http://www.thelifeofapracticemanager.com.au/

The Life of a Practice Manager, Perth (2026)

27/12/2025

This might be hard to hear but some Practice Managers need it said.

You are a Practice Manager.
Not a punching bag.
Not an emotional dumping ground.
Not the person who sacrifices their health to keep everyone else comfortable.

Yes — you care.
Yes — you love your job.
Yes — you’re committed, loyal, and you show up every single day.

But when your role starts making you anxious, exhausted, sick, or broken…
That’s not dedication.
That’s burnout wearing a “strong work ethic” mask.

Caring too much does not make you a better Practice Manager.
It just makes you easier to exploit.

Boundaries are not selfish.
Boundaries are survival.

You can still care deeply.
You can still do your job brilliantly.
But if you don’t protect yourself no one else will.

And guess who gets hurt in the end?

You.

Let this be the year Practice Managers stop bleeding for roles that would replace them in a heartbeat.

Care.
Lead.
But stop destroying yourself in the process.

23/12/2025

🎄 To Every Practice Manager Reading This 🎄

If this year stretched you in ways you didn’t expect.
If you carried the weight quietly.
If you held everyone else together while feeling like you were unravelling yourself…
This is for you.

You showed up when it was hard.
You stayed calm in chaos.
You solved problems no one saw.
You carried practices, people, systems, emotions often without thanks.

And even when you were exhausted…
you still cared.

This Christmas, I hope you give yourself permission to rest without guilt.
To laugh.
To cry.
To switch off.
To be present.
To remember that you are more than your role.

The practice will wait.
January will come.
But you matter now.

Thank you for the messages.
Thank you for the support.
Thank you for the honesty, the vulnerability, the community.
Thank you for showing up here and for each other.

Wishing every single one of you a beautiful Christmas, a peaceful break, and a New Year filled with boundaries, strength, and moments just for you.

You are seen.
You are valued.
You are never alone.

🎄 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 🎄
From the bottom of my heart 🤍

✨

11/12/2025

General Practice doesn’t run on Medicare rebates… it runs on Practice Managers.

There, I said it.
And the PMs reading this know exactly what I mean.

Because while the world thinks we “book appointments and answer phones”… we’re actually:
🫣putting out fires nobody else even saw
🫣protecting our doctors from burnout
🫣holding the business together with systems, spreadsheets and sheer emotional stamina
🫣training, mentoring, correcting, guiding
🫣making sure the lights stay on, the bills get paid, the audits get passed, and the complaints get handled
🫣and still smiling at the front desk like everything is fine 💀✨

Some days you’re HR.
Some days you’re IT.
Some days you’re finance, crisis negotiator, counsellor, cleaner, mathematician, receptionist, strategist…
And sometimes, all before 10am.

Here’s the twist:

Most of what Practice Managers do is invisible.
But the impact? Massive.
Clinics don’t thrive without a strong PM. Full stop.

If you’re a Practice Manager reading this:

You are not “just admin”.
You are not “replaceable”.
You are the engine, the backbone, the quiet leader making healthcare work.

And in 2026, I want to see more PMs:
💪 paid properly
💪 respected publicly
💪 trained, supported and valued like the leaders they are.

If you agree drop a 💪 in the comments.
Let’s make this message impossible to ignore.

07/12/2025

Let’s be honest… Sunday anxiety hits different when you’re a Practice Manager.

While the rest of the world is “meal-prepping and lighting candles,” we’re lying in bed thinking:

• Did I roster everyone correctly?
• Will Medicare behave tomorrow?
• Is the IT system going to crash again?
• Did that patient complaint get resolved or is it waiting for me at 8:01am?
• Will I have to play referee, firefighter, therapist, accountant and HR this week — again?

And here’s what nobody tells you:

You’re not anxious because you’re weak.
You’re anxious because you carry an entire clinic on your shoulders — and somehow still show up for everyone.

So tonight, if your chest feels tight or your mind won’t turn off…
Read this slowly:

You are not doing this alone.
Not anymore.
You have a community behind you — and I’ll support you every step of the way.
This space was built for YOU.

