Later this month, the Phlebotomy Channel will host the world premiere of Basic Venipuncture, the 3rd edition of the industry's best selling phlebotomy training video.

The process started 18 months ago when I started looking for a production company. One after another came to our offices and did their tap dance. One after another tripped over their own feet. It took six months, but I finally turned to our local NBC affiliate and found they had a department that did outside production. They turned out to be the best production crew I could have ever hoped for.  

When you're filming a medical training video for a procedure as highly technical and detailed as a venipuncture, the tiniest details have to be perfect in every regard. Not only am I a perfectionist when it comes to training materials, our customers (that would be you) demand perfection and know what it looks like. So it's no wonder there were seven sessions filming five actual venipunctures, 15 script revisions, 12 rounds of post-production edits, eight actors and hundreds of hours of preparation, execution, direction, and reviewing footage. And we're not done yet.

The only thing that stands in the way of this project and you being able to use it where you work and teach are closed captions and DVD creation. I say "only" because the work remaining pales in comparison to what it's taken to get this far. The good news for you is that in a matter of weeks, we'll be uploading the streaming version to the Phlebotomy Channel for your teaching and learning enjoyment. The DVDs will take a bit longer to produce; we anticipate an October release for that.

I think you're really going to like this revision, mostly because it's entirely new. The easy road for us would have been to simply update the content from the second edition that was impacted by the revised CLSI venipuncture standard published last year. Truth be told, only three minutes of the 32-minute video needed to be updated. But you know us well enough by now we don't cheap out when it comes to creating our educational materials. Besides, I know many of you have been using Basic Venipuncture since it first came out in 2004. You've seen the same images, watched the same animation, and heard the same narrator read the same lines hundreds of times as you show it to class after class, student after student, and new employee after new employee. You need something entirely new and fresh. We're not about regrinding hash and pawning it off to you as a new dish every time you enter our "restaurant,' we're about creating a new culinary feast with fresh ingredients. That's what you want; that's what you deserve; that's what you're getting.

I am especially grateful to Alan Elliott, the laboratory administrator at Baptist Floyd Health in New Albany, Indiana for making his facility available for all five filming sessions. Alan and his staff were exceptionally accommodating throughout the four months of filming. Not only that, but we were able to talk him into putting on a hospital gown and playing patient. It's the only time you'll ever see Alan Elliott laying down on the job.

There are hundreds of changes in the revised venipuncture standard issued last year. This is the only video that reflects the current version, the version to which you and your staff and students will be held accountable. Basic Venipuncture has been the gold standard in phlebotomy training videos for 14 years, and has been shown in thousands of healthcare facilities and academic programs worldwide. This will be the first video in our Applied Phlebotomy series filmed in high definition. That means with this revision the gold standard shines like never before.

We can't wait for you to see it. I will announce its availability in a couple weeks. If you don't already subscribe to the Phlebotomy Channel, you can wait until October for the DVD. But if you're an early adopter and have to have the latest and greatest when it hits the street, subscribe now and you, too, can be part of this month's world premiere. 

Personally, I've never been an early adopter. I always wait to see what the market thinks of a new product before I invest. That's why I've never bought a Pet Rock, laser disc or frozen entrees from Colgate. On the other hand, I was also slow on the uptake when cell phones and Blackberrys first came out. I'm getting better, though. I just updated my windows operating system from having to slide the pane up to opening it with a crank handle.

Respectfully,

Dennis J. Ernst, editor
[email protected]