How is no license required?
After leaving the military as a medic I went to school and got my certificate as a phlebotomist and as a CNA.
I have worked happily as a Phlebotomist for a major hospital for the past 3 years (part time as a cna for some extra money). The thing I cant understand is in this state and many others you are not required to have a license or certificate to work as a phlebotomist.
So let me get this straight...im required to have specialized training to wipe someones butt, yet not to stab them with a large bore needle where I can do major damage if im not careful.
I have seen some major butcher jobs done by un-skilled people who have no training except a quick "read this" and "here's your supplies".
We draw blood from newborn infants and seniors and if your not careful you can really hurt someone...and can permanently injure infants if you don't know what your doing.
Who decides what requires a license?
How or who should I go to so that this can be changed?
Comments
There is a national certification which some employers now require and a few states like California have a state cert.
It also has to do with reimbursement and insurances. CMS requires CNAs to have a certification and by FEDERAL mandate have at least 75 hours of training. There is a national registry for CNAs to be listed on who are in compliance with the Federal regulation which is monitored especially in long term facilities. The states will then oversee the training and certification requirements to be met.
CLIA oversees labs and regulations pertaining to them. This is a position memo from CMS whose actions will reflect on current practices and regulations formed by CLIA. It states how each skill complexity is related to certification requirements.
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/cliac/pdf/Addenda/cliac0210/Ad...
quote from it:
"Certain positions are NOT evaluated by the surveyor; for example, phlebotomists who do not perform testing or individuals who do reagent preparation, specimen preparation, microbiology plating, etc., but no actual testing."
CNA associated links for CMS requirements and rationale for training.
http://www.directcareclearinghouse.org/download/rp...
http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-05-01-00030.pdf
http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2006/NNASintro....
The above links should give you an idea about how certification and asset valuing is determined.
You could also use the ER Tech postition held by some EMTs and Paramedics as an example also. Most hospitals now require even Paramedics hold the phlebotomy and even CNA certs to work but not always even though their training does not cover these specifically. Phlebotomy is also not in an EMT's scope of practice nor is that certification actually recognized in the hospital setting. The ER tech can be a CNA, phlebotomist or MA or anyone who hold a CPR card who the hospital can train to do venipuncture and foley catheter insertion. There is actually very little in an EMT cert which is used in the hospital. They just use it as a screening tool with little significance for the actual job description. There is no state certification for the ER Tech and most of the skills are outside of an EMT, CNA or Paramedic scope of practice or training.
It might be tough to get a new regulation for certification passed now in most states since their budgets are stretched thin. Some states are even dumping the licenses of Respiratory Therapists so they will no longer have licenses. It will then be up to the hospitals whether they will keep RTs working or place it all back under nursing who do have licenses and eliminate RTs. A couple of states have hospitals already laying off RTs and giving all of the RT responsibility to nurses including ventilator management. The Phlebotomists in California also do arterial sticks so they can easily replace RTs doing that.
Thanks for your service... medic to medic. I would check with your state's Board of Health first. Check the link below I took the next passage right from that website:
Licensing Requirements
Some states, such as California, require their phlebotomy technicians to be licensed in order to legally work in the state. These requirements vary by state, so it may be important to check with the health or occupational licensing department within the state in which you wish to work to verify specifics.
I would also contact the Governor's Office and your State Senator and Representative's offices to inform them of the fact that incompetent phlebotomist's can do major harm to innocent patients especially the very young and elderly.
I have a cousin who went from being a lab tech to an attorney and then a phlebotomist.... I guess it makes sense as he stayed in the "blood sucking" sector of the job market.
Hope this helps you and best of luck.