If you’re feeling it tonight, drop a 💙 in the comments.
Let’s show every Practice Manager that they’re not the only one fighting silent battles on a Sunday night.

This is your reminder:
You’re stronger than the week ahead — and you don’t have to face it alone.

27/11/2025

A Love Letter to the Practice Managers Who Are Holding It All Together (Barely, but beautifully) 💅🏽

Let’s be honest…

Practice Managers don’t “run the clinic.”
We carry the entire operation on our backs while smiling, apologising, problem-solving, soothing, fixing, firefighting, counselling, coaching, emailing, explaining, and occasionally hiding in the treatment room for 30 seconds of peace.

A few reminders for my PM family:

💥 You are not “just admin.”
You are HR, IT, finance, logistics, patient relations, conflict resolution, risk management AND emotional support all before 10am.

💥 You’re not overreacting the job is actually insane.
People underestimate what you do because you make chaos look organised.

💥 You are NOT responsible for everyone else’s lack of planning.
If someone dumps something on your desk urgently, that is a them problem, not a you problem.

💥 You don’t need to apologise for enforcing boundaries.
Late patients, policy pushback, rude behaviour you are allowed to say “no.”

💥 You are allowed to rest.
Because the truth is:
General practice would collapse in 48 hours without Practice Managers.

To the PMs sending emails at 9pm…
To the PMs dealing with Medicare mysteries that even Medicare can’t explain…
To the PMs trying to attract doctors in a market that feels like Hunger Games…
To the PMs keeping the doors open, the lights on, the staff paid, and the GPs sane…

You deserve more credit.
More support.
More respect.
And a salary that reflects the miracles you perform daily.

So here’s your reminder:

✨ You are the backbone of Australian general practice.
✨ You are powerful.
✨ You are doing an incredible job.
✨ And you’re not alone you’ve got a whole army of PMs behind you.

Keep being the force you are.
The clinic survives because of YOU. 💗🔥

26/11/2025

Today was one of those days that shows exactly what practice managers deal with the part the public never sees. And its only 9am.

A lady called the clinic saying she was 20 minutes late.
We let her know she’d need to rebook.
A simple, standard policy.
But that’s when everything flipped.
Suddenly it became:
💬 “I’m pregnant.”
💬 “I’ve spent hundreds at your clinic.”
💬 Followed by a level of abuse that no one in healthcare should ever have to tolerate.
And when she was done yelling over the phone?
She turned up to the practice to yell at me in person.
I sat there and took it.

Not because I agreed, not because I was scared but because I had zero energy left to argue with someone who wasn’t listening.
All I said was:
“We have the right to hang up if we are being abused.”
That’s it.
No shouting match.
No drama from my end.
Just a woman screaming at me while I stayed seated, calm, and honestly… exhausted.

It wasn’t a conversation. It was a performance.
She put on the show.
I just refused to play a role in it.
But here’s the bigger issue:
Healthcare workers are not emotional punching bags.
Being pregnant, frustrated, late, or stressed does not justify abuse.
Clinic policies exist to keep the day running safely and fairly — not to target anyone.
If you’re 20 minutes late, you rebook.
If you’re abusive, we enforce boundaries.And if you show up to intimidate staff, we document and escalate.
To every practice manager who has ever sat there and quietly taken abuse because arguing would make it worse I see you.
To every receptionist who gets blamed for things out of their control I see you.

To my team thank you for staying professional when people forget we’re human too.

Kindness costs nothing. But abuse costs clinics more than people realise.

My question is this:
When this patient decides to post her “side of the story” and leaves a 1-star review just like the other health practitioner who also didn’t get their own way where is the fairness in that?
Where is the balance?
Where is the protection for clinics?
Where is the right to tell our side?
Because the truth is:
We can’t correct the record.
We can’t share context.
We can’t defend ourselves without breaching privacy.
Yet anyone can jump online and say whatever they like.
This is the gap no one in the public sees and the part reviews will never show. (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency)

Enough is Enough!

25/11/2025

The Unofficial (But Accurate) Practice Manager Job Description

Let’s clear something up…
No one — and I mean no one — truly understands what a Practice Manager does until they’ve survived one full day in a medical practice.

