Assessment of Knowledge and Skills of Phlebotomy Technique among Nursing Staffs of a Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Phlebotomy is a commonly done invasive technique, performed either for diagnostic or therapeutic purpose. A thorough knowledge and skills are to be ensured in the health care professionals who carry out this procedure regularly so as to ensure patient safety and minimize pre analytical errors in laboratory investigations. Aim of the present study was to assess the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of nursing staffs to carry out the phlebotomy procedure. Methodology: A validated questionnaire study involving seventy four nursing staffs of the medical college teaching hospital was conducted. They were divided in to three groups belonging to different age groups, like 19-30 yr, 31-45 yr and 45-60 yr. They were also classified based on their number of years of experience, as 0-5 yr,6-15 yr and more than 15 yr of experience. A validated questionnaire consisting of 10 knowledge assessing questions,7 skills assessing questions and 3 information on demographic profile was administered to them. Each question carried one mark each, total score being 17, knowledge score being 10 and skills/practice score being 7. Statistical analysis was carried out by using Graph pad Instat software. One way ANNOVA was used to compare the scores, total, knowledge and practice scores between different groups. Knowledge and skills components of different groups were compared by using Student s Unpaired 't' test. Descriptive statistics is used to calculate percentage of correct answers. Results: Definition of hemolysis was correctly answered by 66% nurses.52.7% nursing staffs were aware that hemolysis can occur not only during sampling, but any time during the laboratory procedure.66.2% thought that forcing the blood in to tubes by pushing the plunger in order to fill the tubes is the most frequent cause of hemolysis. 37.8% of nurses were aware that less than half full tube can frequently cause hemolysis. The relationship between the needle gauge size and hemolysis was known only by 18.9% nurses. 70.27% wrongly thought that isopropyl or ethyl alcohol used as disinfectant can cause hemolysis.71.6% were aware that hemolysis can influence the lab reports. However there wasn't any statistical significant difference between the scores in different groups. Conclusion: We conclude from our study that nursing staffs of our teaching hospital inspite of being experienced, lack in knowledge and skills of phlebotomy technique and factors contributing to pre analytical errors necessitates an intervention ,in the form of training program.

Awareness of order of blood draw among nurses in tertiary care hospital

“…They also felt that it is very essential to bring an awareness regarding causes of hemolysis during sample collection and factors contributing to pre analytical errors necessitates an intervention, in the form of training program. 17 Cai et al conducted a study in China from four economic region, where 13 specialized hospital were included in the study and they found that only a small proportion of the nurses (15.5%) were aware of the correct order of multi-tube blood sampling. There was requirement to strengthen education with a focus on phlebotomy.…”

A Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Study on Phlebotomy Among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital in Patna, India

“…In a study by Cai et al conducted in China, the level of knowledge on phlebotomy among nurses was not found to be quite satisfactory [ 9 ]. In another study conducted by Adiga et al in 2017, the majority of the questions assessing the knowledge domain were correctly answered and no significant difference was found in the knowledge level, between the groups based either on age or number of years of experience [ 2 ]. Correct patient identification is crucial to ensure patient safety and proper patient identification must rely on at least two independent identifiers.…”

“…Laboratory services have become an integral part of the modern healthcare sector, and venous blood collection is one of the most common invasive procedures. Even though it is thought to be a safe procedure, it is associated with its risks such as needle stick injuries and preanalytical errors [ 1 , 2 ]. To perform successful phlebotomy, both theoretical knowledge, as well as practical skills, are required [ 3 ].…”

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed various such guidelines in an attempt to reduce the rate of errors in the phlebotomy process and also protect the health of workers from any injury or infectious diseases [ 10 ]. There are very few studies available that assess the quality of venous blood sampling and the knowledge of phlebotomists carrying out the procedure [ 2 ].…”

A mobile phone-based approach to detection of hemolysis

“…High concentrations of hemoglobin in plasma can result in multiple-organ failures and potentially death. For all of these conditions, then, a cost-effective, compact, point-of-care analyzer for detecting Hgb in blood plasma would be of great benefit (Archibong et al, 2015;Adiga and Yogish, 2016;Šimundić et al, 2010).…”