Blood Culture & Capillary Order of Draw: Edge Cases
Chapters
- Two Times the Rules Bend
- Why Cultures Go First
- Which Bottle First
- Volume and Short Draws
- Cultures With Other Tubes
- Capillary Collections: The Order Flips
- Why E D T A Goes First on a Finger Stick
- Side by Side
- Practice Questions
- Recap
Audio from the Open Exam Hub video of the same name; the video shows the numbers and practice questions on screen.
Free phlebotomy cheat sheet
The two order-of-draw situations that trip people up: blood cultures (always first, aerobic vs anaerobic bottle order with a butterfly set or a syringe, common adult volumes and short-draw rules) and capillary collections (EDTA first, other additive tubes next, serum last, per CLSI H4-A6 as cited by BD, and the usual platelet reason). Includes how the NHA CPT test plan covers them (tasks 4A, 3O and 3P; special collections 12 of 100 items), a side-by-side comparison and 5 original practice questions. Hospital protocols differ; follow your facility. Facts as of October 2026; independent, not affiliated with NHA, NCCT, CLSI or BD.
Phlebotomy cheat sheet
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Chapters
0:00 Two Times the Rules Bend
1:14 Why Cultures Go First
2:05 Which Bottle First
3:00 Volume and Short Draws
3:50 Cultures With Other Tubes
4:34 Capillary Collections: The Order Flips
5:26 Why E D T A Goes First on a Finger Stick
6:14 Side by Side
6:46 Practice Questions
8:44 Recap
Exam facts are from the official CLSI, BD and NHA pages as of 2026-10-27. Fees and rules can change, so confirm on the official site before you enroll. Open Exam Hub is an independent study resource, not affiliated with CLSI, BD, NHA or NCCT. Practice questions are not from a real exam. Narration is an AI-generated voice.
Music
"Reminiscing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Friday Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Carefree" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sound effects: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0.
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