phlebotomy vs. emt...

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tijames

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I'm a senior in hs, taking next year off before college. In terms of finances, job market outlook when i'm in college, volunteer opportunities, etc, which would be more beneficial to me; being a phlebotomist or an emt next year (and hopefully during my college years)? I've heard phlebotomy is a great job to have during college, but what are the pros/cons of both? Lastly, what training is required for phlebotomy? Lemme know what you think.

Thanks

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I don't know anything about phlebotomy, but isn't it mostly a 9-5 job? I worked as an EMT and the advantages for college students is that many companies are 24/7 and you have time to study during your quiet hours.

Both give lots of patient contact, which is good. But both will be pretty common amongst applying premeds so it won't necessarily set your application on fire.

Good luck with your choice...
 
tijames--Up front: I worked as an EMT in an ER, volunteered as and EMT on a volunteer ambulance and currently work as a professional paramedic, so I hope that my reply is not automatically biased towards EMS but...
Becoming an EMT will open many doors and afford many opportunities that phlebotomy will not. EMTs are trained to assess and implement protocols. This includes procedures like spinal immobilization, advanced splinting, assistance with many advanced procedures the paramedics do. Phlebotomy is pretty much just drawing blood and maybe running some basic blood tests in the lab.
As far as job outlook, consider this: EMTs are employed on ambulances (obviously) but also many work in ERs, and many other venues. These positions rarely require experience, as they are entry-level. Often times, the ER will hire an EMT, teach them additional skills like 12-lead acquisition and phlebotomy (some even include peripheral IV initiation) so you'd get the training there.
Phleb training is much less time and cheaper, but if you are serious about gaining a broad base of experience, in my opinion you'd be better off taking the EMT route. Like I said, depending on where you work, they may include phlebotomy in your on-the-job training for the position you secured with an EMT cert.
 
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I am an EMT and have volunteered in HS and college (and I loved it), but here are some things to keep in mind, many areas with paid ambulances services want people who are paramedics/firefighters, this requires lots of training and becomes a full time, rather than part time job. In many localities, these jobs can be difficult to get even if you alreadyu have the certs. I'd look into the job market in your particular area before undergoing training to hopefully land a full time job that will go to part time once college starts.
 
If you can get EMT-B or greater certification, you may be able to join your college's EMS company if they have one. This gives a lot of great experience. Phlebotomy requires a lot more training than EMT-B I think
 
tijames said:
I'm a senior in hs, taking next year off before college. In terms of finances, job market outlook when i'm in college, volunteer opportunities, etc, which would be more beneficial to me; being a phlebotomist or an emt next year (and hopefully during my college years)? I've heard phlebotomy is a great job to have during college, but what are the pros/cons of both? Lastly, what training is required for phlebotomy? Lemme know what you think.

Thanks

I vote for EMT. You will get to see/do more as an EMT than a phleb. The only thing a phleb finds out about the patient is how many tubes of blood to draw, and although this is patient contact I don't think it will give you as much to talk about when you apply as working as an EMT would (EMTs get to see all kind of emergency situations). Just my opinion.
 
Okay, let me correct the misconceptions about phlebotomy. :laugh:

I did a one-semester phlebotomy certification program at a community college this semester, and I just got in all my clinical hours and sticks last week. In most states you can get a certificate in one semester (or maybe just a few months if it's over the summer or at a big hospital etc.), and then you are eligible to take a national certification exma, but that's not required to be a phlebotomist. We were drawing on each other the second week of class, and after four weeks of class we were sent out to hospitals and doctor's offices to get real-world experience in. My community college required 144 hours of clincial work and 125 venipunctures with additional requirements like 10 capillary sticks etc.

Lots of hospitals need phlebotomists for 2nd shift, or even for a few hours in the afternoon. I had to be at my hosptial at 7 a.m., and the main phlebotomists during the day worked from 7-3:30. So people are getting off at 3 or 3:30 after working all day so they need phlebotomists willing to work only a few hours. I think you also have more options as far as flexibiility as a phlebotomist. You can work for a hospital lab, in a doctor's office, for the Red cross, in a long term care facility etc.

www.salary.com shows the median salary for phlebotomists as 26,202. So you could make a good amount of money working part time and getting clinical experience at the same time. I think it's a good clinical experience opportunity, because even though it doesn't sound like you have a lot of patient contact you really do. When I was in a small 25-bed hospital I went to the floor to do rounds every morning and then we went to the attached nursing home and did rounds there, and then we started on outpatients at 8 a.m. If the ER needed blood we'd go there and draw too.

