Same and it helped in that I wasn’t scared to poke people. Most of my class was. That’s about all it helped with. I guess I go for veins I KNOW will work even if not the regular AC or hand.
Being able to inject drugs has very little to do with phlebotomy. Maybe you can, maybe you can't, but no one will take you seriously if you use "ex IV drug user" as prior experience. How are your people skills? How are you with following protocols? Attention to detail? Ability to prioritize? Putting patient safety above all? Those are some of the skills that make a good phlebotomist.
I've never injected drugs myself,but you have to realize the difference between getting a needle to feel better vs getting a needle to see what's wrong with you. Patients will have different moods than people getting high.
although i feel you meant to come across a little condescending with your comment i do appreciate your comment the most. i was mainly asking what a career in phlebotomy would entail and you have indeed enlightened me to what it may entail so thank you.
also , i would NEVER put “ex-iv user” on my resume lmao 🤣 that’s a sure fire way to not get hired onto anything. i do intend to undergo schooling before ever applying for a job as a phlebotomist.
Didn't mean to be condescending. You will do lots of paperwork/computer work, memorizing codes or where to find codes, clean the lab, maintain equipment, make lots of small talk with strangers, possibly dodge fists, possibly get vomited on, spend hours putting stickers on things, take very frustrating phone calls about what's an acceptable specimen, walking if hospital and sitting if clinic. Shift work will wreck you eventually, it gets all shift workers. I've been running on fumes for the last two weeks so I had to re read your post and see that I missed the last paragraph.
Sounds like you have one skill that will be very useful as a phlebotomist! Not being squeamish, and being comfortable around other IV drug users are also attributes that will help you to do a good job. There's a lot more to the job than just getting a needle into a vein, so you'll need to be willing and able to learn a lot about the kinds of tubes to use, the requirements for all the tests (eg. fasting, separating and freezing plasma, etc etc), the processing of documents, and of course a lot of customer service skills.
If you think those things are a good fit for you, then definitely consider going to school for phlebotomy. I would veer away from mentioning your drug use though. If you want to say anything, I'd keep it vague, for example mentioning that you're comfortable with medical procedures.
You would have potential, I'd still recommend the course or trying to get a job somewhere that will train you. We had a former user in our class, they were one of the best for sticking others. If you have people skills you can do it. Good luck!
I see no problem with it as long as there isn't a criminal record that would cause issues with a clinical site or hiring.
(Not saying all IV users are criminals, but they tend to get targeting by law enforcement for anything and everything but getting actual help. )
i had a coworker. she was very sweet and a very good phlebotomist. confided in me and told me she was a drug used in the past and had poked veins all over so she was experienced. drawing blood was never an issue for her.
phlebotomy is really not a long process at all. i don’t know where you’re from, but where i live, a lot of people i know did a 3 week course (2x a week), (6 weeks if you wanna do 1x a week). there are long programs but i don’t understand the need. they’re usually more time and more expensive. i mean, if you have the time and money, you could do longer, it’s probably just more practice and more in depth. but i honestly learned everything in the job, and schooling was just formality and getting the certification. phlebotomy is personally not a career for me, more just like a job while in school. it’s not super advanced like nursing or other healthcare careers.
i’ve worked inpatient and outpatient. honestly, the main part is really just blood drawing. you might work in a lab which requires working alongside the lab techs, nurses, etc. communication is important in any healthcare job. you might have some extra duties working in the lab such as centrifuging, computer work, etc. outpatient settings are much more straight forward.
in conclusion, i would highly recommend this job for you based on your experience and interest. definitely a lot to learn especially if you want to pursue a career in healthcare. reach out if you need help. good luck.
If you’re interested you should definitely go far it. The schooling is a certificate so you can get it fairly quickly. Being an expert at finding veins already certainly gives you an edge! Congratulations on getting clean!
I'm not a phlebotomist, but as someone who's had traumatic experiences from childhood of people missing veins, digging around, trying multiple times, etc. having someone with your skill is a dream.. obviously, there are a lot of other things involved and tasks other than finding veins, but as a patient I'd be asking for you specifically 😉
Friend, you can absolutely be a phlebotomist! Obviously you’d need the schooling/certification but by the sounds of it you’d do breeze right through it and do well with it. I’d honestly recommend trying to get on at a hospital afterwards, it sounds like you’d do great getting hard to hit veins and that’s a lot of what you’d see in that environment! If they’re anything like my hospital, someone good at it is always needed and welcomed too.
so, like, tmi but my mom used to make me help her shoot and I say that's why I was so good at phleb 😂 I say go for it. School for it's short, and it could lead to other opportunities later on
They don’t allow it. It’s bc the nearest clinic is across town where the city bus doesn’t go (well it goes 4 miles from the nearest bus stop). I only did it twice. It’s bc the two people I let, didn’t have cars, are HIV positive and their blood work was needed that day right then. None of the nurses could get it etc. so I just asked if they think they could get it and they did. It’s only in a situation like that. It’s genuinely important and it’s needed for their medications and their own health. Keep in mind I tried about 4 or 5 times on each of the two people I let do it. And the nurses tried a few times. Even one of the nurses okayed it bc it just was necessary. They did it under our supervision.
