Career options without drawing blood

[DrHutchison]

I'm fine with needles, giving shots, blood, incisions, all of that. It's drawing blood or administering an IV that really freaks me out. I'm not even joking, I can't make it through the first three minutes of Trainspotting or donate blood to the Red Cross. I got my blood drawn once and passed out. It's weird.

I'm predental right now because it still has surgical procedures and patient interaction and focuses on the mouth, which I'm REALLY into. I have also just quit my job in the seed industry to pursue this career path, and want to stay open to areas I haven't considered yet. I want to be sure.

So premeds, are there any careers you can think of that are medical, slightly surgical, and patient-focused that will never require me to draw blood? I could do it once or twice in school if my career depended on it, I just don't want to have to do it ever again after that.

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[VagabondKing]

Careers in medicine that don't involve drawing blood... that's a toughie. I've heard of some docs that just won't do it and will always call a PA/nurse/assistant to do the draws. Most tech positions, ie x-ray technologists, CT techs, etc will draw blood or administer an IV in one way or another as well.

Dentistry involves a lot of blood in the mouth (gums BLEED), and you'd still be administering local anesthetic shots often even if you totally avoided anything doing w/ general anesthesia. Are you uncomfortable with blood in general or with the actual blood draw/IV process? Also have you tried seeing someone that specializes in phobias? Seems like something that, even if with great difficulty, can be conquered and not be a source of closed doors. Good luck!

 

[BluMist]

You want surgical but no blood? Maybe derm qualifies? or maybe you can reconsider and go into psychiatry?

 

[jl lin]

Oh dear, but even w/ BluMist's suggestion of psychiatry, you will probably have to get through at least a little blood to get there.

Really, for most people, if you do sticks and cannulations enough, you are somewhat desensitized. I mean the fact that the person you are putting the line in is protective and fearful of the needle stick, even with a simple IV cannulation, can be a problem. Its b/c you feel badly that they are fearful and uncomfortable. It sounds cruel, but if you are a very empathetic person, you have to put that into a different compartment in your head and just focus on the task at hand. Some things and even some sticks require such concentration and finesse that you have to block out the nervous/negative energy around you. Practice and you will be desensitized to the blood. After that, it's the crying kid or anxious and fearful person (often strangely a man) that can make the process harder than it needs to be.

 

[Goro]

Optometry
Clinical lab tech
Nursing
Clinical trials coordinator
Auditory tech
Surgical equipment sales rep
Social worker
Administration
Therapist

I'm fine with needles, giving shots, blood, incisions, all of that. It's drawing blood or administering an IV that really freaks me out. I'm not even joking, I can't make it through the first three minutes of Trainspotting or donate blood to the Red Cross. I got my blood drawn once and passed out. It's weird.

I'm predental right now because it still has surgical procedures and patient interaction and focuses on the mouth, which I'm REALLY into. I have also just quit my job in the seed industry to pursue this career path, and want to stay open to areas I haven't considered yet. I want to be sure.

So premeds, are there any careers you can think of that are medical, slightly surgical, and patient-focused that will never require me to draw blood? I could do it once or twice in school if my career depended on it, I just don't want to have to do it ever again after that.

 

[NoTownPreMed]

Optometry
Clinical lab tech
Nursing
Clinical trials coordinator
Auditory tech
Surgical equipment sales rep
Social worker
Administration
Therapist

Perhaps not Nursing for OP, it's quite common for nurses to do simple blood work such as lab draws, ABGs, and starting IV's on a daily basis.

 

[jl lin]

Perhaps not Nursing for OP, it's quite common for nurses to do simple blood work such as lab draws, ABGs, and starting IV's on a daily basis.

The above is true. It also depends upon where you work and what you do, but in hospitals, a lot of clinics, in nursing research, and even in home care, there can be blood draws or putting IVs or dealing with PICC lines and infusaports and such.
With nursing, like medicine, it is hard to totally get away from blood unless you work in administration or in an non-procedure medical office.

Even in a number of psychiatric and ETOH/Drug Use rehab clinics blood draws are required. The facility may not that subcontracted to a lab co. And the simplest of all are glucose capillary sticks on the glucose monitor; b/c they require a much smaller drop of blood then they did years ago, when we had to literally pump the blood from a finger or toe or whatever.
Some nurses, like RRTs and residents, even do direct arterial blood sticks. Doing these are often more painful, but if you have a decent BP, then can be easier, depending...

