According to U.S. News, the importance of phlebotomists in the healthcare industry is set to increase over the next few years. It is expected that phlebotomists will remain in high demand in the healthcare field because of the important role that they play in the industry.
As in many other professions, growing as a professional phlebotomist largely depends on you getting a phlebotomist certification. Here are four important characteristics that will help you earn one.
1. A good level of dexterity
As a professional phlebotomist, your work will largely entail drawing blood samples from patients and preparing the samples for laboratory procedures. Drawing blood samples from patients is not an easy task.
To start with, you have to make sure that you get the right blood vessel from which you are supposed to draw the blood. In practice, blood samples are drawn from specific veins in the bodies of patients. As well, you need to make sure that you draw the right amount of blood required for specific laboratory procedures.
What these issues mean is that as a good phlebotomist, you need to exhibit an outstanding degree of coordination. Your hands and fingers need to be coordinated in such a manner that your actions are defined by precision.
2. Emotional intelligence
In general, emotional intelligence is an umbrella term that includes a set of characteristics and traits that enable one to successfully manage different types of people under different circumstances.
As a professional phlebotomist, you could be working in a hospital environment. In most cases, patients are under emotional and physical stress arising from pain. This means that while handling patients, you are likely to encounter very emotional individuals who may easily make your work difficult. It is because of this that the ability to successfully manage such patients becomes invaluable to you.
A good sense of emotional intelligence will help you to remain calm even when you are handling difficult patients. It will also help you to provide all the information that patients may require without losing your sense of control and professional conduct.
3. Ability to cope with pressure
A good phlebotomist is able to cope with work-related pressure. According to information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, phlebotomists are increasingly being called upon to work at night or over the weekends. What this means is that in practice, you will be required to work for extremely long and odd hours at times.
This is the case because the manner in which the healthcare industry operates is based on prioritizing the needs of patients above everything else. Therefore, for you to succeed in this profession, you need to develop your ability to cope when subjected to work-related pressure.
4. A good sense of judgment
You need to exhibit a good sense of judgment when handling a large number of blood samples at work. Furthermore, you need to have the ability to work for long amounts of time without losing your focus. This will help to convince your seniors that you are able to maintain a good sense of judgment and produce error-free results even when you have been working for a while and with patients who are difficult to handle.
To sum up, there are many other characteristics that will help you to get certified as a phlebotomist. However, having the four traits that have been discussed will go a long way in helping you get the certification that you need. A good sense of emotional intelligence, the ability to work under pressure, a good sense of judgment and a high level of dexterity are the basic characteristics that you need to earn your certification.
