This course provides participants with an overview of the management of laboratory services across the public and private sector. The course will begin by considering the competitive, financial and policy pressures have led to the need for senior staff working in laboratories to acquire a range of management skills.The course will provide an overview of internal and external factors influencing health services management, and the management of laboratories; it will consider current theories, models and approaches to the management of organisations, teams and individuals in healthcare and in laboratories; it will help participants reflect on the role of the health services manager within the laboratory setting; and to consider the impetus for strategic management within the context of laboratory services, including change management. In the last part of the course, participants will consider key quality and safety improvement mechanisms, including accreditation requirements as prescribed by the ISO 15189 guidelines, process innovation and inter-professional teamwork. The course will build on participants’ current workplace experience and assist them in critically analysing current theories and applying them in practice.