Furthermore, as a physician or nurse in training, I doubt you will be able to avoid blood entirely.

I know someone that choose to go into Occupational Therapy b/c she just couldn't or didn't want to deal with blood. She is doing quite well now and loves her job.

Speech therapists can do quite well also, and they are used in hospitals and not just rehab or special schools or school systems; b/c they are often called in to evaluate a baby's ability to suck, among other reasons too. They can make $80,000 and up with experience.

 

[DrMikeP]

I'm fine with needles, giving shots, blood, incisions, all of that. It's drawing blood or administering an IV that really freaks me out. I'm not even joking, I can't make it through the first three minutes of Trainspotting or donate blood to the Red Cross. I got my blood drawn once and passed out. It's weird.

I'm predental right now because it still has surgical procedures and patient interaction and focuses on the mouth, which I'm REALLY into. I have also just quit my job in the seed industry to pursue this career path, and want to stay open to areas I haven't considered yet. I want to be sure.

So premeds, are there any careers you can think of that are medical, slightly surgical, and patient-focused that will never require me to draw blood? I could do it once or twice in school if my career depended on it, I just don't want to have to do it ever again after that.

Why not get the drawing blood/needle thing fixed or is the issue really deeper? A good psychologist can actually help you overcome those fears/discomforts and quite often it's not that difficult for most people to overcome if highly motivated. If you lack the passion needed to overcome the challenge, you could also just go into biomedical research with plants/pharma and avoid blood all together.

 

[Stagg737]

If it's really just administering an IV that freaks you out then you'd be fine for almost any physician field. Most of my clinical faculty have said they haven't personally administered an IV line since med school and one even said she had only done it twice ever (she is a very good FM, she's just never had to insert IVs). So if it's the whole blood in the tube thing that freaks you out, I wouldn't rule out med school altogether.

 

[jl lin]

Maybe it will be minimized in some residencies, but for a lot of residencies, it won't be possible to avoid blood--especially if one is in a strong, busy, medical center. Even if a person has minimum exposure, in healthcare, it is always a possibility blood may come up somewhere.

 

[futuremdforme]

Have you thought of seeing a therapist to address your phobia? It might never be your favorite activity but it could make the training period in any health-related field more enjoyable.

In terms of health-related occupations though, I'm going to throw physical therapy and occupational therapy into the mix.

 

[Law2Doc]

Maybe it will be minimized in some residencies, but for a lot of residencies, it won't be possible to avoid blood--especially if one is in a strong, busy, medical center. Even if a person has minimum exposure, in healthcare, it is always a possibility blood may come up somewhere.

I don't think you could make it through med school without seeing blood, drawing blood, getting it on your gloves, maybe even your scrubs. It's a big part of medicine -- like saying you want to train to be an auto mechanic with an aversion to grease, oil etc.

I am not really understanding OPs post though where he suggests he is fine with needles and incisions and blood but not blood drawing or donating. At any rate I agree he should see if this is something that can be overcome, maybe spend some time with a phlebotomist or something. If not, find a less health oriented career.

 

[DrHutchison]

I don't think you could make it through med school without seeing blood, drawing blood, getting it on your gloves, maybe even your scrubs. It's a big part of medicine -- like saying you want to train to be an auto mechanic with an aversion to grease, oil etc.

I am not really understanding OPs post though where he suggests he is fine with needles and incisions and blood but not blood drawing or donating. At any rate I agree he should see if this is something that can be overcome, maybe spend some time with a phlebotomist or something. If not, find a less health oriented career.

Right, I know blood is a big part of medicine and as I said I'm totally fine with that. The only thing that freaks me out is drawing blood. That's it. Also, I'm a woman, not a man...

 

[DrHutchison]

So I think a lot of people responding to this thread are being super helpful and really taking time to think about careers that don't involve IVs but are medically related. I really appreciate your help!

Then there are some people who I think missed the whole point behind my question. To repeat/clear things up, I have absolutely no aversion to blood. I am fine with blood. I could watch procedures all day, the idea of extracting teeth fascinates me, surgery would be just fine. Although I'm predent right now I posted this to see if there were other careers I should consider, because I had assumed that most medical jobs would require the administration of IVs and hadn't given anything other than dentistry much consideration. I have no idea why I have such an aversion to drawing blood, but it's there. It's not something I would enjoy doing, so I really don't want to pursue a career that highlights a weakness instead of my strengths.

