Post by Rusty Wendt, DrPH, DCLS, CC(NRCC), AFADLM

I've mentioned "high-complexity laboratory director" a lot in recent posts and many often confuse that with "administrative laboratory director". While an administrative laboratory director, sometimes called a laboratory services director, is charged by a healthcare organization with the day-to-day operations of a clinical laboratory department, from CLIA's (i.e., the government's) perspective, this individual is not the "laboratory director". The lab's medical director, usually but not always a pathologist, is the true laboratory director. Instead, the administrative laboratory director is typically categorized as one of these roles according to CLIA: general supervisor, technical supervisor, and/or technical/clinical consultant. As the DCLS (Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science) degree gains more visibility and graduates of these programs express a desire to become a CLIA director over a high-complexity laboratory, it's important for members of the field to understand the distinction between "CLIA director" and "administrative director". That said, rural/community hospitals could benefit from combining these roles when hiring a DCLS with an appropriate board certification in a 2-for-1 deal. Potential employers need to be educated on this so they can know their options. Additionally, they need to understand that not just any DCLS qualifies to function in this capacity. Alongside an appropriate amount of management background and work experience in the specific areas being directed -- particularly if we're talking about a general laboratory -- a DCLS should also possess one of these HHS-approved doctoral-level board certifications currently open to them: -HCLD(ABB): High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director, American Board of Bioanalysis; -BCLD(ABB): Bioanalyst Clinical Laboratory Director, American Board of Bioanalysis; -PHLD(ABB): Public Health Laboratory Director, American Board of Bioanalysis; -CC(NRCC): Clinical Chemist, National Registry of Certified Chemists; -DMLI(ASCP): Diplomate in Medical Laboratory Immunology, American Society for Clinical Pathology; and -F(ACHI): Fellow, American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Feel free to chime in with questions or comments, or to message me if you'd like to discuss this in more detail. PS: I've seen some pathologists in high-ranking positions viewing my profile lately (yes, I check). I am NOT your enemy and welcome any dialogue with any one of you, any time. Please connect with me!