How Can I Practice Phlebotomy/Blood Draw at Home?

"How can I practice phlebotomy or blood draw at home?" This is a common question always asked by new nursing students, who want to master the art of phlebotomy as soon as possible but just know little about it.

In the past several years, maybe it is impossible. Almost all the nursing students just could learn phlebotomy at home with fruits, such as oranges or bananas. But times have changed and medical technology has advanced. Nowadays, countless realistic simulation tools have been designed and made to help nursing students learn phlebotomy and blood draw skills, and build their confidence before performing a blood draw on a real person. Perfect blood draw skill is inseparable from the thousands of hands-on practices, besides the phlebotomy how-to guide, video, and courses. 

How to practice phlebotomy at home?

Blood draw generally refers to the collection of venous blood. And phlebotomy is an alternative medical approach to draining a person's blood to treat, prevent, or diagnose disease.

Preparation:

• Find a suitable phlebotomy/IV practice kit
• Prepare and label tubes for phlebotomy, iv practice

Phlebotomy procedures and practices

1. Sanitize your hands and wear gloves.

2. Check the syringe if the needle and the barrel are connected tightly and if there is a blockage and air leakage.

3. Choose veins and confirm puncture site after the patients place their forearm on the lab bench, palm up, and place a bolster under your elbow.

4. Tie the fake hand with a tourniquet 6cm above the blood collection site. Ask the practice patient to make a fist, avoiding pumping the hand.

5. Disinfect the skin at the selected venipuncture site with an alcohol swab and let the air dry.

6. Puncture the skin. Make the needle and the skin at an angle of 30° to pierce the skin quickly, and then penetrate the vein wall forward at a 5° angle and enter the venous lumen. Confirm the central position of the puncture into the vein, and push the needle 10-15mm along the vein. 

7. Blood draw. Slowly pull the syringe needle back with your left hand, and release the cuff after seeing a small amount of blood returning. Then, pull back the needle plug to reach the blood collection volume scale. If a disposable vacuum blood collection device is used, a small amount of blood will return after the needle enters the blood vessel. Insert the vacuum blood collection tube into the blood collection needle in the test tube holder.

8. Attach the tubes or syringes and remove the tourniquet as you draw the last amount.

9. Remove the needle from the syringe or IV/Phlebotomy practice kit and dispose of contaminated materials in a sharps container.

Not only phlebotomy and venipuncture, but ID/SC/IV/IM injection skills are also necessary for nursing students need to master in their careers. So lots of hands-on practice are required before working with real people. Ensure the IV practice kit you choose is both realistic and durable enough, which gives you a life-like experience that you can repeat practice again and again. Whether you are a student or a distributor, this is a very important factor you need to consider while choosing the practice kit.

Related Articles:

• Can a Phlebotomist Start an IV? Why?
• What is the Best IV Practice Kit for Phlebotomy?
• How to Draw Blood - A Step-By-Step Guide