Swallowfield Chapel’s YRY’s phlebotomy programme, a transformative journey

Tristen Reid had suffered through being stuck with needles until her veins collapsed during a severe bout of anaemia. So bad was her condition that she spent six months in recovery overseas. It was there she realised that the act of giving blood was not always unpleasant and determined that she would become a phlebotomist and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Fast forward a few months later while working at a sales job, that a friend mentioned the phlebotomy course at Youth Reaching Youth. Now at the end of the programme she says “I’m glad that I did it. I do love the course”.

The sentiment was similar for Afiene Morgan and Orett Chang, neither of whom was sure exactly what they should be doing with their lives until they were introduced to phlebotomy. According to Chang, initially he was not particularly interested ‘until we did our first practical and I became very intrigued’.

Phlebotomy is the drawing of blood or bodily fluids from persons for the purposes of laboratory testing, to assist in the diagnosis of a patient’s condition. According to lecturer Mohni Mitchell, ‘it’s the first stage of assisting patients find out what is happening with them’. Ms. Mitchell who has been in the field of phlebotomy for over fourteen years recommends it for students seeking an alternative career path that doesn’t require years of expensive education. She too benefited from a programme when she shifted from pursuing business and stepped into phlebotomy. According to her ‘it helped push me to where I am now, even though my degree is something different and I’m proud to say it’s something that I love to do’.

MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE

Phlebotomy opens doors to a myriad of opportunities. Healthcare facilities rely on proficient phlebotomy technicians to efficiently collect and process blood specimens. It offers the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Every blood draw is a chance to comfort a nervous patient, contribute to life-saving medical research, or aid in diagnosing critical illnesses.

The course trains students in the skills in venipuncture, laboratory procedures, and patient care. Lecturer Mitchell says that in their practical sessions students are assessed based on ‘how they prepare their themselves for the venipuncture procedure; their order of draw; proper labelling of the sample, because that is vital in patient identification; whether it is a successful draw and finally, how professional they were’.

Having come to the end of the Youth Reaching Youth’ programme, Tristen is excited about her future in the field. ‘I would recommend it for multiple reasons one of them being that they offer the skill along with subjects. It’s something I’m really passionate about, that idea of knowing that I am helping someone find the right treatment so they can feel better’.

Youth Reaching Youth opens the doors for every individual to reshape their destiny with courses like phlebotomy. Affectionately referred to as YRY, it is an outreach programme of Swallowfield Chapel that started in 2001 with the vision of transforming communities and nations through empowered, Christ-centred youth leaders. The core components of the programme are: spiritual enrichment, character building, goal setting and other resiliency skills, training in the performing arts, community service, academic achievements to CSEC/CAPE levels and the opportunity for Christian youth to evangelise their peers throughout Jamaica and beyond!