Performs the manual and technical tasks involved in the collection, labeling, processing and distribution of blood samples for laboratory testing.

A person in this career:

• Draws blood needed for medical tests
• Assembles equipment needed for drawing blood
• Labels and stores blood containers for processing
• Applies tourniquet to arm, locates vein, swabs area with disinfectant, and inserts needle into vein to draw blood into collection tube
• Performs venipunctures, fingersticks, or heelsticks to obtain specimens
• Converses with patients to allay fear of procedure
• Verifies or records identity of patient or donor

Working Conditions and Physical Demands:

• Handle loads of up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs.  You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time 

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Good vision close up 

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Holiday and weekend hours