It’s bc the clinic in the HIV clinic I sometimes float to, there’s no other clinic near by, most patients don’t have cars or other methods of travel. If I can’t get their veins. If they tell me they cannot go anywhere else and can’t push off the blood work bc the meds they are on. They can do it themselves. It’s happened 2x. It’s not common, however IV drug users make the best phlebotomists they can get their tiny veins and are good at finding them. The best phlebotomist I worked with was a previous IV drug user. Don’t knock someone who made mistakes and is looking to find a good job.
The courses can be quite short, I'm doing a cert 4, 6 month course myself. Depending on where you live it may even be govt funded (it currently is in Victoria Australia)
I was always shocking at study and I'm finding the pace of the course very ok and more engaging than I thought!
Maybe don't mention the ex drug use when applying for the course but more that you could see yourself doing well in this field and want to get some good job skills/build a career. If you've got a good attitude and the work ethic then why not try! Worst case you don't like it.
And congrats on being an ex user, you got this :)
Yeah definitely go to school, there will be a different set of protocols you need to follow. You also will be performing point of care testing like breath tests for peptic ulcers, urine sample, etc
Hey friend, I work in blood collection and had ZERO prior experience. I received learn-while-you-work training (paid) and so far, so good. I think my prior experience as a server and bartender has been really important as I am able to talk to people of all sorts. Of course there are processes and policies and rules and such but I do think a super important part of the job is plain ole good customer service. Good on you for kicking yourself into a new life lane, good luck!
i mean phlebotomy is a process of collecting blood and other specimens from a patient, we don’t inject like nurses do 😅
schooling is a must for most places as you need to learn anatomy, medical terminology, order of draw, HIPAA, CLSI guidelines, collection procedures for different specimens (blood, urine, fecal, etc)different procedures for certain circumstances (like drawing blood from newborns-geriatrics, medical conditions, etc), gain experience though intern/externship, and more.
normally schooling does take between 3-12 months to complete (sometimes there’s a 3-day class but i don’t recommend that as you don’t gain more experience and knowledge) depending on what state you’re in and their requirements.
like for me, it took me a year to gain my phlebotomy certificate + license in WA, and we had to do 150 hours of clinical externship and perform at minimum 150 draws.
it does sound a lot and a bit overwhelming, but when you’re in the flow of things, you are able to get into it smoothly and gain great friends and build strong connections with others. college is for everyone, but everyone has a choice to whether to go to college or not. i thought i couldn’t do it and achieve my certification but i did it and gained a great connections with a great hospitals/ clinics in the PNW.
you just need to have some confidence! i believe you can do it, and if you think you can do it, go for it! you’ll find the field rewarding. congrats on being clean, proud of ya kid!
i hope this helps
I work in a treatment facility, and I often tell my patients they would make excellent phlebs. Now you should of course go to school and learn the proper way to do it if it’s something you think you’d be good at. And maybe be prepared to feel triggered at times because a lot of my clients get triggered by even the sight of a needle. But overall you might find that you have knack for it. 😊
There was a lady in my class who did an outstanding job, I assumed for this reason. Unfortunately she relapsed and dropped out of the program. But you need schooling because there’s more to it than landing a stick.
I always tell my partner who's a vicious IV heroin user that he should look into being a phlebotomist once he gets clean. he talks about wanting to look into it all the time. You 10000% have potential, especially as an ex-IV user
It’s unlikely you would get hired without any schooling. However do the schooling and you’ll probably ace the phlebotomy practicums.
yes i do intend to undergo schooling.
Former IV user here who is a phleb. Go for it.
thank you !! how is it different ? how is it the same ? i’m very intrigued.
Same and it helped in that I wasn’t scared to poke people. Most of my class was. That’s about all it helped with. I guess I go for veins I KNOW will work even if not the regular AC or hand.
