blood donation/transfusion nursing

[sandramathews]

hi all, great site

im currently three years into working as a community registered nurse and am considering a change

im quite interested in working for the blood service as one aspect of my job i really enjoy

is being out and about visiting people in the community and i guess this would make up a large part

being in a mobile blood clinic.

having only donated once and having an interest in this im not sure about what the job is actually like?

any feedback or info would be much appreciated.

thanks

Jim

[heathervaught]

Jim,

We are always pleased when someone shows interest in our field. I work at a Blood Center, so I can tell you a little about that side of it, but I cannot speak to any aspect of transfusion nursing. At my facility (located in central Indiana), Phlebotomists that compirse our mobile blood collection team require only on-the-job training. They spend about 10 weeks in training and must complete 100 successfull venipunctures under the supervision of a preceptor before being considered fully trained. We also have blood collection associates who specialize in the collection of blood by automated equipment, or apheresis.

Aspects of the job include identifying the donor upon arrival, performing a physical examination, qualifying the donor based on their health history, performing the venipuncture to collect blood/components, preparing products for shipment back to the Component Laboratory, and caring for the donor, both under normal circumstances and caring for donors with adverse reactions.

If you would like to learn more about the job, you can find your local blood center by searching on the web. I would recommend http://www.americasblood.org/go.cfm?do=NBDR.EnterZip, but there are other ways to find blood centers, too. If you are qualified to donate, then that is an excellent way to learn more about the job. You can experience it first-hand from the donor's perspective, and you can talk to those who do it every day.

Good luck!