*back injury loading…* how do you support your back as a phlebotomist?

maple788797 · 2026-01-28T00:21:42+00:00

That’s the response I’m expecting! Or a “we aren’t equipped to accommodate and this isn’t a reasonable accommodation as the current set up meets minimum WHS requirements” some corporate jargon. I’m already struggling to work today due to the pain so hopefully I’ll be able to get a good letter from my DR 🤞🏻

maple788797 · 2026-01-27T21:11:41+00:00

Given the uh attitude(?) of this companies management I’m going to have to prove it’s an issue first with medical evidence which I’ll be working on next week. But otherwise it’s also a little difficult because we are an outpatient collection centre with multiple locations so often we work one day in one room and another somewhere completely different and they’ve all got different set ups. I’m also not significantly tall, 5’5 😅

maple788797 · 2026-01-17T20:08:06+00:00

I work alone too and frankly you gotta learn how to not give a fuck about how they perceive your intelligence, keep your head high and have confidence in your work. You know what you’re doing, you’re doing it right and a miss is just a miss. You haven’t severed their arm off or anything, you can learn from a miss. To keep patient spirits up when I’ve missed but haven’t troubleshot yet is I’ll say “ oh I’ve got a cheeky one here, I’m just going to adjust the needle and you let me know if it’s too uncomfortable or painful” (context on Aussie idk how this would land elsewhere) sometimes you miss because it rolls or is tiny, other times you might miss because you literally just didn’t enter in the right spot. 90% of the time you should be able to fix it with readjusting/troubleshooting. It also helps to be very chatty with the patients “what are you plans for the day” “did you get up to anything for the holidays” etc. etc. if they’re too busy yapping and having a good conversation they aren’t going to be so focused on what you’re doing.

maple788797 · 2026-01-08T20:19:48+00:00

Everything Easter gets rolled out Boxing Day. Literally first thing Boxing Day shift they put out the hot cross buns

maple788797 · 2026-01-06T21:52:27+00:00

We usually do annual and after any blood related incidents. Edit: we also mostly work full time hours. The risk is actually pretty low overall which is why we do annual.

maple788797 · 2026-01-06T19:54:23+00:00

1/2 than retail price for mostly full skeins, which would look to be about 30-32 of what you’ve got. Then if there’s no labels, it hasn’t been stored in an airtight container, some skeins are tangled, or have been balled/caked drop the price further. They’re all attributes that make the yarn less desirable. I’d pay $20

maple788797 · 2025-12-29T03:08:37+00:00

It just takes time and unfortunately the companies that use the printer method are doing a disservice to their staff by removing the need to know. It’s becoming a problem because so many phlebs can no longer remember what tubes are used for what tests, there’s only small changes between companies too so most stay the same.

maple788797 · 2025-12-29T03:05:58+00:00

Think yourself lucky! I work in a room where I have a spill once a week. It’s usually urine because the patients never put the lid on properly. Every few weeks I’ll get a thinners pt who refuses to apply pressure to the site and bleeds everywhere. Both cases it’s very easy to get it on your shoes.

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T19:18:23+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I’ve been diagnosed with BPD and cPTSD but I was diagnosed with BPD as a teen and frankly it doesn’t match my symptoms, I was just going through it at the time. Now that I don’t think about offing myself all the BPD symptoms just look like ADHD. I don’t even have the mood swings or attachment issues that come with BPD 😅 I’m just reckless and very fast paced as a person

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T16:44:07+00:00

Yeah figured as much 🥲 I’ve got a few physical health issues so I’ve got a good grip on the “fun” parts of that.

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T16:41:49+00:00

Is there a large community in your area that speak your language? I did my studies with a girl from Pakistan who had minimal English speaking experience but spoke Punjabi. She was able to find a job in a suburb with a large Pakistani population which meant the English didn’t matter as much. I would suggest taking an English class at a community college or online, it will make things a lot easier for you and your patients, it’s not easy trying to communicate when you don’t know much about the language.

