Page 11 - THE FIRST DAY OF PHLEBOTOMY FREE

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The Foot:
The Dorsalis Pedis is the vein used for drawing blood from the foot. Performing a
venipuncture on the foot can cause an embolism which can be fatal to a patient with a clotting
disorder.
Before obtaining blood from the foot you must have doctor’s permission.

The Phlebotomist Good Practice:
➢ Protect yourself from injury: Always point the needle away from you, never recap a needle,
immediately apply the safety and dispose of the needle after the procedure.
➢ Properly Identify the patient: Not properly identifying your patient is the most common error,
and can put your patient in potential harm. You should always use two identifiers.
➢ Clinic setting: Have the patient state their full name and date of birth.
➢ In-patient setting: Compare the patient's band to the requisition.

The name band must be on the patient for proper identification if you cannot locate the
wristband call the attending nurse to properly identify the patient. Every facility may have
established a different method for patient identification. Always refer to the facility’s
patient identification SOP (standard operational procedure).

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