[Present situation of sampling by nurses].

Sampling specimens is one of the important routines for the nurse. Nurses in 19 divisions (floors) of Fukushima College Hospital were asked on their time-table of sampling, number of in- and out-patients and specimens collected and so on. Daily sampling was done on 26% of the inpatients and 12% of outpatients. Blood sampling was started as early as at 4:30 AM in the Division of Internal Medicines, at 5:00 AM in 8 and at 5:30 AM in 5 divisions. In NICU and Pediatrics, bleeding was done by pediatricians, starting at 7:00 and 7:50 AM respectively. The mean time from sampling to transportation was speculated to be 3-4 hours. More informations on preanalytical as well as analytical quality control will improve our recognition to better quality control.