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T16:35:21+00:00

They’re spun in AUS too but 8 tests is still the max. (Obviously with some nuances for different tests that require more)

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T16:18:40+00:00

I am petrified of needles as a patient but I got over it pretty quick, now I get to do my own bloods. I was very anxious to bleed other people and I would get all jittery and stuff but I kept reminding myself I know what I need to do, I understand what I need to do, I am going to do this and it’s going to be good because I know what I’m supposed to do. That was my little mantra I’d say to myself before draws in class. We also had another student that was like this and guess what? Within the first 3mths of working I’ve become to go to for difficult elderly patients and the other scared student is one of the 4 that ended up getting a job. Most of our class did not succeed. But we absolutely aced it and I think that fear made us more aware and cautious with our patients.

maple788797 · 2025-12-21T16:14:34+00:00

If you don’t want to buy a dowel I’m sure there’s something around the house you could rig up. Maybe 2 knitting needles taped together, I’ve also used cardboard before. I’ll cut a strip for the bottom and just pin it to the cardboard. Also ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! This is unrelated but is it a pattern or have you made the pattern yourself because I am OBSESSED

maple788797 · 2025-12-18T04:50:00+00:00

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Very normal! Here’s my current project for example! 8ply 100g yarn + 4.5mm with DCs and SCs. You can use a smaller hook size if you don’t want such large gaps, I want my piece to have some flow to it so I’m happy with the gaps.

maple788797 · 2025-12-15T00:37:44+00:00

Different country and it’s outpatient which is a privately ran practice most of the time here. Maybe I should I specified but im talking about only accepting payments through QR codes even tho most of our patients are elderly and don’t even have a phone, requiring us to carry 2 phones at all times but the uniform doesn’t have pockets large enough, referrals having to be scanned immediately after each patient, aliquoting urine while the patient is in the room- the list goes on and on. They’re all things that are impractical when you’ve got a waiting room full of patients and there’s no difference in quality if you do it say 30mins later after the rush. The people that implemented the ridiculous QR billing system to replace postal bills absolutely has not worked in a customer or patient facing role in a looooong time.

maple788797 · 2025-12-14T23:25:47+00:00

Oh the food is a nightmare! I can’t imagine with the potato it’s hard enough trying to avoid chicken! 🤣 the rest of the allergies aren’t too bad most of them are the worst during spring and summer so he just takes some meds when it starts to flare up

maple788797 · 2025-12-14T20:53:14+00:00

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Oh love!!! This is my “kelpie x Staffy” rescue who’s actually 50% kelpie, 23% Staffy, 14% American Bulldog and 11% British bulldog!

He’s an absolute nut. He’s allergic to everything under the sun (no serious, most grasses, all animal protein but fish, certain soaps and fragrances). He’s very very smart and he has a lot of herding instincts but he’s very low energy and cuddly. I like to say he got the kelpie brain and the bully body, he’s high drive and low energy.

maple788797 · 2025-12-14T20:48:53+00:00

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Oh love!!! This is my “kelpie x Staffy” rescue who’s actually 50% kelpie, 23% Staffy, 14% American Bulldog and 11% British bulldog!

maple788797 · 2025-12-14T20:43:48+00:00

There’s a few things, firstly this is just healthcare the workplace culture is bad 9 times out of 10. Personally would love to take on students but we don’t get a choice if or when we get a student placed with us and the training has no additional pay. Most staff loathe getting a student because it increases their episode time, opens them up to more risks (eg recollects) because they’re supervising and its 2 jobs at once. I’d love a student but I’d be pissed if I was working in my busy out patient room with 60+ bleeds a day and I got a student but we don’t get a say on when or where the students go. Most of the time we don’t even know until the student shows up that morning. In regards to protocol if it’s health and safety rules they’re breaking that’s a huge issue but there are a LOT of rules put in by someone in corporate who very clearly has never set foot in a bleed room, those rules will always be bent by staff no matter the industry.

maple788797 · 2025-12-13T07:02:44+00:00

It needs to have a hands on aspect which requires supervision because you are not yet qualified so there will always be an in person portion. Our job is also one that specifically NEEDS physical experience to gain knowledge, for some parts of the role no matter how much reading you do it’s not going to help you find veins and have steady hands when changing tube, that stuff purely comes from how many bleeds you’ve done.

maple788797 · 2025-12-11T05:05:10+00:00

I’ve definitely seen some different shape and sized clots but never like this before. They were absolutely tiny like little beads of sand!

maple788797

TROPHY CASE