Phlebotomy Part 2

The summer between junior and senior years of college I found myself back in Houston, working as a slightly more seasoned phlebotomist. The job was minimum wage, about 2 bucks an hour but I was fortunate to work the day shift; some of my colleagues pulled 3-11 PM. I made about $1000.00 that summer and stashed it away in the bank.

What did I learn? What do I remember about that summer job?


1. I am not a very good phlebotomist; the easy "sticks" flow smoothly but veins come in all flavors; probably the worst are the ones that roll. There were many, many times I left a patient's room empty handed, returning to the lab to ask someone more skilled technically to go back and do the job.

2. More patients than I would have predicted called me "the vampire" when I told them I was there to draw their blood.

3. We "blood-drawer-ers" sat around in the back of the lab wasting time more than we worked. No wonder we earned minimum wage.

4. I saw my first dead person that summer. Called to draw blood on her roommate, I saw an old lady in the next bed who must have just passed on. No one was making any sort of fuss; likely she was expected to go. Even then, instead of the lancing fear I expected to feel, I was overcome with wonder and calm, a sacredness that comes again and again when in similar situations right up to this day.

5. I ate in the cafeteria most days; the food was fabulous. The sweet potato pie was to die for.

6. I met a cute guy, also a phlebotomist.  He had no money and was on his own financially even though he was a year younger than me. He dreamed desperately of becoming a doctor and was taking  required college courses and working simultaneously.  Although he was a genuinely nice person who worked  hard, he never made it to medical school. I think he became a DEA agent.

7.  I don't remember that we wore white coats. I did wear a badge that I was very proud to pin on my shirt;  so proud that I still have it along with other badges I've worn through the years. I suppose we all like to belong to something larger than ourselves and carry proof of it on our person. "Miss" C. Thompson; today it would probably be the full first and last name with no marital status marker.

8. To this day, I have warm feelings for (most) phebotomists. They are a talented group of people who take pride in what they do. Whenever I get my blood drawn I think back....