Phlebotomists
On the Job
Phlebotomists draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. They may explain the procedure to patients or tend to patients who have any adverse reactions to having blood drawn.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Feed patients.
- Give medications or immunizations.
- Maintain medical records.
- Teach medical procedures to healthcare personnel.
- Monitor patients to detect health problems.
- Conduct diagnostic tests to determine patient health.
- Clean medical equipment.
- Dispose of biomedical waste in accordance with standards.
- Transport biological or other medical materials.
- Explain technical medical information to patients.
Typical Working Conditions
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Frequent contact with others.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Working with a group or team.
- Exposure to disease or infections.
- Serious consequences if mistakes are made.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Repeating the same motions many times.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