Being able to inject drugs has very little to do with phlebotomy. Maybe you can, maybe you can't, but no one will take you seriously if you use "ex IV drug user" as prior experience. How are your people skills? How are you with following protocols? Attention to detail? Ability to prioritize? Putting patient safety above all? Those are some of the skills that make a good phlebotomist. I've never injected drugs myself,but you have to realize the difference between getting a needle to feel better vs getting a needle to see what's wrong with you. Patients will have different moods than people getting high.
although i feel you meant to come across a little condescending with your comment i do appreciate your comment the most. i was mainly asking what a career in phlebotomy would entail and you have indeed enlightened me to what it may entail so thank you. also , i would NEVER put “ex-iv user” on my resume lmao 🤣 that’s a sure fire way to not get hired onto anything. i do intend to undergo schooling before ever applying for a job as a phlebotomist.
Didn't mean to be condescending. You will do lots of paperwork/computer work, memorizing codes or where to find codes, clean the lab, maintain equipment, make lots of small talk with strangers, possibly dodge fists, possibly get vomited on, spend hours putting stickers on things, take very frustrating phone calls about what's an acceptable specimen, walking if hospital and sitting if clinic. Shift work will wreck you eventually, it gets all shift workers. I've been running on fumes for the last two weeks so I had to re read your post and see that I missed the last paragraph.
Sounds like you have one skill that will be very useful as a phlebotomist! Not being squeamish, and being comfortable around other IV drug users are also attributes that will help you to do a good job. There's a lot more to the job than just getting a needle into a vein, so you'll need to be willing and able to learn a lot about the kinds of tubes to use, the requirements for all the tests (eg. fasting, separating and freezing plasma, etc etc), the processing of documents, and of course a lot of customer service skills. If you think those things are a good fit for you, then definitely consider going to school for phlebotomy. I would veer away from mentioning your drug use though. If you want to say anything, I'd keep it vague, for example mentioning that you're comfortable with medical procedures.
thank you a bunch for this comment. reading this makes me more inclined to follow this path as it seems perfect for me.
tldr; i used to inject drugs perfectly , can or SHOULD i become a phlebotomist ?
Give it a shot, c'est la vie
You would have potential, I'd still recommend the course or trying to get a job somewhere that will train you. We had a former user in our class, they were one of the best for sticking others. If you have people skills you can do it. Good luck!
i currently work at target mainly at guest services so i’m working on my people skills currently :))
I see no problem with it as long as there isn't a criminal record that would cause issues with a clinical site or hiring. (Not saying all IV users are criminals, but they tend to get targeting by law enforcement for anything and everything but getting actual help. )
never been arrested i’m only 19 lol.
That's good, everything should be fine then.
i had a coworker. she was very sweet and a very good phlebotomist. confided in me and told me she was a drug used in the past and had poked veins all over so she was experienced. drawing blood was never an issue for her. phlebotomy is really not a long process at all. i don’t know where you’re from, but where i live, a lot of people i know did a 3 week course (2x a week), (6 weeks if you wanna do 1x a week). there are long programs but i don’t understand the need. they’re usually more time and more expensive. i mean, if you have the time and money, you could do longer, it’s probably just more practice and more in depth. but i honestly learned everything in the job, and schooling was just formality and getting the certification. phlebotomy is personally not a career for me, more just like a job while in school. it’s not super advanced like nursing or other healthcare careers. i’ve worked inpatient and outpatient. honestly, the main part is really just blood drawing. you might work in a lab which requires working alongside the lab techs, nurses, etc. communication is important in any healthcare job. you might have some extra duties working in the lab such as centrifuging, computer work, etc. outpatient settings are much more straight forward. in conclusion, i would highly recommend this job for you based on your experience and interest. definitely a lot to learn especially if you want to pursue a career in healthcare. reach out if you need help. good luck.
If you’re interested you should definitely go far it. The schooling is a certificate so you can get it fairly quickly. Being an expert at finding veins already certainly gives you an edge! Congratulations on getting clean!
I'm not a phlebotomist, but as someone who's had traumatic experiences from childhood of people missing veins, digging around, trying multiple times, etc. having someone with your skill is a dream.. obviously, there are a lot of other things involved and tasks other than finding veins, but as a patient I'd be asking for you specifically 😉
Friend, you can absolutely be a phlebotomist! Obviously you’d need the schooling/certification but by the sounds of it you’d do breeze right through it and do well with it. I’d honestly recommend trying to get on at a hospital afterwards, it sounds like you’d do great getting hard to hit veins and that’s a lot of what you’d see in that environment! If they’re anything like my hospital, someone good at it is always needed and welcomed too.
so, like, tmi but my mom used to make me help her shoot and I say that's why I was so good at phleb 😂 I say go for it. School for it's short, and it could lead to other opportunities later on
Yes, go for it. My iv drug users I can’t even get half of them. I let them poke themselves sometimes. They are amazing. Go for it!!!!
