Procedural Skills for Medical Students
Blood Cultures
Objectives:
1. Learners should be able to list the indications for
obtaining blood cultures.
2. Learners should be able to demonstrate collection
of blood cultures using sterile technique.
3. Learners should be able to verbalize the effects to
the patient and the healthcare system of a
contaminated blood culture result.
Material to review prior to lab: Article “Doing it Right the First Time: Quality Improvement and
the Contaminant Blood Culture”
Indications:
1. Fever and unexplained alterations in mental status, functional status, or autonomic
status in a previously healthy patient
2. Fever of unknown origin
3. Patient with septic appearance
Contraindications:
1. Do not draw blood through site of infection; otherwise there are no specific
contraindications.
Equipment: IV trainers, blood culture bottles, persist skin prep
Instructional Procedure & Endpoints:
1. Learners will be oriented to trainer and equipment in ASTEC.
2. ASTEC staff will demonstrate instruction on proper sterile technique for blood culture
collection.
3. Learners will practice blood culture collection using sterile technique.
4. Learners will demonstrate to ASTEC staff, one event of blood culture collection using
sterile technique.
References:
O’Connell, T. (2011). Drawing blood cultures. In J.L. Pfenninger, & G.C. Fowler (Eds.),
Procedures for Primary Care, 3rd Ed (1484-1486). Philadelphia: Elsevier Mosby.
Weinbaum, F.I., Lavie, S., Danek, M., Sixsmith, D., Heinrich, G.F., & Mills, S.S. (1997). Doing it
right the first time: Quality improvement and the contaminant blood culture. Journal
of Clinical Microbiology, 35(3), 563-565. Retrieved online at:
http://www.biomerieuxusa.com/servlet/srt/bio/usa/dynPage?open=USA_PRD_LST&doc=USA_PRD_LST_G_
PRD_USA_2&pubparams.sform=2&lang=en
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