TL;DR I am completely fine and interested in working with blood, needles, injections, incisions, etc. I just don't want to administer an IV. Thank you to everyone with suggestions and thoughtful replies!

 

[jl lin]

TL;DR I am completely fine and interested in working with blood, needles, injections, incisions, etc. I just don't want to administer an IV. Thank you to everyone with suggestions and thoughtful replies!

*Scratching head*

OK, if you can stick someone with a needle, you can, given conditions are workable, place in an IV catheter or even draw blood. (I say the part about conditions, b/c, no matter what there are going to just be some people that have very difficult veins to try and cannulate. And then some days you better off lucky than good. lol)

You actually only stick the needle part in a small bit or so to introduce the plastic catheter that is over the needle into the vessel. You move the catheter forward into the vein after venipuncture of about a mm or more further, you see blood, and you advance catheter and remove the needle. It's a little bit like almost doing to things at once, moving forward after having advanced needle enough to get you into the vein--and perhaps a little more, and then you completely withdraw the needle and it clicks into its protective shaft. Personally I think the newer needles take a bit more finesse than the older ones (pre-protective shaft IV catheters).

There some good youtube videos on it. There is one where a senior resident is teaching a ms or new resident. It's good and to the point. Thing is, Geez, I think now it makes you sign-in to see it. 🙄 There is a little bit of blood, so someone thought that one has to be a certain age to view it. Again, 🙄

If it's about making someone uncomfortable or hurt a little, well, hate to tell that is also a fair part of healthcare--even if you do PT--some folks are going to be paining in the process.

I am very sensitive to causing people pain and discomfort, but I have had to learn to overcome it for the times where pain relief measures, like meds, etc, are not possible or absolutely necessary.

You never totally get over it in that if you are sensitive, you will probably always be sensitive; but you learn how to strong through it for the better good of the patient--and to do Zen-like focus. After all, if the job has to be done, it has to be done. Especially with kids, the more you stall and pussyfoot around, the more anxious and difficult the child becomes, so you have to be quick and accurate. 🙂 Good luck.

 

[DrMikeP]

So I think a lot of people responding to this thread are being super helpful and really taking time to think about careers that don't involve IVs but are medically related. I really appreciate your help!

Then there are some people who I think missed the whole point behind my question. To repeat/clear things up, I have absolutely no aversion to blood. I am fine with blood. I could watch procedures all day, the idea of extracting teeth fascinates me, surgery would be just fine. Although I'm predent right now I posted this to see if there were other careers I should consider, because I had assumed that most medical jobs would require the administration of IVs and hadn't given anything other than dentistry much consideration. I have no idea why I have such an aversion to drawing blood, but it's there. It's not something I would enjoy doing, so I really don't want to pursue a career that highlights a weakness instead of my strengths.

TL;DR I am completely fine and interested in working with blood, needles, injections, incisions, etc. I just don't want to administer an IV. Thank you to everyone with suggestions and thoughtful replies!

Again, why not see a mental health professional to work through the problem vs limiting yourself? Unless there is a deeper issue holding you back that potentially has little to do with the presenting IV problem. It's your choice what you decide career wise, but your reason just to me seems weak, but then a forum isn't necessarily the best place to explore such. Best of luck in your future career.

 

[Meridian32]

You will be fine. You can be a doctor in most specialties and never have to draw blood or place an IV. I am an internal medicine resident and have never had to do either of these things to date, nor do I expect to ever do them in the future. That is the job of my nursing and phlebotomy colleagues, who can do these things much, much better than I can.

 

[heartsink]

I'm fine with needles, giving shots, blood, incisions, all of that. It's drawing blood or administering an IV that really freaks me out. I'm not even joking, I can't make it through the first three minutes of Trainspotting or donate blood to the Red Cross. I got my blood drawn once and passed out. It's weird.

I'm predental right now because it still has surgical procedures and patient interaction and focuses on the mouth, which I'm REALLY into. I have also just quit my job in the seed industry to pursue this career path, and want to stay open to areas I haven't considered yet. I want to be sure.

So premeds, are there any careers you can think of that are medical, slightly surgical, and patient-focused that will never require me to draw blood? I could do it once or twice in school if my career depended on it, I just don't want to have to do it ever again after that.

