Taylor Collins
June 7, 2017
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
Trained at Roane State, this Morgan County teen has landed a job she loves and is getting rave reviews for her performance.
Taylor Collins, 19, is a phlebotomist, a medical technician who draws blood for various lab tests and procedures.
She won her certifications in phlebotomy, IV-therapy, EKG screening and as a medical assistant from Roane State’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences in June 2016.
Collins, who lives on the family’s beef cattle farm in Oakdale, promptly started her job as a medical assistant at Roane County Family Practice, located on Tanner Way in Roane County’s Midtown community.
She interned there while completing her certification requirements at Roane State. “It was awesome,” she said. “I loved every minute of it,” she said of her Roane State training.
Outside school, sister Kristin Hobbs, also a phlebotomist educated at Roane State, helped her hone her skills, Collins said.
“My favorite instructor was Rebecca Buntrock,” she said of Roane State’s training. “She helped me explore all my options.”
“Drawing blood is simple to learn,” Collins said, “and if it’s done correctly, it’s painless.
Collins’ expertise as a phlebotomist was recently praised in an email from Roane State employee Kristi L. Beason, who receives her medical care at Roane County Family Practice.
“I must say she is one of the absolute best trained phlebotomists I’ve ever seen,” Beason wrote. “First stick, first time, every time. No bruising either!”
Beason said she was at first unaware that Collins had been trained at a Roane State campus.
“Roane State turns out some great employees, and this is a shining example of that,” Beason said.
Collins said the medical clinic “is a great place to work. It’s like a family.”
She said she eventually plans to return to Roane State to become a registered nurse, but for now, “I want to get experience with the job I have.”
Learn more about Roane State’s training in healthcare and safety and in other areas.
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