Which of the following pieces of personal protective equipment should a phlebotomist wear to adhere to universal precautions in anticipation of body fluid splashes?

Choice A reason:
The laboratory accession number is a unique identifier assigned to a patient's specimen once it is received by the laboratory. While it is an important piece of information, it is not provided by the physician's office to the phlebotomist for specimen collection. Instead, it is generated by the laboratory after the specimen is collected and submitted for analysis.

Choice B reason:
The Physician's NPI (National Provider Identifier) number is a unique identification number for covered health care providers in the United States. While it is used for billing and identification purposes, it is not the information that the physician's office needs to provide to a phlebotomist for the purpose of specimen collection.

Choice C reason:
The laboratory requisition form is the correct document that should be provided by the physician's office. This form contains the patient's demographic information, the tests ordered by the physician, special instructions for specimen collection, and any other pertinent information required for proper specimen handling and testing.

Choice D reason:
The physician's encounter form typically contains details of the patient's visit, including services provided, diagnoses, and billing information. It is not specifically used for laboratory specimen collection and therefore is not the information that should be provided to a phlebotomist for this purpose.

Choice A Reason:
SST, or Serum Separator Tube, contains a gel at the bottom to separate the blood from the serum upon centrifugation. It does not indicate plasma; rather, it is used to collect serum after the blood has clotted. The SST allows for the blood to clot and the serum to be separated for various tests that require serum instead of plasma.

Choice B Reason:
Sodium fluoride is a common additive in collection tubes that serves as a glycolysis inhibitor. It preserves glucose levels and is not specifically indicative of serum. However, it is often used in grey-top tubes, which are typically used for glucose testing and may contain plasma, not serum.

Choice C Reason:
Sodium citrate is an anticoagulant that binds calcium in the blood, preventing clotting. Tubes with sodium citrate are used to collect plasma for coagulation studies, not serum. Therefore, this statement is incorrect as sodium citrate indicates plasma, not serum.

Choice D Reason:
EDTA, or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, is an anticoagulant that binds calcium ions, preventing blood from clotting. Tubes with EDTA are used for collecting plasma because they prevent clotting and allow for the separation of plasma from the blood cells upon centrifugation. This is the correct choice as EDTA indicates plasma.