Top 12 Phlebotomist Skills to Put on Your Resume

Crafting a standout resume as a phlebotomist means showing a tight mix of technical know‑how and people skills: flawless blood collection, sharp attention to safety, and a calm, reassuring presence. Put those strengths front and center and your application lands with force in a busy healthcare stack.

Phlebotomist Skills

1. Venipuncture
2. Capillary Collection
3. Patient Comfort
4. Specimen Handling
5. Data Entry
6. HIPAA Compliance
7. EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner)
8. Centrifugation
9. Labeling Accuracy
10. Infection Control
11. Quality Assurance
12. CPR Certification

1. Venipuncture

Venipuncture is the process of entering a vein with a needle to draw blood for testing, treatment, or donation.

Why It's Important

It’s the backbone of the job. Reliable blood collection drives accurate diagnostics, timely treatment decisions, and safe care.

How to Improve Venipuncture Skills

Better sticks come from steady habits and clear technique.

1. Prep the patient: Explain what you’ll do, confirm allergies, position comfortably, and encourage steady breathing.
2. Choose equipment wisely: Match needle and tube type to vein size, patient age, and ordered tests. Safety devices only.
3. Find the right vein: Palpate, don’t just look. Prioritize median cubital when suitable; have backup sites in mind.
4. Tourniquet timing: Snug, not painful. On for the minimum time needed to avoid hemoconcentration.
5. Clean insertion: Anchor, 15–30° angle, smooth entry, minimal redirection. Release tourniquet promptly once flow starts.
6. Order of draw: Follow your facility’s protocol to prevent additive carryover.
7. Practice and review: Seek coaching, track success rates, reflect on tough draws, and refine method.

Consistency, calm hands, and disciplined steps—these pay off.

How to Display Venipuncture Skills on Your Resume

2. Capillary Collection

Capillary collection uses a lancet to obtain a small blood sample from the fingertip (or heel in infants) when only a small volume is needed or venous access is tricky.

Why It's Important

It’s quick, minimally invasive, and ideal for pediatrics, frequent monitoring, and patients with difficult veins.

How to Improve Capillary Collection Skills

1. Warm the site: Increase circulation with a warm compress; it makes collection smoother.
2. Pick the right spot: Lateral sides of the ring or middle finger for adults; heel for infants per policy.
3. Use proper lancet depth: Age- and test-appropriate to avoid injury and get adequate flow.
4. Clean and dry: Antiseptic first, let dry fully to prevent hemolysis or stinging.
5. Puncture orientation: Across fingerprint lines to improve flow; wipe away the first drop if protocol requires.
6. Gentle collection: Avoid “milking” the finger—excess pressure can hemolyze the specimen.
7. Close and cover: Apply pressure, then bandage. Dispose of sharps immediately.

How to Display Capillary Collection Skills on Your Resume

3. Patient Comfort

Patient comfort is the art of keeping people at ease—less pain, lower anxiety, clear communication—throughout the draw.

Why It's Important

Calm patients move less, trust more, and return when they need to. You get cleaner draws and fewer complications.

How to Improve Patient Comfort Skills

1. Talk them through it: Simple language, no surprises, space for questions.
2. Protect privacy: Clean, organized, and as private as the setting allows.
3. Match needle to need: Size, site, and technique that minimize discomfort.
4. Distract and engage: Conversation, breathing cues, or a quick focal point for the needle shy.
5. Empathy on display: Acknowledge fear; reassure without overpromising.

How to Display Patient Comfort Skills on Your Resume

4. Specimen Handling

Specimen handling covers correct collection, labeling, storage, and transport to preserve sample integrity.

Why It's Important

Good handling guards against contamination, degradation, and mix-ups—so results reflect reality.

How to Improve Specimen Handling Skills

1. Positive patient ID: Use two identifiers. Every time. No shortcuts.
2. Label at bedside: In the patient’s presence, right after collection.
3. Respect the order of draw: Prevent additive carryover and skewed results.
4. Right tube, right test: Confirm additives, fill volume, and inversion counts per protocol.
5. Temperature and timing: Chill, protect from light, or expedite transport as required by the test.
6. Prevent hemolysis: Proper needle size, minimal tourniquet time, gentle inversions—not shaking.
7. Document cleanly: Record collection time, site, and any issues that may affect results.

How to Display Specimen Handling Skills on Your Resume

5. Data Entry

Data entry means accurately recording patient identifiers, orders, collection details, and results into digital systems.

Why It's Important

Accurate data prevents mislabels, delays, and diagnostic errors. It’s the paper trail—without the paper.

How to Improve Data Entry Skills

1. Lean on scanning: Use wristband and tube barcodes to cut typos and speed verification.
2. Standardize: Templates, smart phrases, and picklists for common orders and notes.
3. Double-check critical fields: Birthdate, MRN, test codes—verify before submitting.
4. Audit and adjust: Spot recurring errors, refine workflows, share fixes across the team.
5. Practice downtime procedures: Know exactly how to capture data when systems go dark, and how to reconcile afterward.
6. Keep training fresh: Short refreshers after updates or when error patterns creep in.

How to Display Data Entry Skills on Your Resume

6. HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA compliance means protecting patient privacy and securing health information during collection, handling, and documentation.

Why It's Important

Trust, safety, and the law converge here. Breaches harm patients and invite penalties.