Like you, I can't have my blood drawn and have nearly passed out at even a discussion of the chambers of the heart and how blood is pumped. I am nearing the end of my pre Med days and my plan right now is to systematically desensitize myself to blood through a graduated process during the summer leading up to Med school.

I would suggest you consider tackling this problem rather than avoiding it.

 

[Dral]

You said you can get through med school. So that's fine. However, most med schools have you practice blood draws. Most will have you do it a few times as well.

I got through intern year just placing an Art line and a few IVs in the ED. I'm in Derm so I doubt I'll ever do either again.

I'm not freaked out by placing those things, but I see where you are coming from. I can do procedures and such all day...even Sclero...but I really am not into placing big needles into vessels.

Anyway, pathology doesn't do an intern year, so you could probably get through that as long as you wouldn't have to somehow do a draw on your heme path rotations.

 

[Law2Doc]

Right, I know blood is a big part of medicine and as I said I'm totally fine with that. The only thing that freaks me out is drawing blood. That's it. Also, I'm a woman, not a man...

You lost me. What about drawing blood is the issue if you are fine with working with blood, needles, incisions, injections? You do realize that incisions are quite bloody, and that when you give injections it's good practice to draw back to see if you are in a vessel first before pushing down on the syringe? I don't get it -- is it about seeing blood in the tubing or what? You seem to have s very specific phobia that is hard to distinguish from other things that ought to give you trouble, but you say not. Please elaborate. At any rate best to break this before med school because you'll need to be able to do this now and then.

 

[Goro]

A little behavioral therapy and I think that this can fixed pronto.

You lost me. What about drawing blood is the issue if you are fine with working with blood, needles, incisions, injections? You do realize that incisions are quite bloody, and that when you give injections it's good practice to draw back to see if you are in a vessel first before pushing down on the syringe? I don't get it -- is it about seeing blood in the tubing or what? You seem to have s very specific phobia that is hard to distinguish from other things that ought to give you trouble, but you say not. Please elaborate. At any rate best to break this before med school because you'll need to be able to do this now and then.

 

[DrHutchison]

You lost me. What about drawing blood is the issue if you are fine with working with blood, needles, incisions, injections? You do realize that incisions are quite bloody, and that when you give injections it's good practice to draw back to see if you are in a vessel first before pushing down on the syringe? I don't get it -- is it about seeing blood in the tubing or what? You seem to have s very specific phobia that is hard to distinguish from other things that ought to give you trouble, but you say not. Please elaborate. At any rate best to break this before med school because you'll need to be able to do this now and then.

Nope, it's not about the blood in the tube, or any blood for that matter. I just have never been able to stomach the idea of getting blood drawn and would rather not be in charge of doing it to somebody else. That's all. It is a very specific phobia, and part of it being a phobia is that I can't define or rationalize why it is, it just is. The thing I dislike is the image of a needle in the crook of an elbow. I have no intravenous drug history (ever), nothing as a child that would have been traumatic, no real reason to speak of.

It's kind of like... do you remember the movie Hostel? I didn't watch it, but apparently there's a scene where someone's Achilles tendon cut. Imagining this freaks a lot of people out, similar to if the tendons in the back of the knee were cut. Now take that discomfort and apply it to a needle in the crook of the elbow and there you have it.

Again, I appreciate everyone's interest in understanding something that I myself don't really, but that was not the intention of my post. I'm not asking for behavioral therapy to be a phlebotomist, I'm just wondering if med school and a medical career is a possibility, or if dentistry is still the better fit.

Sounds like it's totally a possibility, thanks everyone 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

Nope, it's not about the blood in the tube, or any blood for that matter. I just have never been able to stomach the idea of getting blood drawn and would rather not be in charge of doing it to somebody else. That's all. It is a very specific phobia, and part of it being a phobia is that I can't define or rationalize why it is, it just is. The thing I dislike is the image of a needle in the crook of an elbow. I have no intravenous drug history (ever), nothing as a child that would have been traumatic, no real reason to speak of.

It's kind of like... do you remember the movie Hostel? I didn't watch it, but apparently there's a scene where someone's Achilles tendon cut. Imagining this freaks a lot of people out, similar to if the tendons in the back of the knee were cut. Now take that discomfort and apply it to a needle in the crook of the elbow and there you have it.

