells which patients are likely to benefit from chemotherapy. Furthermore, by understanding why some of these cells are resistant to treatment, could lead to the development of newer agents that can destroy them.
The above work by Dr Swanton and colleagues suggests that unstable chromosomes in the genetic make-up of the cancer cells may explain why some patients do badly. Arguably, this finding may represent a watershed in future attempts to tailor chemotherapy to each patient suffering from bowel cancer. However, a larger trial is necessary to confirm these preliminary findings before possible clinical application.”
For more information please read Mr Austin Obichere’s article: Bowel Cancer Screening
How to Become a Nurse Informatics Specialist
You may be interested in nurse informatics degree programs if you are interested in integrating clinical nursing with computer processes and data management. Highly organized and technologically inclined individuals can excel in the nursing informatics field—if they are also able to use these skills alongside their clinical expertise and caring bedside manner. A nursing informatics specialist can improve the health care process by communicating and managing nursing information to help consumers, patients, doctors, nurse and health care providers to make better decisions.
Becoming a Nurse Informatics Specialist
There are several routes you can take to become a nurse informatics specialist, but you can expect to complete at least four years of schooling. Many nurses earn a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing, become registered, earn a Master of Science in Nursing Informatics, and finally complete the ANCC certifications for nursing informatics. There are quicker routes, but this is often the preferred route by major employers.
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It takes a good education to be competitive in the field of nurse informatics. Apart from your nursing education, you will also need additional training on relational databases and MS Office programs, such as Access, Excel and Visio.
Choosing a Specialization
After getting a nursing education, you will probably work in a specialty area for a while, as most nurses do. For this reason, it’s a good idea to think about what area you’d like to specialize in early on in your education. Popular specialties include the following:
1. Intensive care unit
2. Medical-surgery
3. Oncology
4. Orthopedic services
5. Perioperative services
You aren’t required to stay in that specialty area forever, but it helps to stay there for a while to get to know the routine and understand the patients as expertly as possible. After completing the certification exams for nursing informatics, you can seek employment in computerized documentation within that specialty area and put your support skills to use.
If you complete your degree, pass the exams and become a nursing informatics specialist, you will be able to use your experience and training to make improvements on the operations of health care organizations. Your analytical and critical thinking skills will serve you well when integrating the delivery, documentation and workflow of patient care. Your additional education pertaining to information systems will differentiate you from other nursing specialists and make you a better project manager in the health care environment where you find employment.
Nurse informatics degree programs are all different, and nurses take many paths to this career. If it sounds like the right path for you, there’s no day like today to get started.
Depression Can Become Chronic if Untreated
Medical researchers based at the Yale School of Medicine recently published a study showing that postpartum depression in mothers could develop into cases of clinical depression if untreated. The group focused upon was comprised of economically disadvantaged women, and researchers found that symptoms improved with effective therapy.
Depression a Common Condition
The study, led by Carol C. Weitzman, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and in the Child Study Center at Yale School at Yale School of Medicine, found that postpartum depression among underserved women was a very common condition, with one in five mothers of children one and older showing moderate to severe symptoms of depression.
According to Weitzman, the findings show that depression is not limited to the postpartum period, but in fact may develop into higher incidents of clinical depression as the children grow older. Separate studies have established that depression can result from other conditions and diseases as well, including diabetes – though medical testing for physiological disorders such as diabetes was not undertaken in the study.
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Study Methodology
In the study, 931 mothers who brought their children in for checkups were asked to complete a 16-item survey. Those whose responses indicated possible depressive symptoms were separately interviewed to verify depressive symptoms, then 71 of the noted group were assigned to either undergo cognitive behavioral therapy or case management.
The results showed that:
1· 45 percent of mothers were judged to have depressive symptoms
2· 26 percent showed mild symptoms
3· 13 percent displayed moderate symptoms
4· 6 percent had developed severe symptoms
5· Symptoms significantly improved for women who receive cognitive behavioral therapy, and less so for those under case management, though all showed some measure of improvement.
Benefit to Children
The study follow up indicated that children under the age of four whose mothers went though cognitive behavioral therapy were less likely to develop behavior problems. Children older than four did not show any major changes after their mothers received case management, which entailed communicating with a social worker and gaining access to referrals.
“A depressed parent can have a significant effect on a child,” said Weitzman. “Brief on-site treatment can help reduce symptoms of depression in a mother and may also improve her perspective about her child’s behavior.”
The article written by Mike McGrath for healthtree.com, an online health information site that features information on severe depression
How To Become A Certified Phlebotomist?
In the years of the ancient Egyptians, phlebotomy refers to the process of making an incision into the veins for the purpose of taking blood for therapeutic purposes. Nowadays, modern phlebotomists draw blood for
analysis in the laboratory. They can also be responsible for labelling the sample with the patients’ names, performing other tests and sterilizing equipment.
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If you are interested in becoming a phlebotomist, there are 3 major steps that you need to take in order to become one.
1. Graduate with a High School Degree
Your first step in being a phlebotomist is to get a high school degree. This degree is your stepping stone to the colleges and universities that offer courses in phlebotomy. Most colleges and universities do not accept anything less than this degree, so you need to find a way of finishing high school if you are intent on being a phlebotomist. While in high school, take subjects that are related to the field, such as biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology.
