After September 11, blood donations increased across the nation. If you have given blood, you know the fulfillment blood donor specialists receive from helping save lives through their work. The gift of blood can mean life or death for someone. What you do for others, you do for yourself - from the simplest gesture to working as part of a life-saving team. This is your chance of a lifetime to join a highly respected, humanitarian profession.
In Inova Health System, for instance, blood donor specialists are responsible for performing medical histories, taking vital signs and collecting units of blood from donors. The position is kept interesting because the blood drives are in various locations … churches, colleges and universities, libraries, etc.
Education A high school diploma or its equivalent is required. Phlebotomy experience is usually preferred. What is phlebotomy? In simple terms, it's the procedure used to collect a unit of blood from a donor. More importantly, a person with a high school diploma can obtain a blood donor specialist job. There is room for advancement into other areas as team leaders and managers. As a career path in the health care field, a person can't place a price tag on the great personal reward it offers.
People Skills a Must Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills are needed to perform medical histories and venipuncture (drawing blood) on volunteer blood donors. Describing what procedures you are doing, checking with the donor to make sure that they feel okay and giving personalized attention is so important. Having an outgoing personality is a major plus, too. Because blood donations are voluntary, it is extremely important that the front line blood donor specialist be a positive influence on the donor. Repeat business is crucial to the country's blood supply. If a donor leaves the blood drive with a negative attitude, chances are they are not going to give blood again.
Make a Difference There are not many career fields that allow you to make a direct impact on the life and death of fellow human beings. Become a donor specialist today!
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