Again, I appreciate everyone's interest in understanding something that I myself don't really, but that was not the intention of my post. I'm not asking for behavioral therapy to be a phlebotomist, I'm just wondering if med school and a medical career is a possibility, or if dentistry is still the better fit.

Sounds like it's totally a possibility, thanks everyone 🙂

There is no medical field where you won't see needles sticking out of people's arms. You will be expected to draw blood while a med student in most cases. I suggest you donate blood every third day until you kick this. It's free-- You can get past this, and probably will help a lot of people in the process. Or stick with dentistry-- no shame in that.

 

[DrHutchison]

There is no medical field where you won't see needles sticking out of people's arms. You will be expected to draw blood while a med student in most cases. I suggest you donate blood every third day until you kick this. It's free-- You can get past this, and probably will help a lot of people in the process. Or stick with dentistry-- no shame in that.

I can deal with seeing it and drawing blood a few times in school, I just won't be happy doing it after that.

 

[Law2Doc]

I can deal with seeing it and drawing blood a few times in school, I just won't be happy doing it after that.

Then it's not really a phobia but a preference and you asked the wrong question. I mean lots of people don't like to do certain procedures but can get through them during training. So If your question was "are there medical specialties where after med school and intern year you won't draw blood that much" the answer is yes. The fact that you are trying to paint it as s phobia, but now retreating to "I can deal with it a few times" makes you sound like you are trolling.

If it's a phobia you need to see if it's one you can get past. I've suggested various opportunities to immerse yourself in blood draws to see if you can. But If it's not a phobia and you are otherwise interested in medicine, you need to suck it up and push through, like everybody does with the various things in medicine they don't enjoy. I mean very few med students enjoy performing DREs, but everybody gloves up and does what's required. Medicine is in this respect like the army. You may not enjoy getting up at 5 am to March, but when you are told that's what On the schedule you just lace up those boots. If you are looking for people to say you don't have to take the bad with the good and can just pick the tasks you enjoy, that's not medical school or training, and they'd be blowing smoke up your bum.

 

[DrHutchison]

Then it's not really a phobia but a preference and you asked the wrong question. I mean lots of people don't like to do certain procedures but can get through them during training. So If your question was "are there medical specialties where after med school and intern year you won't draw blood that much" the answer is yes. The fact that you are trying to paint it as s phobia, but now retreating to "I can deal with it a few times" makes you sound like you are trolling.

If it's a phobia you need to see if it's one you can get past. I've suggested various opportunities to immerse yourself in blood draws to see if you can. But If it's not a phobia and you are otherwise interested in medicine, you need to suck it up and push through, like everybody does with the various things in medicine they don't enjoy. I mean very few med students enjoy performing DREs, but everybody gloves up and does what's required. Medicine is in this respect like the army. You may not enjoy getting up at 5 am to March, but when you are told that's what On the schedule you just lace up those boots. If you are looking for people to say you don't have to take the bad with the good and can just pick the tasks you enjoy, that's not medical school or training, and they'd be blowing smoke up your bum.

It is a phobia, and me being willing to deal with it just enough to get out of med school and never do it again is sucking it up and dealing with it. I'm saying I don't want to do that if there's more on the horizon.

I was only looking for careers that would have minimal blood drawing, which I have stated five times now. I did not post to be lectured on how difficult life is, or how you think I should deal with my life. It would appear you're the troll here.

 

[DrMikeP]

It is a phobia, and me being willing to deal with it just enough to get out of med school and never do it again is sucking it up and dealing with it. I'm saying I don't want to do that if there's more on the horizon.

I was only looking for careers that would have minimal blood drawing, which I have stated five times now. I did not post to be lectured on how difficult life is, or how you think I should deal with my life. It would appear you're the troll here.

Get used to being lectured and told how to deal with things, as you want to go to med (or some professional ) school right? If you post on a forum like this then expect to get responses across the board and there are many here who have enough knowledge to see a bigger picture and try to share in order to actually help. Take the advice or if you don't like it shrug it off, otherwise get ready for ulcers being here on SDN, just a word of friendly wisdom. 🙂

On occasion people become most reactive when a comment hits a particular nerve that is buried deep in avoidance or denial. *shrugs*

 

[jl lin]

You will be fine. You can be a doctor in most specialties and never have to draw blood or place an IV. I am an internal medicine resident and have never had to do either of these things to date, nor do I expect to ever do them in the future. That is the job of my nursing and phlebotomy colleagues, who can do these things much, much better than I can.

