Covid tester to phlebotomist
A covid tester already meets 35% of what the phlebotomist role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.3/ 100
1 How much of what a phlebotomist is expected to do is already part of a covid tester’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the phlebotomist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A phlebotomist role treats 10 of its required skills as things a covid tester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- collect biological samples from patients
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- hygiene in a health care setting
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A phlebotomist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a covid tester background worth leading with.
- already held collect biological samples from patients handling and moving
- already held infection control health and welfare
- already held sterilization techniques health and welfare
- already held medical informatics health and welfare
- already held hygiene in a health care setting services
- already held medical terminology health and welfare
All 11 carried skills, including the 10 the phlebotomist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn blood donation required
- still to learn techniques of blood-sampling required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- still to learn human physiology required
- optional, not held blood product storage conditions optional
- optional, not held blood collection on babies optional
- optional, not held blood type classification optional
- optional, not held paediatric phlebotomy procedures optional
- optional, not held blood transfusion optional
- still to learn perform venepuncture procedures required
- still to learn respond to healthcare users' extreme emotions required
- still to learn manage infection control in the facility required
- optional, not held assist patients with special needs optional
- optional, not held perform reconstructive microsurgery optional
- still to learn label blood samples required
- still to learn label medical laboratory samples required
- still to learn transport blood samples required
- still to learn monitor basic patients signs required
- still to learn maintain professional records required
- optional, not held conduct cancer screening tests optional
- optional, not held conduct routine blood testing optional
- still to learn use venepuncture procedure equipment required
- still to learn use technical equipment for sterilisation required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- optional, not held explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a phlebotomist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 blood donation study this
- 02 label blood samples practise this
- 03 label medical laboratory samples practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held collect biological samples from patients skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held infection control knowledge
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held sterilization techniques knowledge
- already held medical terminology knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held blood product storage conditions optional
- optional, not held assist patients with special needs optional
- optional, not held blood collection on babies optional
- optional, not held blood type classification optional
- optional, not held conduct cancer screening tests optional
- optional, not held conduct routine blood testing optional
- optional, not held explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients optional
- optional, not held paediatric phlebotomy procedures optional
- optional, not held perform reconstructive microsurgery optional
- optional, not held blood transfusion optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
17 held skills the phlebotomist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety regulations in dealing with infectious diseases skill
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role health records management knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement data quality processes skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role label samples skill
- not needed by the target role maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role nursing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform PCR covid test skill
- not needed by the target role preserve samples skill
- not needed by the target role prevent communicable diseases' outbreaks skill
- not needed by the target role use electronic health records management system skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn blood donation required
- still to learn techniques of blood-sampling required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- still to learn human physiology required
- optional, not held blood product storage conditions optional
- optional, not held blood collection on babies optional
- optional, not held blood type classification optional
- optional, not held paediatric phlebotomy procedures optional
- optional, not held blood transfusion optional
Common questions about this move
Can a covid tester become a phlebotomist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A covid tester already covers 35% of what a phlebotomist is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 10 of which the phlebotomist role treats as required.
What skills does a covid tester need to become a phlebotomist?
15 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is blood donation.
How hard is the move from covid tester to phlebotomist?
Its learning distance is 69.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.