Lida Hope: My name is Lida Hope. I am a project leader with JobForward and I’m here with Gabby Snook, who’s a previous apprentice of ours. So Gabby, what advice would you give to someone who’s considering an apprenticeship?
Gabby Snook: I would say be kind to yourself. You learn so many things in such a short period of time that you just get so overwhelmed and then the different sites have all their different quirks. So it’s easy to just, I don’t know, feel lost. Be nice to yourself. Take it one day at a time and one day it’s just going to click. You’re gonna be like, oh, I was stressing over nothing.
Lida: What is one word that describes the value of apprenticeship to you?
Gabby: Oh, this is going to be silly but valuable. Like, what JobForward does is so amazing. It just takes these people who are so like, and it just molds them into these confident, bold, strong folks who can tackle the world. I mean, speaking for myself, I was just this little nervous little waitress. You know, all I did was work food service and now I’m here running around like running around the hospital. And, I, if you told me three years ago what I would be doing now, I would not believe you. I’d be like, get out of here.
Lida: Here you are.
Gabby: Here I am.
Lida: You’ve done amazing. I love that. What does a typical day look like as an apprentice?
Gabby: So at first, it’s more school focused. You know, you’re learning the anatomy, phlebotomy, like the phlebotomy essentials, phlebotomy 101. And then as you progress, get your toes, toes wet, or dip your toes in the sand.
Lida: Okay, what does a typical day look like as an apprentice? So it starts off, you’re learning about phlebotomy essentials, you know, how to tie a tourniquet, how to palpate. And then as you progress, you start to visit the different sites, learn what their locations are like, how they run things. And yeah, eventually, you will have a four-week practicum at one site. So you’ll be fully immersed and you’ll slowly rotate and get to know everyone, get to know everything.
Lida: Awesome. How did you find out about the apprenticeship opportunity?
Gabby: A friend of a friend. And I said, why not? What’s the worst that can happen? And well, here I am.
Lida: You know, we actually don’t see friend of friend often. I feel like more often than not, it’s like an online place.
Gabby: Yeah.
Lida: That’s great. I really love that when it comes through a connection like that. What have been the most valuable skills and experiences you’ve gained during your apprenticeship?
Gabby: Setting boundaries, having a tough skin, knowing my limits and knowing, you know, when to push myself and when to hold myself back, which is really important when, you know, you’re not only are you worried about quality care, but you’re also dealing with patients who might be needle phobic or have had traumatic experiences. So having the soft skills necessary.
Lida: What changed once you started working with JobForward?
Gabby: My whole life changed for the better. I feel like, I don’t know, for once I could take a deep breath. I felt like I had purpose. I was like, oh, wait, I’m not just meandering throughout life. Like I have a direction so even if I don’t stick with phlebotomy, I know that like there are a lot of paths that have been opened that haven’t been.
Gabby: Yeah. So you’ve worked your way up in the organization. Can you tell us what you’re doing now?
Gabby: I’m a lead phlebotomist at inpatient in the hospital. So waking up at five in the morning, running around like a headless chicken, getting blood, making people get better.
Lida: It’s awesome.
Gabby: Yeah.
Lida: And what was the progression from where you started to where you are now? Like, what is that?
Gabby: So there’s a career ladder. So you start off as a phlebotomist one, and then it goes on through three and then lead, which is at the top. And the more skills you acquire, the more you progress throughout the ladder. So there’s lots of opportunities for growth.
Lida: Thank you, Gabby, so much for doing this interview with us and sharing your experience.
Gabby: Thank you for having me. This was wonderful.