Well, IDK, I mean internal medicine has to spend time in the units, and there are times you indeed have to put in art lines or even a femoral line. Sometimes after all the nurses available have tortured the poor patient enough, yes, we have to call a fellow or resident to see what they can do to get the job done. Just about every IM resident that has come through any of the units has had to do this. I mean you could get lucky, but there are indeed times you will be called.

 

[jl lin]

Then it's not really a phobia but a preference and you asked the wrong question. I mean lots of people don't like to do certain procedures but can get through them during training. So If your question was "are there medical specialties where after med school and intern year you won't draw blood that much" the answer is yes. The fact that you are trying to paint it as s phobia, but now retreating to "I can deal with it a few times" makes you sound like you are trolling.

If it's a phobia you need to see if it's one you can get past. I've suggested various opportunities to immerse yourself in blood draws to see if you can. But If it's not a phobia and you are otherwise interested in medicine, you need to suck it up and push through, like everybody does with the various things in medicine they don't enjoy. I mean very few med students enjoy performing DREs, but everybody gloves up and does what's required. Medicine is in this respect like the army. You may not enjoy getting up at 5 am to March, but when you are told that's what On the schedule you just lace up those boots. If you are looking for people to say you don't have to take the bad with the good and can just pick the tasks you enjoy, that's not medical school or training, and they'd be blowing smoke up your bum.

OMG, Law2doc is so spot on it's not funny. There is a ton of "suck it up and just do it!" That is the reality. Thing is, you do it, and it's like, "OK, not biggie."

IDK, but I am finding this thread's origin a bit dubious.
You will get dirty--blood, sputum (I hate this the most, and I am an ICU nurse--fathom that), urine, feces, VOMIT, blood, oozing wounds, foul oral stuff, lol, I could on and on and on. LOL

It's really a dirty job. It gets less dirty depending on what field in which you specialize, but the process of learning is dirty! I have been covered with blood LITERALLY (that's not hyperbole) from head to toe. Sure, relatively rare, but freaking DIC bleeding can be a bit crazy. I can still tell you how it feels having in go deep under my bra and panties.--waiting for some supervisor to get me some new scrubs, but not being able to leave b/c the patient is actively coding. LOL. Guess what? I have lived through it and then some.

Yes, it's almost like the military in some respects. You have to suck it up and deal. You won't necessarily have to do this forever, or even seen it every day or even every week--depending upon where you work. But you have to gear up for it dude, b/c it's a part of the exposure.

The only persons I have given a break to are, honestly, the pregnant residents and nurses. I mean you try to gown up ahead of time, but depending upon the quality of the gowns, and what's going on, hell yes. It can get really messy.

It's not hazing mind you. It's just the reality, especially if you work in a busy university based urban center.

Good luck.

 

[jl lin]

Get used to being lectured and told how to deal with things, as you want to go to med (or some professional ) school right? If you post on a forum like this then expect to get responses across the board and there are many here who have enough knowledge to see a bigger picture and try to share in order to actually help. Take the advice or if you don't like it shrug it off, otherwise get ready for ulcers being here on SDN, just a word of friendly wisdom. 🙂

On occasion people become most reactive when a comment hits a particular nerve that is buried deep in avoidance or denial. *shrugs*

Honestly, I still get hazed and abused at times at SDN. Really that's not at all what we are talking about at all. We are talking about the realities of training and and to things which you will probably be exposed.

If you are lucky enough to get by w/o such exposures, so be it. At the same time, my feeling is that you will lose out in learning. Some of the biggest opportunities for learning are in the messiest of situation or the demands of certain needle-based tasks. Hell no. I wouldn't bypass them b/c of some fear of blood, and I have a family and don't want to become infected with anything. I do what I can to take precautions when I can; but **** really does happen, and it's better to learn from it.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I'm fine with needles, giving shots, blood, incisions, all of that. It's drawing blood or administering an IV that really freaks me out. I'm not even joking, I can't make it through the first three minutes of Trainspotting or donate blood to the Red Cross. I got my blood drawn once and passed out. It's weird.

I'm predental right now because it still has surgical procedures and patient interaction and focuses on the mouth, which I'm REALLY into. I have also just quit my job in the seed industry to pursue this career path, and want to stay open to areas I haven't considered yet. I want to be sure.

