Venipuncture
* This course is designed to instruct the student in the proper methods of both capillary and Venus blood collection. Equipment, legal issues and specimen transport are taught and practiced. Proper methods of blood collections and processing are taught and practiced.
Learning Objectives
1) Demonstrate understanding of the importance of specimen collection and specimen integrity in the delivery of patient care.
a) Describe the legal and ethical importance of proper patient/sample identification.
b) Describe the types of patient specimens that are analyzed in the clinical laboratory.
c) Define the phlebotomist's role in collecting and/or transporting these specimens to the laboratory.
d) List the general criteria for suitability of a specimen for analysis, and reasons for specimen rejection or recollection.
e) Explain the importance of timed, fasting and stat specimens, as related to specimen integrity and patient care.
2) Demonstrate knowledge of collection equipment, various types of additives used, special precautions necessary and substances that can interfere in clinical analysis of blood constituents.
a) Identify the various types of additives used in blood collection, and explain the reasons for their use.
b) Identify the evacuated tube color codes associated with the additives.
c) Describe substances that can interfere in clinical analysis of blood constituents and ways in which the phlebotomist can help to avoid these occurrences.
d) List and select the types of equipment needed to collect blood by venipuncture, capillary, and arterial puncture.
e) Identify special precautions necessary during blood collections by venipuncture, capillary, and arterial puncture.
3) Follow standard operating procedures to collect specimens.
a) Identify potential sites for venipuncture, capillary, and arterial punctures.
b) Differentiate between sterile and antiseptic techniques.
c) Describe and demonstrate the steps in the preparation of a puncture site.
d) List the effect of tourniquet, hand squeezing and heating pads on capillary puncture and venipuncture.
e) Recognize proper needle insertion and withdrawal techniques including direction, angle, depth and aspiration, for arterial puncture and venipuncture.
f) Describe and perform correct procedure for capillary collection methods on infants and adults.
g) Identify alternate collection sites for arterial, capillary and venipuncture. Describe the limitations and precautions of each.
h) Name and explain frequent causes of phlebotomy complications. Describe signs and symptoms of physical problems that may occur during blood collection.
i) List the steps necessary to perform an arterial, venipuncture and/or capillary puncture in chronological order.
j) Follow standard operating procedures to perform a competent/effective venipuncture on a patient.
k) Follow standard operating procedures to perform a competent/effective capillary puncture on a patient.
4) Demonstrate understanding of requisitioning, specimen transport and specimen processing.
a) Describe the standard operating procedure for a physician requesting a laboratory analysis for a patient. Discuss laboratory responsibility in responding to physician requests.
b) Instruct patients in the proper collection and preservation for various samples, including blood, sputum, and stools.
c) Explain methods for transporting and processing specimens for routine and special testing.
d) Explain methods for processing and transporting blood specimens for testing at reference laboratories.
e) Describe the potential clerical and technical errors that may occur during specimen processing.
f) Identify and report potential pre-analytical errors that may occur during specimen collection, labeling, transporting, and processing.
g) Describe and follow the criteria for specimens and test results that will be used as legal evidence, i.e. paternity testing, chain of custody, blood alcohol levels, etc.
5) Demonstrate understanding of quality assurance and quality control in phlebotomy.
a) Describe the system for monitoring quality assurance in the collection of blood specimens.
b) Identify policies and procedures used in the clinical laboratory to assure quality in the obtaining of blood specimens.
c) Perform quality control procedures.
d) Record quality control results.
e) Identify and report control results that do not meet pre-determined criteria.
