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Phlebotomist
Draws blood from patients for medical testing, transfusions, and donations.
Did you know?
Blood tube caps are colour-coded to a standard: lavender tubes are for blood counts, light blue for clotting tests and grey for glucose.
How subjects help
- Biology: Handle blood samples carefully so germs don't spread and results stay accurate.
- Anatomy: Find the best vein in the arm, even in a tiny baby or an elderly patient.
- Chemistry: Pick the right tube, since each holds a chemical that changes how blood behaves.
- Communication: Calm someone who is scared of needles and explain what will happen.
A famous name
Charles R. Drew: Surgeon who ran huge WWII blood-donation drives like Blood for Britain and invented the bloodmobile.
Try it yourself: Take your pulse like a nurse
- Put two fingers (not your thumb) on the inside of your wrist, below your thumb, until you feel a beat.
- Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4. That is your resting heart rate per minute.
- If you can, do 20 star jumps, then count again straight away.
- Check every minute until it is back to where it started. How long did it take?
Nurses, doctors and paramedics take a pulse all day: it is one of the quickest ways to tell how a body is coping.
Also try: Stain and scrub an egg like a tooth.
Known for it in
USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia