The Importance of a Phlebotomist

By: Madison Chukwudi

This medical profession’s name isn’t familiar with many people, but it is one of the most important roles inside of a hospital. They draw blood and send it to laboratories to make sure a person is healthy and to potentially save their lives. A phlebotomist takes a training class to become certified, which can take up to either a few weeks or months. The minimum age requirement is only 18 years old with a mandated high school diploma, and is an achievable job for many who wish to pursue a career in healthcare. There are many other requirements as well, and a few examples are mentioned by Buonaccordo, on Florida Health Care Academy “A phlebotomy background check is a thorough examination of an individual's professional and personal history, typically conducted during the hiring process for a phlebotomy position. 

It is a written exam that includes checks on criminal records, education, training programs and certifications and may encompass other aspects of health exam…” Background checks don’t only consist of a person’s crime history, it can involve reviewing their obtained certifications to make sure the institution they got their training at was a certified, approved, and legible place. Furthermore, there is also a major exam at the end of the acquired trading to officially hand over the license to become a Phlebotomist, which is called the Phlebotomy Certification Exam. Additionally, the workplace facilities that a person is allowed to work at is not limited only to a hospital.

An inside view is provided by Cal Regional, “Diagnostic laboratories: A primary setting for sample processing and testing. Blood donation centers: Helping facilitate life-saving blood donations. Research institutes: Supporting scientific breakthroughs through blood sample collection. Private medical clinics: Providing essential support to smaller healthcare teams.” The options are endless and the different work environments are helpful for work flexibility and scheduling. Furthermore, there are also different levels when it comes to Phlebotomy certification. Depending on what a person chooses to focus on there is a wide majority of options such as a Certified Phlebotomist Technologist(CPT), Limited Phlebotomy technician (LPT), a Phlebotomy technician certificate(PBT), and many more.

Roxanne Lozano noted on the NTX training website that “Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT) certifications are for people who have been working in the field for a few years and want to expand their range of work, such as administration work in the lab.” The differences between the certifications allows for people to choose what best aligns with their goals and whether or not they want it to be a permanent career. In brief, their roles are extremely important and are a fundamental part of the branch of medicine. Without them, many things won’t be possible and many breakthroughs in medicine would have been hard to make.

Works Cited

Florida Health Care Academy. “What’s on a Phlebotomy Background Check?” Florida Health Care Academy, www.fhcaorlando.com/blog/phlebotomy-background-check#:~:text=Some%20phlebotomy%20training%20programs%20still,with%20more%20flexible%20hiring%20criteria.

Thorpe, JeriLynn. “How to Become a Phlebotomist in California.” CALRegional, 10 Feb. 2025, calregional.com/blog/how-to-become-a-phlebotomist-in-california.

Lozano, Roxanne. “Which Phlebotomy Certification Is Best?” NTX Training Institute, 31 July 2024, ntxtraininginstitute.com/which-phlebotomy-certification-is-best.