Phlebotomy

Yesterday was my first venipuncture! Hurray!

I am currently in a program that will train and certify me to work as a phlebotomist. I thought this would be a good thing to do while I am waiting for my nursing program to start and while I am in the program. Next week is my last week of classes but I still have a little ways to go. I need to get 25 successful venipunctures(using my own volunteers), go on an internship and sit for my national licensing exam. I am feeling a little bit intimidated. 25 draws seems like a lot to complete, but the only way to get the ball rolling is to start.

My teacher surprised us by letting us draw on our classmates yesterday after lecture. I was feeling a little bit nervous, but for the most part OK. I put on my lab coat, said a quick prayer, then walked up and started "doing my thing". I avoided making simple errors, my voice was steady and my hands weren't shaking to bad. I needed my professor to check the vein I picked because my volunteer had really deep veins that were hard to locate. She approved of the vein I had picked and so I prepped my needle.

I was doing fine, the needle went in quite smoothly, and I hit the vein. Everything was going great. Then I realized that there was a needle in this woman's arm and I had just put it there. I didn't lose it but I looked down and my knees were shaking like crazy! My volunteer noticing the change started saying things like "You are doing great! It doesn't hurt at all. Nope doesn't hurt you are doing a wonderful job..." which helped immensely! I finished up my draw, thanked my volunteer, found a seat and took a DEEP breath.

My Professor came over later and told me that I should be very proud of myself. My technique was perfect, except I needed to steady my hands a bit, and she said that it was a very difficult vein even for an advanced phlebotomist and that I had done well. She also said that it was funny to watch because as soon as I put the needle in my knees started shaking so much that I looked like a baby duck trying to learn to swim!