Building the next generation of Practice Managers.
Practice managers are at the heart of general practice, but if you have never worked in the role, you might be surprised by just how much it involves. A practice manager helps to run what is, in effect, a complex healthcare organisation. They may be responsible for recruiting and managing staff, finances and budgets, contracts, patient services, complaints, premises, regulation, data, digital systems and making sure the practice operates safely and effectively. They also help practices respond to constant change. That might mean introducing a new service, redesigning how patients access care, developing the workforce, working with other organisations or finding a practical way to deliver a new NHS requirement.
It is a role that combines people management, business management, problem solving, leadership and service improvement, all within the unique environment of NHS general practice.
So how do you learn to do all of that?
Traditionally, many practice managers have learned on the job. They may have started in reception, administration, finance or another operational role and gradually taken on more responsibility. That experience is incredibly valuable, but we also need clearer routes for people who want to develop their careers and become the practice and primary care leaders of the future. That is where an apprenticeship can help. An apprenticeship is not simply classroom learning and it is certainly not just for people starting their careers. It combines structured learning with your existing job, allowing you to develop new knowledge and skills and then apply them in the workplace.
IGPM is working with Damar Training on the Level 6 Service Designer Apprenticeship, developed for leaders working in general practice and primary care. It is suitable for roles including Practice Managers, Deputy Practice Managers, Operations Managers, Dispensary Managers and PCN Managers.
What will you actually learn?
Rather than learning management theory in isolation, the programme helps you look at the services you are responsible for and ask: How could we make this better? You will develop skills that can help you understand what patients and staff need, analyse how services currently work, use evidence and data to identify problems, design and test improvements, lead people through change and evaluate whether those changes have actually made a difference.
For a practice manager, that learning can be applied to real challenges. It might be redesigning appointment systems, improving a patient pathway, introducing new technology, developing a workforce model, improving communication, tackling an inefficient process or working across practices and organisations to develop a new service. Instead of completing learning that sits separately from your day job, your workplace becomes part of your learning.
How does that make you a better practice manager?
Good practice management is not about knowing the answer to everything. It is about knowing how to understand a problem, bring the right people together, use evidence, manage risk and turn an idea into something that works.
That becomes increasingly important as you progress into more senior roles. A Level 6 apprenticeship gives experienced managers an opportunity to step beyond simply doing and start examining why things are done in a particular way, whether they could be done better and how they can lead that improvement. It also provides something many experienced managers have never had: a structured opportunity to learn, reflect on their leadership, challenge their own thinking and demonstrate formally what they are capable of.
Creating a professional career pathway
At IGPM, we believe practice management should be recognised as a profession in its own right. Experience will always matter. But alongside experience, people should have access to recognised qualifications, structured development and professional accreditation. The work undertaken through the Level 6 apprenticeship can also contribute towards IGPM professional accreditation, bringing together learning, experience and professional recognition. Most importantly, it creates another step on a career pathway for talented people already working in general practice. Because the next generation of practice managers is probably already here. They may currently be a deputy, an operations manager, a PCN manager or someone quietly taking on more responsibility every year.