So premeds, are there any careers you can think of that are medical, slightly surgical, and patient-focused that will never require me to draw blood? I could do it once or twice in school if my career depended on it, I just don't want to have to do it ever again after that.

So I have been in practice 7 years as family practice - I have never drawn blood, never hung and IV or started an IV. Never did it in medical school either.

People who draw blood:
Phlebotomists
Nurses
Respiratory therapists
Anesthesiologists

 

[jl lin]

So I have been in practice 7 years as family practice - I have never drawn blood, never hung and IV or started an IV. Never did it in medical school either.

People who draw blood:
Phlebotomists
Nurses
Respiratory therapists
Anesthesiologists

So, lucky you. NO scut work. LOL. I'm sure it happens, but you have remember that I have worked primarily at university, inner city medical centers. In these places, I have never seen one IM resident that didn't have to put in a line or deal with blood, during codes or whatever, ever. Now I have been a nurse for longer than I want to say.

It's called scut work for a reason. LOL. 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

So I have been in practice 7 years as family practice - I have never drawn blood, never hung and IV or started an IV. Never did it in medical school either.

People who draw blood:
Phlebotomists
Nurses
Respiratory therapists
Anesthesiologists

AND
Medical students
Residents

Sorry but if you escaped drawing blood during your schooling or training you are really an outlier to the tenth degree. Heck, as residents we used to pair up the med students and have them put IVs into each other just for practice. And as jl Lin mentioned above in the thread, as an intern it was a really common call from the overnight nurses that "a patient needs a line and no one on the floor can seem to get it, could you please come up and have a try?" So yeah, it's going to be part of the training for 99.99%.

 

[cabinbuilder]

AND
Medical students
Residents

Sorry but if you escaped drawing blood during your schooling or training you are really an outlier to the tenth degree. Heck, as residents we used to pair up the med students and have them put IVs into each other just for practice. And as jl Lin mentioned above in the thread, as an intern it was a really common call from the overnight nurses that "a patient needs a line and no one on the floor can seem to get it, could you please come up and have a try?" So yeah, it's going to be part of the training for 99.99%.

Interesting. I did residency in a very small private hospital. Now I have put in central lines but never a peripheral IV. Just was never taught. The anesthesiologist was the one to do difficult IV's, or the radiologist did the central line and the patient had to wait until the next day.

 

[Law2Doc]

Interesting. I did residency in a very small private hospital. Now I have put in central lines but never a peripheral IV. Just was never taught. The anesthesiologist or the radiologist was the one to do difficult IV's and the patient had to wait until the next day.

I've never heard of rads being bothered for lines that weren't central. Peripheral sticks are not really something that should require a specialist. Anesthesia can certainly do lines but nurses should start with the covering team intern -- you only bother gas for the codes, not the routine tough sticks.

 

[jl lin]

I've never heard of rads being bothered for lines that weren't central. Peripheral sticks are not really something that should require a specialist. Anesthesia can certainly do lines but nurses should start with the covering team intern -- you only bother gas for the codes, not the routine tough sticks.

Yes, in the unit, if we can't get it, and it's vital or even protocol for the unit, if we have to get a nurse from the ED or whomever, it's whomever. I have hated contacting a resident to put in a line. God you feel like such a j.o. calling her/him for something like that; but what are you going to do? If the patient needs the line, s/he needs the line.
And you can bet the band that with kids, we have a lot more limitations in terms of how many times we can stick a kid or baby. If there isn't an NP that can get a line, yea the fellow will be called. Even nurses on the PICC line team get stuck deferring to the fellow sometimes. I have seen patients that are just so hard, the only thing left is a cutdown. Now that sucks for the patient and the parents; but these kids are on vital gtts and such. It's not like you can wait until the next day, they won't make it--inotropes, even sedation in a very unstable CHD kid.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Yes, in the unit, if we can't get it, and it's vital or even protocol for the unit, if we have to get a nurse from the ED or whomever, it's whomever. I have hated contacting a resident to put in a line. God you feel like such a j.o. calling her/him for something like that; but what are you going to do? If the patient needs the line, s/he needs the line.
And you can bet the band that with kids, we have a lot more limitations in terms of how many times we can stick a kid or baby. If there isn't an NP that can get a line, yea the fellow will be called. Even nurses on the PICC line team get stuck deferring to the fellow sometimes. I have seen patients that are just so hard, the only thing left is a cutdown. Now that sucks for the patient and the parents; but these kids are on vital gtts and such. It's not like you can wait until the next day, they won't make it--inotropes, even sedation in a very unstable CHD kid.

