Demonstrate the collection, handling, and processing of laboratory procedures.

Demonstration should include

• blood smears
• blood culture
• blood samples for inborn errors of metabolism (e.g., phenylketonuria (PKU), galactosemia)
• quality control for Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA)-waived procedures.
• specimens based on handling requirements (e.g., temperature, light, time)
• explaining nonblood specimen collection procedures to patients (e.g., stool, urine, semen, throat swab, sputum)
• handling patient-collected, nonblood specimens
• avoiding pre-analytical errors when collecting blood specimens (e.g., quantity not sufficient (QNS), hemolysis)
• adhering to chain-of-custody guidelines when required (e.g., forensic studies, blood alcohol, drug screen)
• preparing samples for transportation to a reference (i.e., outside) laboratory.
• using technology to input and retrieve specimen data
• reporting critical values to point-of-care testing (e.g., finger stick, blood glucose)
• distributing laboratory results to ordering providers.

Process/Skill Questions:

• Where is the best place to perform a finger stick for a capillary collection?
• Why is there a time limit?
• What is the rationale for inverting the blood collection tubes after blood draws?