| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Allied Health |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Lab Manager |
| Direct reports | Senior Lab Technician, Lab Technician, Phlebotomist |
| Experience | 5 to 8 years as a lab technician, with 2 years as senior technician or shift in-charge |
Lab Supervisor job description template
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Job title: Lab Supervisor
Department: Allied Health
Reports to: Lab Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Lab Supervisor runs a laboratory shift or section, such as biochemistry, haematology or microbiology. They allocate benches, check that quality control passes before patient results go out, review abnormal and critical results, solve analyser problems and keep technicians working to SOPs. The supervisor links the bench and the lab manager, and decides when a sample must be recollected or a run repeated.
Key responsibilities
- Allocate technicians to benches and analysers at the start of each shift according to the expected sample load.
- Review internal QC against Westgard rules before patient samples run, and hold reporting on any failed run.
- Check abnormal and critical results, order repeats or dilutions, and confirm critical values are phoned to doctors and logged.
- Decide on recollection of haemolysed, clotted, mislabelled or short samples, and inform the collection team the same shift.
- Troubleshoot analyser errors, run calibrations, and log breakdowns for the service engineer with the error codes.
- Verify results entered in the LIS by technicians and authorize release for tests within the supervisor's scope.
- Maintain daily records such as temperature charts, reagent lot changes, maintenance logs and handover notes.
- Train new technicians on SOPs and observe their bench work for competency sign-off.
- Clear pending samples, delayed reports and staff shortfalls during the shift, escalating to the lab manager when needed.
- Take part in internal audits and close non-conformities raised for the section.
Requirements
- BSc or MSc in Medical Laboratory Technology
- DMLT with long bench experience is accepted in smaller labs
- ISO 15189 awareness or internal auditor training is an advantage
- 5 to 8 years as a lab technician, with 2 years as senior technician or shift in-charge
KRAs and KPIs for a Lab Supervisor
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| QC compliance | IQC run and reviewed before patient reporting on every run |
| Shift turnaround | Samples received in the shift reported within committed time in 95 percent of cases |
| Critical values | All critical values phoned and logged within 30 minutes of the result |
| Reporting errors | Reporting errors traced to the section below 0.05 percent of results each month |
| Daily records | Zero missing log entries found at internal audit |
| Shift handover | Handover notes completed and signed at the end of every shift |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Biochemistry and immunoassay analysers, Haematology cell counter, Laboratory information system (LIS), QC software and Levey-Jennings charts, Centrifuges and microscopes, Temperature data loggers.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Lab Manager, Quality Executive (Lab)
Interview questions for a Lab Supervisor
- Glucose QC breaks the 1-3s rule at 6 am with 300 samples waiting. What do you do?
- How do you decide whether a potassium of 6.8 needs a repeat or a fresh sample?
- What makes you reject a sample at the receiving bench?
- How would you place six technicians across biochemistry, haematology and serology during the morning peak?
- A technician keeps skipping the maintenance log. How do you correct it?
- Explain the difference between accuracy and precision with an example from your bench.
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What does a lab supervisor do?
A lab supervisor runs a lab shift or section. They allocate technicians to benches, check QC before results are released, review abnormal and critical results, decide on repeats and recollections, troubleshoot analysers, verify results in the LIS and keep daily records ready for audits.
What is the difference between a senior lab technician and a lab supervisor?
A senior lab technician is the most experienced person on the bench, running complex tests and guiding juniors. A lab supervisor runs the shift: allocating people, approving QC, authorizing results within their scope, handling escalations and answering to the lab manager for the section's output.
What qualifications are needed for a lab supervisor?
Employers look for a degree in medical laboratory technology, usually a BSc or MSc, and 5 to 8 years at the bench that include time as a senior technician. Smaller labs accept a DMLT with long experience. Knowledge of Westgard rules and ISO 15189 records is expected.