Phlebotomy Skills Building: Routine Blood Collections

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Course Objectives

Identify equipment, collection tubes, and additives used in routine venipuncture and capillary blood collection.
Apply appropriate order-of-draw principles and specimen handling requirements to support specimen integrity.
Recognize collection-related complications and determine appropriate actions to protect patient safety and specimen quality.

Course Content

Course Creator: Kristen Moylen

Total CE Hours: 1 Credit Hour

Pace Course #: 586-2901-26

Key Terms:

Aerobic
Anaerobic
Anticoagulant
Centrifuge
CLSI
Inversion
Hematoma
Order of Draw
Plasma
Serum
Winged Infusion Set

Outline:

Introduction and Collection Preparation
- Course objectives and key terms
- Reviewing orders and verifying patient identity
- Selecting supplies and labeling specimens
Blood Collection Supplies
- Venipuncture and capillary collection equipment
- Workspace organization and sharps safety
Plasma, Serum, and Tube Additives
- Differences between plasma and serum
- Anticoagulants and clot activators
- Specimen preparation requirements
Collection Tubes
- Common tube colors, additives, and uses
- Filling, mixing, and handling requirements
- Specialty tubes and timed collections
Venipuncture Order of Draw
- Preventing additive carryover
- Standard collection sequence
- Discard tubes and winged collection sets
- Recognizing underfilled citrate specimens
Blood Cultures
- Aerobic and anaerobic bottles
- Preventing contamination
- Maintaining aseptic technique
Postcollection Care and Patient Safety
- Achieving hemostasis and applying dressings
- Recognizing nerve-related warning signs
- Preventing and responding to hematomas
- Responding to collection complications
Capillary Blood Collection
- Appropriate uses and site selection
- Fingerstick and heelstick techniques
- Infant safety
- Newborn screening and dried blood spots
- Bilirubin collection and light protection
- Collection timing and capillary order of draw
Course Review
- Key takeaways for patient safety and specimen integrity
- Knowledge application scenarios are included throughout the course.

References:

University of Florida, College of Medicine, Pathology Laboratories. (n.d.). Blood collection process: Venipuncture.https://pathlabs.ufl.edu/client-services/specimen-shipping/blood-collection-process-venipuncture/
Labcorp. (n.d.). Introduction to specimen collection. https://www.labcorp.com/test-menu/resources/introduction-to-specimen-collection
Labcorp. (n.d.). Blood specimens: Chemistry and hematology. https://www.labcorp.com/resource/blood-specimens-chemistry-and-hematology
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. (2019, March 19). Order of blood draw tubes and additives.https://clsi.org/resources/insights-blog/order-of-blood-draw-tubes-and-additives/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2026, March 31). Collect adult blood culture sets.https://www.cdc.gov/lab-quality/php/preventing-adult-blood-culture-contamination/collect.html
Chang, J., Choi, S., Cho, H., Kim, S., Chung, J.-W., Yoo, S. J., Song, E. Y., & Chun, S. (2025). Standards and practice guidelines for venous blood collection: Consensus recommendations from the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine. Annals of Laboratory Medicine, 45(4), 343–357. https://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2025.0022
University of Florida, College of Medicine, Pathology Laboratories. (n.d.). Blood collection procedure: Capillary.https://pathlabs.ufl.edu/client-services/specimen-shipping/blood-collection-procedure-capillary
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. (2020). Collection of capillary blood specimens (7th ed.; CLSI standard GP42). https://clsi.org/shop/standards/gp42/
Lenicek Krleza, J., Dorotic, A., Grzunov, A., & Maradin, M. (2015). Capillary blood sampling: National recommendations on behalf of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Biochemia Medica, 25(3), 335–358. https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2015.034
NW Regional Newborn Bloodspot Screening Program. (2025). Newborn bloodspot screening practitioner's manual(13th ed.). https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/LABORATORYSERVICES/NEWBORNSCREENING/Documents/Practitioner%20Manual_final%20version%2013_7-8-25.pdf
Labcorp. (n.d.). Bilirubin fraction, neonatal. https://www.labcorp.com/tests/205500/bilirubin-fraction-neonatal