Pathology or Blood Tests

General

Pathology or Blood tests:

• are performed by a Registered Nurse
• generally take about 15 minutes to complete
• may be conducted in a medical clinic, or at the applicant's home or workplace depending on location and availability of qualified Pathrec personnel
• are generally conducted in the morning after fasting for a period of 8 - 12 hours.

Procedure

Blood tests required may include:

• HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
• MBA 20 (fasting) - Multi Biochemical Analysis 20
• Hep B & C - Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
• FBE/FBC - Full Blood Examination or Full Blood Count
• Trigs (fasting) - Triglycerides
• Lipids (fasting) - HDL/LDL (High Density Lipoprotein/Low Density Lipoprotein) and Cholesterol/Triglycerides
• Glucose (fasting) - FBG/FBS (Fasting Blood Glucose or Fasting Blood Sugar)
• Iron Studies - TIBC & Ferritin
• PSA - Prostate Specific Antigen
• HBA1C - Glycosylated Haemoglobin A1C
• MSU - Mid Stream Urine
• LFT - Liver Function Test
• RFT - Renal (Kidney) Function Test
• U & E Cr - Urea, Electrolytes & Creatinine (also known as RFT).

Refer to our Technical information for Pathology Advisors for further details on Pathology, types of tests and their use and our collection protocol. This information is an excerpt from our Accredited Training Manual and contains useful information for both advisors and applicants.

Preparation

Not all tests require fasting, so applicants will be informed when making the appointment if they need to fast. Applicants will also be asked if they have any pre-existing conditions that may require special care or attention.

When fasting, it is important to drink plenty of tap or bottled water (not coffee, juice or carbonated fluids). Applicants need to keep warm and hydrated prior to any tests. This is very important to ensure that veins are generous and easy to find by the Pathrec nurse.