A lab supervisor has managerial duties and responsibilities, including safety protocol, disciplinary action, and performance evaluation. They oversee the work of others and focus on human interaction, ensuring a positive work environment. They require significant experience and education, and often hold certifications from scientific organizations.
A lab supervisor works in an independent lab environment or part of a larger entity and performs tasks that allow the lab to function on a day-to-day basis. Unlike a laboratory technician, a laboratory supervisor has significant managerial duties and responsibilities. Topics such as safety protocol, disciplinary action, and performance evaluation are covered in the laboratory supervisor job description. In a hospital setting, for example, the lab supervisor plays a liaison role between the hospital administration and the lab staff, and you are often required to make decisions such as hiring and firing.
As a laboratory supervisor works on site, she is also expected to perform many of the same tasks as a technician. She usually must directly apply her technical knowledge and experience in the sciences on a daily basis. She will also oversee the work of others.
A significant portion of lab supervisor roles focus on human interaction. The laboratory supervisor should use his or her communication skills to ensure that management practices are being followed. The laboratory is a dynamic environment in which many employees with different personalities are trying to work towards a common goal, and it is the responsibility of the laboratory supervisor to ensure that all employees have this goal in mind and that they do not behave in a counterproductive manner. .
In cases where disciplinary action is required, the laboratory supervisor must be able to convey that action and the purpose behind it without unduly intimidating the worker. Being too harsh can cause resentment or hurt feelings or otherwise cause an unsatisfactory employer-employee relationship. Likewise, it is the duty of the laboratory supervisor to provide praise and encouragement when necessary to promote a positive work environment.
The laboratory supervisor’s salary is higher than the salary of a technician with less responsibilities, but significantly more experience and education is required for the position. Facilities with multiple departments, such as hospitals, may choose to promote laboratory supervisors from within to ensure they demonstrate the necessary competency for the job. In all cases, the lab supervisor knows enough about what goes on in the lab to monitor activities and provide specific feedback on the work habits of everyone she is responsible for supervising. This comes from a combination of real-world laboratory work experience and higher education and training in the specific sciences or sciences employed in the laboratory. The laboratory supervisor usually holds certifications from scientific organizations obtained for demonstrated competence, and these certifications enhance their qualifications to supervise.
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