How to Improve HIPAA Compliance Skills

1. Know the rules: Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and the “minimum necessary” standard—apply them daily.
2. Secure the data: Lock screens, strong passwords, role-based access, clean desks, and closed doors.
3. Watch your voice: No PHI in public spaces. Verify who’s listening before you speak.
4. Control sharing: Disclose only what’s needed, only to those authorized.
5. Handle records carefully: Store, transmit, and dispose of PHI per policy. Shred bins, not trash cans.
6. Report fast: If a breach or near miss occurs, follow your facility’s notification protocol immediately.
7. Refresh training: Short, frequent updates keep rules top of mind—especially after policy changes.

How to Display HIPAA Compliance Skills on Your Resume

7. EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner)

EHR platforms house orders, results, and patient histories. Phlebotomists use them to confirm identity, receive and process lab orders, document collections, and track specimens.

Why It's Important

Quick access to accurate information means fewer errors, tighter coordination, and safer care.

How to Improve EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner) Skills

1. Master core workflows: Order review, label printing/reprinting, collection documentation, error correction.
2. Use shortcuts: Favorites, smart phrases, order sets, and preference lists trim clicks and reduce mistakes.
3. Scan everything: Wristbands and tubes—barcodes first, typing second.
4. Stay mobile if available: Tablet or handheld charting at bedside reduces transcription gaps.
5. Know downtime playbooks: Paper processes, specimen tracking, and post-downtime reconciliation.
6. Practice privacy in the system: Role-based access only; log out or lock when stepping away.

How to Display EHR Software (e.g., Epic, Cerner) Skills on Your Resume

8. Centrifugation

Centrifugation spins blood to separate components (serum, plasma, cells) for analysis.

Why It's Important

Proper separation preserves analyte stability and helps labs deliver accurate results.

How to Improve Centrifugation Skills

1. Balance every run: Equal mass opposite sides; use a matched dummy tube if needed.
2. Right settings: Follow protocol for g‑force and time by tube and test type—no guessing.
3. Let it clot when needed: For serum tubes, allow full clotting before spin to avoid fibrin strands.
4. Protect the sample: Cap tubes, avoid abrupt stops, and handle gently post‑spin to maintain layers.
5. Maintain the machine: Clean rotors, inspect lids and buckets, document maintenance, and remove cracked tubes immediately.

How to Display Centrifugation Skills on Your Resume

9. Labeling Accuracy

Labeling accuracy means the specimen you hold unquestionably belongs to the patient you drew—every time.

Why It's Important

One mislabel can derail care. Correct labels protect patients and the team.

How to Improve Labeling Accuracy Skills

1. Verify with two identifiers: Name and DOB (or MRN) against the wristband and the order.
2. Label in the moment: At bedside, immediately after collection, with the patient present.
3. Use barcodes: Scan wristbands and tubes to sync identity and orders.
4. Standardize content: Ensure all required fields—identifiers, date/time, collector initials—are present and legible.
5. Tame look‑alikes: Separate patients with similar names and flag high‑risk mixes.
6. Audit and coach: Spot trends, retrain quickly, and celebrate zero‑defect stretches.

How to Display Labeling Accuracy Skills on Your Resume

10. Infection Control

Infection control means stopping pathogens in their tracks: clean hands, clean sites, safe devices, safe disposal.

Why It's Important

It protects patients and staff from bloodborne and other infectious hazards.

How to Improve Infection Control Skills

1. Hand hygiene without fail: Before and after each patient. Soap and water or alcohol rub per policy.
2. Right PPE for the task: Gloves at minimum; add masks/eye protection when splash risk is real.
3. Skin antisepsis: Use the approved agent and let it dry fully before puncture.
4. Sharps safety: Safety‑engineered devices, no recapping, immediate disposal in sharps containers.
5. Aseptic technique: Don’t touch the cleansed site; keep supplies sterile until use.
6. Stay current: Refresh training, monitor compliance, and adapt to updated protocols.

How to Display Infection Control Skills on Your Resume

11. Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance ensures each step—from order to draw to delivery—meets defined standards and produces dependable results.

Why It's Important

QA reduces errors, strengthens safety, and keeps results trustworthy.

How to Improve Quality Assurance Skills

1. Follow the playbook: Adhere to current SOPs for collection, labeling, transport, and documentation.
2. Competency checks: Participate in regular assessments, drills, and skill validations.
3. Use reliable supplies: Check lot numbers, expirations, and packaging integrity before use.
4. Measure and improve: Track hemolysis rates, recollects, labeling errors—then address root causes.
5. Report near misses: Surface problems early, learn quickly, and close the loop with corrective actions.
6. Communicate clearly: Confirm orders, clarify ambiguities, and flag critical issues immediately.

How to Display Quality Assurance Skills on Your Resume

12. CPR Certification

CPR certification verifies you can respond to cardiac and respiratory emergencies with evidence‑based skills.

Why It's Important

Emergencies are rare during draws—but they happen. Being ready matters.

How to Improve CPR Certification Skills

1. Renew on time: Keep credentials current and aligned with the latest guidelines.
2. Prioritize hands‑on practice: High‑quality compressions, correct depth and rate, minimal interruptions.
3. Use feedback devices: Manikins or tools that coach your compression quality sharpen performance.
4. Run scenarios: Team‑based drills build confidence under pressure.
5. Know your site’s code process: Activation steps, equipment locations, and your role.

How to Display CPR Certification Skills on Your Resume