Well, I didn't train where there was inpatient peds so that is a whole 'nother ball game that I have never been exposed to. There was a children's hospital in town that had their own residency program so all peds went there. I have only done outpatient clinic peds and adult medicine. And I wasn't saying that rads did peripheral IV's, they did the central lines, anesthesia did for a very hard stick but I had seasoned nurses who did all the lines. I was never ever asked to do a line not even on call.

 

[jl lin]

Well, I didn't train where there was inpatient peds so that is a whole 'nother ball game that I have never been exposed to. There was a children's hospital in town that had their own residency program so all peds went there. I have only don't outpatient clinic peds and adult medicine. And I wasn't saying that rads did peripheral IV's, they did the central lines, anesthesia did for a very hard stick but I had seasoned nurses who did all the lines. I was never ever asked to do a line not even on call.

Sure, as nurses, we do a lot of the lines, but sometimes you can't get it--or there are problems advancing it--w/ adults or peds. When I first did adult critical care, sadly, a fellow nurse or I would keep going until we got something--in some cases, even foot or femoral. That's not done so much anymore. With kids and family-centered care, you really only get two shots at it. If it's a toughie, you have no choice but to go to someone else to get the line. I am a believer that unless truly a code situation, you don't just keep sticking. As a nurse, especially, you spend most of your time with the patients, as such if they feel like you are a stubborn torturer in order to be the "hero," you will undermine their trust and the ability to keep working with them in the best interest of the child. I think that is even true with the fellows and attendings at peds centers. You walk more of a tightrope with these patients. So yea, we can do it in most places, but you have to use best judgment, b/c of the fears of the child and parents and undermining the relationship.

But yea. I guess it totally depends upon the place. But many children's hospitals have not phased out an IV Team for this very reason--they don't want the primary nurses to be perceived or feel at odds with families. Yet some kids, even if someone gets the line in, it may well be hard to keep it or not having to deal w/ infiltration more easily than say some adults. You can tell the adults to watch for it, but even w/ boards, babies and little kids move, and the lines can be a challenge unless they are highly sedated. It's not a perfect treatment. Hell, not even central lines are. They have their host of troubles with blood draws, clots, not working properly, or the problems with say TPN--which again is a whole other host of problems that make it suboptimal, especially for longer term. In the units, I don't find anything that we do as truly benign so to speak.

 

[22031 Alum]

The "needle in the crook of the elbow" thing is interesting to me. That's a specific aversion. How do you feel about the other places where IVs can be placed and blood drawn?

 

[jl lin]

The "needle in the crook of the elbow" thing is interesting to me. That's a specific aversion. How do you feel about the other places where IVs can be placed and blood drawn?

I am unsure of your meaning here, and I am wondering to whom it is you are addressing? Honestly. 🙂

 

[22031 Alum]

The thing I dislike is the image of a needle in the crook of an elbow.

I am unsure of your meaning here, and I am wondering to whom it is you are addressing? Honestly. 🙂

See above. I was wondering if OP would be equally troubled by an IV anywhere else.

 

[Law2Doc]

...I was never ever asked to do a line not even on call.

As mentioned you are the outlier. I've been at a number of hospitals of different sizes and regions and this really isn't the norm. OP can not expect to dodge this.

 

[jl lin]

See above. I was wondering if OP would be equally troubled by an IV anywhere else.

Oh. I see.

Yes. It sucks when you have to put one in in a less than favorable or optimal area, but sometimes you have to what you have to do. Depends on what the lesser evil is about. I rather prefer that my patients survive.

 

[wholeheartedly]

This is an interesting discussion.

FYI @Goro phlebotomy training is a required part of training for clinical lab scientists and they continue to do quite a bit of it in smaller hospitals and clinics.

 

[DrHutchison]

The "needle in the crook of the elbow" thing is interesting to me. That's a specific aversion. How do you feel about the other places where IVs can be placed and blood drawn?

Nope, an IV anywhere else is no problem at all. Weird, right?

 

[Mad Jack]

In training, you'll have to do all of the things you despise if you want to become a physician.