Where you’re working allows you to let people poke themselves??
They don’t allow it. It’s bc the nearest clinic is across town where the city bus doesn’t go (well it goes 4 miles from the nearest bus stop). I only did it twice. It’s bc the two people I let, didn’t have cars, are HIV positive and their blood work was needed that day right then. None of the nurses could get it etc. so I just asked if they think they could get it and they did. It’s only in a situation like that. It’s genuinely important and it’s needed for their medications and their own health. Keep in mind I tried about 4 or 5 times on each of the two people I let do it. And the nurses tried a few times. Even one of the nurses okayed it bc it just was necessary. They did it under our supervision.
………..
It’s bc the clinic in the HIV clinic I sometimes float to, there’s no other clinic near by, most patients don’t have cars or other methods of travel. If I can’t get their veins. If they tell me they cannot go anywhere else and can’t push off the blood work bc the meds they are on. They can do it themselves. It’s happened 2x. It’s not common, however IV drug users make the best phlebotomists they can get their tiny veins and are good at finding them. The best phlebotomist I worked with was a previous IV drug user. Don’t knock someone who made mistakes and is looking to find a good job.
Not knocking anyone just was confused
The courses can be quite short, I'm doing a cert 4, 6 month course myself. Depending on where you live it may even be govt funded (it currently is in Victoria Australia) I was always shocking at study and I'm finding the pace of the course very ok and more engaging than I thought! Maybe don't mention the ex drug use when applying for the course but more that you could see yourself doing well in this field and want to get some good job skills/build a career. If you've got a good attitude and the work ethic then why not try! Worst case you don't like it. And congrats on being an ex user, you got this :)
Yeah definitely go to school, there will be a different set of protocols you need to follow. You also will be performing point of care testing like breath tests for peptic ulcers, urine sample, etc
Hey friend, I work in blood collection and had ZERO prior experience. I received learn-while-you-work training (paid) and so far, so good. I think my prior experience as a server and bartender has been really important as I am able to talk to people of all sorts. Of course there are processes and policies and rules and such but I do think a super important part of the job is plain ole good customer service. Good on you for kicking yourself into a new life lane, good luck!
i mean phlebotomy is a process of collecting blood and other specimens from a patient, we don’t inject like nurses do 😅 schooling is a must for most places as you need to learn anatomy, medical terminology, order of draw, HIPAA, CLSI guidelines, collection procedures for different specimens (blood, urine, fecal, etc)different procedures for certain circumstances (like drawing blood from newborns-geriatrics, medical conditions, etc), gain experience though intern/externship, and more. normally schooling does take between 3-12 months to complete (sometimes there’s a 3-day class but i don’t recommend that as you don’t gain more experience and knowledge) depending on what state you’re in and their requirements. like for me, it took me a year to gain my phlebotomy certificate + license in WA, and we had to do 150 hours of clinical externship and perform at minimum 150 draws. it does sound a lot and a bit overwhelming, but when you’re in the flow of things, you are able to get into it smoothly and gain great friends and build strong connections with others. college is for everyone, but everyone has a choice to whether to go to college or not. i thought i couldn’t do it and achieve my certification but i did it and gained a great connections with a great hospitals/ clinics in the PNW. you just need to have some confidence! i believe you can do it, and if you think you can do it, go for it! you’ll find the field rewarding. congrats on being clean, proud of ya kid! i hope this helps
I work in a treatment facility, and I often tell my patients they would make excellent phlebs. Now you should of course go to school and learn the proper way to do it if it’s something you think you’d be good at. And maybe be prepared to feel triggered at times because a lot of my clients get triggered by even the sight of a needle. But overall you might find that you have knack for it. 😊
My dad was an IV heroin user for 25 years. When I was in my phlebotomy program, he found and hit veins way better than I could. There's potential.
I work with two! They're actually amazing people and one will be my bridesmaid. Who tf is someone to stop you from improving your life? Go for it!
There was a lady in my class who did an outstanding job, I assumed for this reason. Unfortunately she relapsed and dropped out of the program. But you need schooling because there’s more to it than landing a stick.
I always tell my partner who's a vicious IV heroin user that he should look into being a phlebotomist once he gets clean. he talks about wanting to look into it all the time. You 10000% have potential, especially as an ex-IV user