Clinical laboratory manager vs nursing director

The differences between clinical laboratory managers and nursing directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a clinical laboratory manager and a nursing director. Additionally, a nursing director has an average salary of $87,643, which is higher than the $79,359 average annual salary of a clinical laboratory manager.

The top three skills for a clinical laboratory manager include CLIA, patients and test results. The most important skills for a nursing director are patients, term care, and home health.

Clinical laboratory manager vs nursing director overview

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Nursing Director
Yearly salary	$79,359	$87,643
Hourly rate	$38.15	$42.14
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	96,325	76,956
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	6	6

What does a clinical laboratory manager do?

A clinical laboratory manager supervises the work of laboratory technicians and scientists. Clinical laboratory managers develop safety policies of laboratories in line with the international accreditation standards. They oversee administrative and budgetary responsibilities. It is their responsibility to purchase laboratory supplies or prepare ordering lists. They ensure that the employees follow the standards and regulations set by the industry. The managers need to develop include knowledge in solving technical problems, time management, and maintain technical equipment.

What does a nursing director do?

A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.

Clinical laboratory manager vs nursing director salary

Clinical laboratory managers and nursing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Nursing Director
Average salary	$79,359	$87,643
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $114,000	Between $64,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Agilent Technologies	Oculus
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between clinical laboratory manager and nursing director education

There are a few differences between a clinical laboratory manager and a nursing director in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Nursing Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Clinical laboratory manager vs nursing director demographics

Here are the differences between clinical laboratory managers' and nursing directors' demographics:

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Nursing Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5%	Male, 11.6% Female, 88.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between clinical laboratory manager and nursing director duties and responsibilities

Clinical laboratory manager example responsibilities.

Lead and guide in developing quality improvement programs to continue delivering high quality services to physician and patients.
Set up forensic DNA laboratory, train laboratory technicians in advance molecular techniques, and manage day-to-day activities of forensic DNA laboratory
Maintain LIS software updates for CPT procedure codes and ICD-9 coding.
Integrate an LIS system into the laboratory environment.
Facilitate testing of clinical trial samples in the CLIA lab for test waiting FDA clearance.
Set up auto-calculations for calculate results) and a patient means program as an additional QC.

Nursing director example responsibilities.

Manage FTE'S of the units.
Manage FTE numbers by following staffing grids.
Lead in the implementation of whole house telemetry.
Manage and provide inpatient nursing care for all aspects of general surgery.
Manage and coordinate all aspects of nursing and ancillary services for successful operation of the SNF.
Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.

Clinical laboratory manager vs nursing director skills

Common clinical laboratory manager skills

CLIA, 10%
Patients, 9%
Test Results, 8%
Hematology, 7%
Microbiology, 7%
Customer Service, 6%

Common nursing director skills

Patients, 16%
Term Care, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Infection Control, 5%

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Clinical Laboratory Manager
Clinical Laboratory Manager vs Nursing Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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