Phlebotomy skills expected of career entry CLS/CLT graduates: a Missouri hospital perspective.
OBJECTIVE
To determine how much, what type, and what proficiency of phlebotomy experience CLS/CLT students should have during the training program to be prepared to meet the needs of the majority of Missouri hospital employers.


METHODS
Survey to determine the role healthcare professionals, inside and outside the laboratory, play in today's blood collection patterns and phlebotomy management.


METHODS
The Missouri Organization of Clinical Laboratory Science mailed 204 surveys to the Missouri Hospital Association member laboratories. MAIN OUTCOMES/CONCLUSIONS: This research examined the need for modifying phlebotomy skills of clinical laboratory science students. Data gathered from employers support the premise that entry-level competencies of CLS/CLT graduates will vary according to clinical facility size. CLS/CLT programs may use data from this study to plan phlebotomy practicums. It can be extrapolated that Missouri employers who are most likely to employ career entry graduates expect them to draw blood from 9.3 patients within one hour. Fifty-three percent of 40 to 400 bed hospitals expect graduates to perform difficult draws in at least eight types of hospital units. Laboratories are the major managers of hospital wide phlebotomy services; thus, CLS/CLT curricula should include phlebotomy management methods.
Millstead
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Bates County Memorial Hospital, Butler MO 64730, USA.
D003479:Curriculum; D006276:Health Facility Size; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel / Q000193:education*; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000193:education*; D008923:Missouri; D010560:Personnel Selection; D018962:Phlebotomy