Phlebotomists
Extract, collect, label and preserve blood and other specimens from patients for laboratory analysis.
A seven o'clock queue at the collection centre
You are a phlebotomist at a collection centre, taking blood samples for patients who have been sent by their doctors. It is 7:05am and the centre has just opened. There are fourteen people waiting, many of them fasting and hungry. You are the only one on until a colleague arrives at eight.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I don't want to do it. Dad said it wouldn't hurt, but my friend said it does. I'm going to scream, I think. Can we just go home? I won't tell anyone that we came.
Tell him it won't hurt at all, to settle him down and get him into the chair
He relaxes until the needle goes in, then feels tricked and gets more upset. Telling the truth gently builds more trust than a promise you can't keep.
Be honest about the quick pinch, let him pick the arm and chat about his favourite game
Callum chooses his left arm, tells you about his game and is done before he expects. His father is relieved. A child who feels some control is a calmer child.
Ask his father to hold him down firmly so that it can be done quickly and he can't pull away
It's done fast, but Callum is tearful and angry, and both he and his father leave unhappy. It may be necessary in rare cases, but it should not be the first step.
I forgot to fast this morning and had my toast and tea. The doctor said no food, but I felt dizzy. I'm so sorry. I really don't want to come back tomorrow, my husband is unwell and I have to look after him.
Take the sample anyway and say nothing about the toast, so that she doesn't need to return
The result may be wrong because of the toast, and her doctor may make decisions based on it. Hiding the problem puts the patient at risk.
Take the sample, write clearly on the form that she did not fast, and tell her doctor's surgery as well
Her doctor can interpret the result with the facts, and she doesn't have to come back. It's reasonable, but you didn't check whether the test could be done at a different time.
Explain kindly that the result may mislead her doctor, and check with the lab what can be done
The lab says the test needs fasting, so she books a later time that suits her husband's care. She leaves relieved that someone listened. The right test at the right time matters more than a quick one.
I need to tell you that the sample we sent yesterday was labelled with the wrong date. I'm sorry, it's my mistake. I know you're busy, but could you check if it's still usable, or do we need to redo it?
Tell her it's probably fine and carry on, as the queue is long and the sample is only a day old
A wrongly labelled sample might be rejected or misread. You have passed a doubt on to the lab and the patient.
Thank her for telling you, say you'll find the sample and ring her back within the hour
You find the sample and give it to the lab supervisor, who decides what to do. The clinic hears back quickly and the patient is protected. Owning up to errors makes the whole chain safer.
Tell her to ring the lab directly, since it's not something you can fix from the collection centre
She does, but the call goes to a voicemail and she loses time. A quick handover from you could have saved the delay.
How it went
The queue was cleared by nine, a nervous child went home with a sticker and a patient's test was rescheduled properly. Phlebotomists need steady hands, calm voices and a habit of checking every label twice. Would you enjoy helping people through something they would rather avoid?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The name on the tube
A fictional case set in a pathology collection centre in a fictional suburb, seeing patients from early morning until mid-afternoon.
The situation
Sofia was a phlebotomist at a collection centre. One Tuesday morning, two patients with very similar names, Mr Ahmad Hassan and Mr Ahmed Hassan, were in the waiting room together. Both had come for fasting blood tests. Their forms looked alike, the queue was long and a nurse from a nearby clinic was phoning about an urgent sample. Sofia called one of them in and began the usual routine, but the name on the form in her hand seemed slightly off.
What they did
Sofia paused and asked the man in the chair to say his full name and date of birth himself, rather than reading them out to him. His date of birth did not match the form. She had the other patient's form. She thanked him, apologised for the mix-up, swapped the forms and began again. She labelled each tube at the bedside, in front of the patient. Afterward she told her supervisor, who moved the two forms to different trays.
How it turned out
No sample was labelled wrongly. Both men were seen within a few minutes of each other and the urgent sample went out on time. Sofia's supervisor added a prompt for similar names to the morning briefing.
What would you do?
- Why do you think it is better to ask patients to say their name than to read it to them?
- How would you feel about slowing down when the queue is building behind you?
- What could you say to a patient who is already nervous, to help them settle?