Survival Kit of Phlebotomy Training opens in Milledgeville

Published 9:33 am Monday, May 9, 2022

A graduate of Baldwin High School in 1994, Doris Tuft has spent more than 25 years working in the phlebotomy field. Her journey into the world of phlebotomy started when Tuft was inside the emergency room with her sick mother. At the hospital, Tuft noticed a nurse with a tray and inquired about what she was doing. Phlebotomy was the response she received. 

That interaction sparked something in Tuft, which she wound up pursuing as a career. Her career began at Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins, and phlebotomy. 

“I just started liking it. It was hard, it never was easy, but I started liking what I do and learning about the blood capacity, the order to draw, learning the veins, those types of things,” Tuft said. “Once I started doing that, I really started liking it, and I’ve been in it ever since.”

Tuft has worked at several offices throughout her career, which has taken her all over the state. While working and training new employees in the world of phlebotomy at The HOPE Center in Macon, she decided that she wanted to do more with the training aspect. So Tuft furthered her education at National Phlebotomy Solutions, becoming a certified phlebotomy instructor. 

After getting certified, she opened her own business, Survival Kit of Phlebotomy Training. She said she opened the school to show the community that phlebotomists (or clinical laboratory assistants) do more than just stick and draw blood. The school aims to help her do more with the training aspect and get more in-depth. 

Survival Kit of Phlebotomy Training originally began as an online business in 2021, with Tuft teaching a few students. She eventually was instructed by the state of Georgia to get a building and decided if she was going to open a physical location, it would have to be in her hometown of Milledgeville. 

“I wanted to make a difference in the community and bring something new here,” Tuft said. 

She opened her business at 511 N. Cobb St. in Milledgeville. The school officially opened its doors in February. The school trains students to become phlebotomists through a six-week training program. While Tuft does teach out of textbooks and uses videos, since Survival Kit of Phlebotomy Training has a lab available, she also offers hands-on training as part of the program to give students a little better experience. 

“I give a little teaching, a little hands-on. We do tests/quizzes on what they learn. Then we also discuss, we have a little classroom discussion,” she explained.

There are two payment plan options available for the training program — paid in full upfront or paid in three installments. 

So far, having the business has been both exciting and rewarding for Tuft, and it has given her the chance to pursue her passion. Being able to own and teach at Survival Kit of Phlebotomy Training is something that Tuft described as very humbling as well as something that she never thought she’d be able to do. “It’s just very rewarding to me, to be able to give back,” she remarks “What was given to me, I can give it back to other people in different ways with teaching.”

She’s grateful for the wonderful support system that she has had along the way. This support has come from her high school sweetheart and husband of 25 years, her sons, stepdaughter, daughter-in-law and five grandchildren.

Tuft, who also called herself very much a people person, has a clear idea of what she enjoys most about running the school. 

“Being able to be myself and teach what’s in my heart,” she revealed. 

Though she enjoys the work that she does and is very passionate about the world of phlebotomy even after nearly 27 years in the field, being able to train her students plays a huge part in keeping Tuft going. 

“What keeps me going is that I know that I’m training students to save a life. When you’re a phlebotomist, you’re helping the doctors one on one, you’re drawing the blood, the orders are what they ask of us to do. Then they can find out what’s going on with the patient, whether they’re sick or just having a routine annual,” Tuft said. “Doing that is special. I’m training my students to step into the place where I was and letting them know the importance of being a phlebotomist and what it consists of.”