Managing Stress in Phlebotomy
Can you maintain your composure in stressful situations?
Something to keep in mind when considering a phlebotomy position, you will encounter many different stressful working situations. Those situations range from neonates in the NICU with panicked parents over your shoulder to psychiatric patients that are in the middle of a psychotic break that might be kicking, screaming and biting……or worse! You might be part of a team in the ER that has a car accident victim that is mangled beyond recognition. Will you be able to remove yourself from the gravity of what you are seeing to obtain the precious blood that could potentially save that person’s life? To effectively perform your job in these situations you must have the ability to remain calm. You never know what you might see from day to day.
Personally, I could tell a hundred different stories about a hundred different scenarios and when I was involved in each of them, I’m sure I thought to myself “this is the craziest thing i’ve ever seen.”
Phlebotomist Composer Under Stress
When I was working at a hospital years ago, our phlebotomy team had to cover the ER. At this time, the Phlebotomy team was also responsible for drawing blood gasses…..which can be super stressful in the most calm situation, just because you have to access an artery instead of a vein. In this particular instance a coworker had gone to take care of this particular patient and was unsuccessful. They asked me to please go and try. Along with that came the story of what I would be walking into. I was told that the patient was not ambulatory and had to be removed from his living space via ambulance. He had apparently been bedridden for an extended period of time with no care. What was explained to me in great detail was the odor that I would have to deal with walking into the room. And we needed blood gasses on this patient. So I knew that I would have to spend several minutes there. Nothing could have prepared me for the actual smell that I walked into. I got a mask, rubbed an alcohol swab under my nose and approached the patient. He was a very pleasant man. He had bed sores all over that actually had live vermin crawling in them. And the smell was horrendous. I was proud of myself for my display of professionalism and effectiveness of my job. I was able to obtain the arterial blood gasses and then was on my way. My coworkers were amazed that I was able to maintain my composure and get the job done when others refused or were unsuccessful.
Professionalism and maintaining your composure will make you very successful as a phlebotomist. Enjoy the excitement!