If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me. :luck:
 
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Before med school, I worked as a phleb for a high volume plasma donation company (BioLife). After being hired, I was doing sticks in about 3 weeks. Over the course of 18 months, I probably did around 5000 sticks -- no joke. We were doing about 1000 donors per week so it's busy. I also learned fingerstick and basic lab skills.

95% of the donors were healthy college kids looking to make some extra cash. But, I got to deal with donors in all different kinds of situations -- people passing out, puking, wetting themselves, and turning green. I even had one guy go into convulsions with an 18 guage needle in his arm! So, I had to learn how to do patient vitals and assesment while remaining calm and cool.

On the whole, the job is more like being a waiter in a busy restaurant. But it did a great job of teaching multi-tasking and triage-like skills. The company was very flexible about hours, so I got in about 25-30 per week. The pay was decent -- around $10/hour.

Not quite like EMT, but much easier to get into. No community college courses needed. Just a solid resume and a strong work ethic.
 
I got my EMT, applied for an ED tech job, and they're putting me through a phlebotomy course. I'd say, if I didn't get the job in the ED, I'd choose phlebotomy over EMT. It's a relatively low-stress job (or is it not?) and pays fairly well.

The only possible reason I'd choose to work on an ambulance is for the hours. Many people work nights/weekends, and there tends to be a bit of study time on the many slow periods. Be warned, though. Contact the ambulance services around your area before taking the class/exam. I was given a no-go by two services when applying, because I was only interested in part-time, and many aren't willing to take that risk with a new EMT.
 
I have never been an EMT, but have worked as a phleb throughout Undergrad, so I can't speak to the pros/cons of EMT. However, I can dispell some misconceptions about phlebotomist's patient contact.

Patient contact will vary by how large a hospital you are working at. I am at a small, community hospital in a rural area, second shift. I am sure that is more conducive to more responsibilities and opportunities for more involved pt. contact than would be available at a larger or less acute facility.
 
moranwoods said:
No community college courses needed. Just a solid resume and a strong work ethic.

When you say a strong resume, does it have to have any certifications like CPR on it or hospital experience? I have a strong resume, with the typical info on it (gpa, organizations, work experience, research etc.), but no hospital work. Should I even bother applying to a hospital?
 
NCF145 said:
When you say a strong resume, does it have to have any certifications like CPR on it or hospital experience? I have a strong resume, with the typical info on it (gpa, organizations, work experience, research etc.), but no hospital work. Should I even bother applying to a hospital?


To get a job at a hospital in my area (Birmingham, Al) you pretty much have to have a certification of some type, EMT, CNA etc. I snuck my way into the hospital field because of my step-mom being a nurse there. I am only a nurse's assistant but I would imagine getting a job as a "phlebotomist to be" at a hospital, at least in my area, would be even harder without actual training.
 
NCF145 said:
When you say a strong resume, does it have to have any certifications like CPR on it or hospital experience? I have a strong resume, with the typical info on it (gpa, organizations, work experience, research etc.), but no hospital work. Should I even bother applying to a hospital?

Those things don't hurt, but I was hired without a single bit of healthcare experience. I told the hiring manager about my career change and my strong desire to gain experience. That sealed the deal, I believe. Towards the end of my stay with BioLife, I did some interviewing and I wanted to hire pre-med folks with a hunger for experience. I passed up some people career phlebotomists (they seemed lazy) to hire newbies with an obvious desire to work hard.

I was in Laramie, WY, so getting into phlebotomy was easier for me. As I said, the company provided all the training (which was paid) and I got a ton of experience. EMT courses were only offered a couple times per year, they were expensive, and I wouldn't have had the great hours.

PM me if you have more questions...
 
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