Phlebotomist

The University of Kansas Health System•Kansas City, KS

11h•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Kansas Health System Phlebotomist is a position within the clinical laboratory responsible for interpreting lab work orders from both internal providers (via Hospital Information System) and external providers (manual orders). The Phlebotomist must accurately identify the correct tube type for each test, adhere to regulatory, accreditation, safety, and hospital standards, policies, and procedures, and perform positive patient identification before and after blood draws. In ambulatory settings, labeled tubes are confirmed with the patient, while in in-patient settings, they are matched with the patient's wristband. This role requires understanding the impact of pre-analytical variables on laboratory results and participation in quality assurance and improvement activities. The Phlebotomist releases orders from the Hospital Information System (HIS), receives specimens in the Laboratory Information System (LIS), and processes specimens including centrifugation, aliquoting urine, and pouring off plasma or serum. As the "face" of the clinical laboratory, professionalism, respect, and courtesy are expected, following AIDET guidelines for customer service. Phlebotomists in ambulatory settings also prepare specimens for transport by scanning bar-coded samples onto LIS packing lists. The position involves troubleshooting difficult orders and missing specimens, performing data entry, managing requisitions, and answering telephones to assist laboratory customers. The Phlebotomist must be patient-focused and capable of multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment.

Requirements

High School Graduate
Less than 1 year 6 months experience in an internal phlebotomy training program OR 1 or more years experience in specimen collection and processing OR completion of an external phlebotomy program
Fluent English - ability to understand, read, write, and speak English

Nice To Haves

Advanced level of skill in adult and pediatric phlebotomy
Phlebotomy Technician (PBT) - American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP)
Valid driver's license recommended

Responsibilities

Performs blood draws by venipuncture according to standard protocol, ensuring patient safety and quality specimen collection.
Performs specimen collection using appropriate techniques and adhering to requirements.
Provides patients and/or care providers with instructions and necessary materials for specimen collection
Provides immediate patient care if patient exhibits sign of a post-venipuncture reaction, typically vaso-vagal.
Pro-actively assesses patient presentation and escorts patient to draw room with recliner if patient is an adolescent or young adult or states that they typically have a reaction to having their blood drawn.
Performs data entry in applicable information systems in compliance with departmental and organizational policies
Demonstrates knowledge of specimen collection techniques and requirements.
Ensures proper container type, centrifugation, and transport conditions for specimens.
Able to determine appropriateness of specimens for add-on testing.
Releases orders on ambulatory health system patients with orders in HIS
Receives samples in LIS, prints bar code labels and affixes labels to specimens.
Enters outside orders in LIS when copy of outside order is scanned into HIS.
Consults Phlebotomy Coordinator, Supervisor or Lab Leadership when appropriate if situation requires assistance
Provides assistance to nursing staff when requested.
Performs specimen processing duties such as aliquoting urine and separating blood samples when required for testing.
Understands pre-analytical variables that can impact test results: Container Type, Time, Temperature, Centrifugation, labeling.
Able to determine appropriateness of specimens for addon testing
Responds to telephone inquiries and provides customer service to the end caller by addressing their needs and troubleshooting.
Instructs, orients and mentors students, employees, patients and other health care providers as applicable.
Maintains an adequate inventory of supplies
Other duties as assigned which may include NP, oral, or nasal swab collections with appropriate PPE.
May be expected to provide coverage at alternate locations to help meet critical staffing level needs, as requested by management.
Must be able to perform the professional, clinical and or technical competencies of the assigned unit or department.