Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort and Anxiety

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.Nobody particularly enjoys having blood drawn or providing a urine or stool sample, but a laboratory test conducted on a sample collected from your body can give your health care provider important information that can help improve or maintain your health. A health care practitioner uses lab tests for a variety of reasons, including screening for and diagnosing conditions and to guide treatment and determine prognosis.
Sometimes, undergoing an unfamiliar medical procedure can turn out to be a tense, upsetting, or even frightening experience. If undergoing medical tests makes you or someone you care for anxious, embarrassed, or fearful, read this article for some general tips on how to make the sample collection experience less stressful.
General Tips
View Sources
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Interviews (professional titles and positions are listed as they were at the time of the interviews)
Rebecca Elon, MD, MPH, Medical Director of North Arundel Senior Care, Severna Park, Maryland.
Joy Goldberger, MS, CCLS, Education Coordinator, Child Life Department, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
Saralynn Pruett, MT (ASCP), Phlebotomy Supervisor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota.
Karen Szafran, CPNP, nurse practitioner, pediatric practice, Alexandria, Virginia.
Myra Daly, PT (ASCP), Phlebotomy Supervisor, Northwest Community Healthcare, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Joan Kosiek, MT(ASCP)SH, point-of-care consultant, Northwest Community Healthcare, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Richard Flaherty, Executive Vice-President, American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Washington, District of Columbia.