Phlebotomy is a popular medical term used to denote the expert act of extracting blood sample by using fine needles from the veins of patients and collecting the sample in sample bottles for various medical purposes. The major purposes of phlebotomy include medical diagnosis purposes, blood transfusion purposes, blood donation purposes etc. A person professionally trained in phlebotomy is called a Phlebotomist or a Phlebotomy Technician.

Career aspirants must have a relevant diploma in phlebotomy to begin a career as a phlebotomist. After passing senior secondary education, candidates can join for a professional phlebotomy programme offered by various technical institutes to get trained as a phlebotomist.

Phlebotomy is a short term diploma level medical course and duration of the course ranges from four months to one year. Course curriculum is specially designed for training the candidates on various aspects associated with the process of phlebotomy such as blood extraction techniques, lab safety policies and procedures, documentation methods, report generation, patient case history management etc. Since prospective employers prefer Certified Phlebotomists, career aspirants are required to have a relevant certification from the authorized health agencies, after completing the course in phlebotomy.

Career as a phlebotomist is an allied health care profession and therefore trained phlebotomists are in great demand in health care industry which includes multispecialty hospitals, blood banks, government hospitals, clinical laboratories, nursing homes, diagnosis centres, health centres, pharmaceutical firms, government health agencies, research organizations etc. They are responsible for various medical tasks such as blood sample collection, blood testing, and monitoring blood flow during blood donation and blood transfusion processes. They are also responsible for conducting mobile blood donation camps and mobile blood tests.

A phlebotomist starts his professional career as a phlebotomy technician. After gaining sufficient professional experience, his career progresses to the level of a phlebotomy supervisor. Finally he may become phlebotomy lab in charge if he is competitive enough.