Phlebotomy as clinical exposure?

[aufish]

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I was recently offered an interview for a phlebotomy position at a blood donation clinic I often volunteer at. I am excited to have the chance at working with them because they are an amazing team and I have been interested in getting more clinical exposure, but I have been reading through some people's opinions online and the consensus seems mixed.

Would you consider a paid phlebotomy position at a blood clinic as clinical hours for an application?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[Goro]

I was recently offered an interview for a phlebotomy position at a blood donation clinic I often volunteer at. I am excited to have the chance at working with them because they are an amazing team and I have been interested in getting more clinical exposure, but I have been reading through some people's opinions online and the consensus seems mixed.

Would you consider a paid phlebotomy position at a blood clinic as clinical hours for an application?

Thanks! 🙂

This is major league clinical exposure!!!!

 

[Moko]

I was recently offered an interview for a phlebotomy position at a blood donation clinic I often volunteer at. I am excited to have the chance at working with them because they are an amazing team and I have been interested in getting more clinical exposure, but I have been reading through some people's opinions online and the consensus seems mixed.

Would you consider a paid phlebotomy position at a blood clinic as clinical hours for an application?

I have a slightly different opinion from @Goro. I agree that this is a great experience, but I think that the categorization is not as clear-cut.

I personally would not fault an applicant for labeling this as a clinical activity since you are performing a clinical task. However, an important distinction is that the people who you are phlebotomizing are not patients; they are otherwise well donors. The point of having clinical experiences is to show that you have been exposed to the sick, suffering, and/or dying. Being at a blood donation clinic does not give you this experience. Because of this, I see this volunteering as being somewhere between a 'clinical' and 'non-clinical' activity.

You should also have other more 'traditional' clinical experiences in which you are interacting with actual patients by the time you apply. Just my thoughts.

 

[aufish]

I have a slightly different opinion from @Goro. I agree that this is a great experience, but I think that the categorization is not as clear-cut.

I personally would not fault an applicant for labeling this as a clinical activity since you are performing a clinical task. However, an important distinction is that the people who you are phlebotomizing are not patients; they are otherwise well donors. The point of having clinical experiences is to show that you have been exposed to the sick, suffering, and/or dying. Being at a blood donation clinic does not give you this experience. Because of this, I see this volunteering as being somewhere between a 'clinical' and 'non-clinical' activity.

You should also have other more 'traditional' clinical experiences in which you are interacting with actual patients by the time you apply. Just my thoughts.

Thank you for the insight! I am in the process of being approved to volunteer at a local hospice, but I have been having trouble finding a traditional clinical position such as a CNA/PCT or scribe so I was hoping this would give me some transferrable skills to make myself more marketable in the future.

Thank you again for taking the time to help me out-- I appreciate it 🙂

 

[aufish]

I have a slightly different opinion from @Goro. I agree that this is a great experience, but I think that the categorization is not as clear-cut.

I personally would not fault an applicant for labeling this as a clinical activity since you are performing a clinical task. However, an important distinction is that the people who you are phlebotomizing are not patients; they are otherwise well donors. The point of having clinical experiences is to show that you have been exposed to the sick, suffering, and/or dying. Being at a blood donation clinic does not give you this experience. Because of this, I see this volunteering as being somewhere between a 'clinical' and 'non-clinical' activity.

You should also have other more 'traditional' clinical experiences in which you are interacting with actual patients by the time you apply. Just my thoughts.

Thanks for the insight! I appreciate the time and effort you put into helping us out on these forums! You have doubtlessly influenced thousands of people's fates 🙂