Blood Cultures
Overview
Sepsis due to bacterial bloodstream infection is a medical emergency that requires prompt clinical intervention. Blood cultures can confirm the etiology of infection and help direct appropriate antimicrobial therapy. The utility of blood cultures is highly dependent on specimen collection. For this reason, medical institutions monitor several indicators of appropriate blood culture collection to ensure high-quality specimens are submitted to the diagnostic laboratory. This webinar will review proper blood culture collection techniques and demonstrate how specimen quality can impact patient care.
Presenter
Nick Streck, Ph.D.
Resident | Clinical Microbiology
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Describe the clinical importance of bloodstream infections.
- Define the criteria necessary to recover clinically significant pathogens.
- Recall collection approaches that help reduce blood culture contamination.
- Recognize the importance of the phlebotomist’s role in quality blood culture collection.
Intended audience
This series is appropriate for phlebotomists, phlebotomy managers, phlebotomy educators, and other patient care staff involved in specimen collection.
Credit
The following types of credit are offered for this event:
ASCLS P.A.C.E.®
Mayo Clinic Laboratories is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® program. This program has been approved for a maximum of 1.0 P.A.C.E.® contact hour.
State of Florida
Mayo Clinic Laboratories is approved as a Continuing Education Accrediting Agency for the Clinical Laboratory Sciences for the State of Florida. Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel has designated this program for General credit. This program has been approved for 1.0 contact hour.
To obtain credit
1. Watch the video.
2. Complete the posttest and evaluation that launches immediately following the video.
3. Generate and print your certificate(s).
Level of instruction for this program is intermediate.
Credit for this recording expires on: 11/15/25
Faculty disclosure
Course director(s), planning committee, faculty, and all others who are in a position to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest related to the subject matter of the educational activity. Safeguards against commercial bias have been put in place. Faculty members also will disclose any off-label and/or investigational use of pharmaceuticals or instruments discussed in their presentations. Disclosure of this information will be published in course materials so those participants in the activity may formulate their own judgments regarding the presentations.
Questions
Contact us: mcleducation@mayo.edu