2. Take an Accredited Phlebotomist Training Course
Enrol in a phlebotomy course in a college, university or even vocational schools. If you are in the United States, you can refer to the Centre for Phlebotomy Education for a list of all accredited phlebotomy programs. The course can range anything from between 6 months to a year depending on the program and school enrolled in. In some courses, a work practicum is included as well where you will receive hands-on training. Try to find a course that includes this as the experience will be very useful when you graduate later on. However, if the course that you have selected doesn’t have this practicum, then you can either choose to work as a paid staff or a volunteer at a blood bank or lab.
3. Become a Certified Phlebotomist
Depending on the state that you’re currently working in, you might be required to be a certified phlebotomist in order to practice. Even if the state you are in doesn’t require you to do so, it is actually recommended as most companies where you will apply for employment later on will require this certification. To be a certified phlebotomist, you need to take a phlebotomy certification test, with which you will then be either a Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) or Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT) upon completion of the certification course. There are several places in the US where you can go to for the certification, namely The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), The American Society for Phlebotomy Technicians (ASPT) and The American Medical Technologists (AMT).
Being a phlebotomist isn’t as difficult as getting other professional qualifications. The route is direct and the career is promising as there is always a demand for phlebotomists in healthcare.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Phlebotomy Technician
So you’re wondering how long does it take to become a phlebotomy technician. The good news is that this is one of the easier medical fields to get into as far as education and training go. That is not to say that the road to your career as a phlebotomy technician will be easy—your education and training will require some rigorous effort to be sure. But, in less than two years you can be working in the field, which is not something you can say about all healthcare jobs.
Becoming a phlebotomy technician requires certification, but before that you need to finish your classroom instruction and hands-on training. You will learn how to draw blood, operate equipment, handle samples, keep records and perform other important tasks that are integral to your role in the medical team. You must have a high school diploma or GED before you begin your schooling at a vocational school, technical school or community college. An associate’s degree at a community college will take just under two years, but technical and vocational schools offer certificate and diploma programs that can be completed in as little as six to eight months.
If you take a full time load of courses including anatomy, biology, physiology and laboratory classes, you should be able to finish school quickly. Associate’s degrees require at least 60 credit hours including some general education courses such as communication, English, humanities, math and science. This takes longer than the six-month certificate courses, which focus solely on learning the basic phlebotomy duties and preparing for the exams, but some employers prefer associate’s degrees.
After getting your degree or certificate you will need to pass a national certification exam in order to become a certified phlebotomist. The exam is administered by a number of organizations, including the American Society for Clinical Pathology, Association of Phlebotomy Technicians, National Phlebotomy Association and others. Once you have passed this exam and received your certification you can begin applying for jobs in clinics, doctor’s offices, hospitals, labs and other places where phlebotomist technician services are required.
The Ins And Outs Of How To Become A Phlebotomist
On surface, to become a phlebotomist doesn’t seem like something too complicated. After all, the discipline supposedly covers only the science of drawing blood. Phlebotomy is indeed a subject that observes, teaches and trains a person the process of drawing a blood sample. The process, however, includes handling different types of patient, explaining the procedure, choosing the right technique from the many available to draw blood, preparing and sterilizing the equipment as well as proper labeling and storing of said sample. It is a lot more than simply injecting a syringe and extracting blood from a patient. People who like working with people, have steady hands and an interest in health care definitely finds phlebotomy to be extremely interesting.
The Career of a Phlebotomist
A phlebotomist is a health care professional whose work is to draw blood from a patient or donor for the purpose of medical testing. When you become a phlebotomist it is important to remember that, aside from your main job of drawing blood sample, you are also in charge of detailing the procedure to the patients, cleaning and sterilizing equipment, preparing reagents and stains, taking blood pressure, respiration and pulse rates, sending samples of urine and fecal for the purpose of laboratory testing and updating patient records.
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Phlebotomy Courses
To become a phlebotomist, it is important that you first have your GED or high school diploma, after which you will be eligible to complete an accredited phlebotomist program. This kind of program usually takes about one semester until one year diploma or certificate. Courses to become a phlebotomist typically comprise classes of anatomy, biology and physiology – to be combined later with practicum and supervised training in a hospital or a private clinic.
Phlebotomy Certification
To become a phlebotomist, it is highly recommended to have certification since most employers ask that you have it, even though becoming certified is actually optional. Organizations which offer national testing and certification include the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), American Medical Technologists (AMT) and the American Society for Phlebotomy Technicians (ASPT). These organizations award the title Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) or Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT) upon completion of programs and examination. Keep in mind that maintenance is required every year in the form of re-certification.
Expected Salary of a Phlebotomist
Average annual salary of a phlebotomist is ,040, according to The American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Based on a 40-hour work week, this renders a phlebotomist the wage of .00 per hour. Starting out as you become a phlebotomist can be discouraging, in terms of financial reward. Many phlebotomists however swiftly branch out to become technicians in the lab or one who handles EKG, lab supervisors, or even climb the administrative ladder. In a supervisory position, a phlebotomist stands a chance to earn a salary of approximately ,000 per year according to the above survey.
Phlebotomists are always on demand as well as being a career which is capable of diversifying itself into other health care related professions. Compassionate and scientifically oriented individuals will definitely find that to become a phlebotomist is really something worth considering.