People think we just:
“manage reception”
“sort the roster”
“answer questions”

Meanwhile, the real job is more like:
👍🏽 Medicare Decoder-in-Chief – because apparently rebates change more often than the weather
🌦️ IT Support – “Have you tried turning it off and on?” becomes a personality trait
🫣Emotional Support Human – for doctors, staff, AND patients
🥸Government policy interpreter – because half the announcements don’t make sense even to the government
🤪Crisis Coordinator – printer jam, patient meltdown, doctor running late… all at 9:07am
😳Human Shield – “Can I speak to the manager?” No, no and no …. but I can hear you from my office anyway
🤓Walking compliance manual – AGPAL, RACGP, infection control, HR, billing… pick your fighter
😎The person who magically knows where everything is

And the best part?
We do all this while being told by politicians that general practice should be “simple” and “free for everyone.”
Sure.
Let me just add that to my Hogwarts degree.

Practice Managers keep clinics alive literally.
We lead teams, support doctors, balance books, protect staff, calm patients, and stop the entire system from combusting every time Medicare sneezes.

So if no one has said it to you today:
You’re doing an incredible job.
General practice would collapse without you.
Carry on, legends. 💙🔥

18/11/2025

TUESDAY CHECK-IN: To All the Practice Managers Holding It Together With Coffee, Systems & Sheer Willpower… We See You

Some days in general practice feel like a well-oiled machine.
Other days feel like…
“Why is this on fire and who gave it permission?”

Here’s what experience teaches every PM:

• You can write the clearest policy in the world…
and someone will still ask, “Where does it say that?”

• You can create a perfect workflow…
and it lasts exactly 3 hours before real life rearranges it.

• You can train the team beautifully…
and a patient will still walk in saying, “I booked online but I’m not sure what for.”

• You can be calm and composed…
but internally you’re doing the Olympic-level emotional gymnastics of
“breathe… smile… and don’t throw the printer.”

But here’s the truth under the humour:

Practice Managers are the emotional stabilisers of the entire clinic.
You support staff through tears, GPs through pressure, patients through confusion
and you STILL keep the practice running.

That’s not small work.
That’s leadership with heart.

So if today feels heavy, chaotic, or mildly ridiculous…
you’re not alone.
Every PM reading this has had a moment this week where they thought:

“Surely this job should come with a medal… or at least a wine voucher.”

Keep going.
Keep laughing.
Keep leading with strength and humanity.

General practice runs because of you
systems, snacks, sarcasm and all.

Happy Tuesday 💛

15/11/2025

Just a little Christmas gremlin warming up his paws before battle….. If December had a spirit animal for practice managers… this is it.

Calm on the outside.
Watching everything.
Hoping for peace.
But fully prepared to strike the second something (or someone 👀) touches the Christmas tree.

Honestly, this is the PM life:
• Waiting for the “quick question” that is never quick.
• Bracing for that patient who arrives 25 minutes early and stands at the desk staring.
• Hoping no one knocks over your perfectly set-up Christmas display.
• Pretending everything is fine while secretly planning 14 contingencies.

Healthcare doesn’t slow down in December it gets spicier. And like this cat, ( my baby) we’re all just doing our best to stay festive while managing the chaos.

Practice managers: may your trees stay standing, your staff stay sane, and your day be drama-free (or at least drama-light)…… 🎄

14/11/2025

This week broke me a little and built me again.

Owning and managing a medical practice isn’t a job. It’s a whole life.
And this week reminded me why it can be both deeply rewarding and unbelievably heartbreaking.

We welcomed new front-desk staff and watched them learn, grow, and step into a role that can completely shape a patient’s experience. I was proud. Really proud.

Clinically, we were at full capacity.
Vasectomies back-to-back, fully booked days, reps coming through, and flooring being ripped up and replaced for pathology. A hundred things happening at once and somehow, we kept everything moving.

And the patients…
The ones who showed kindness, gratitude, and respect they carried us through the week more than they’ll ever know.

But then came the part no one ever talks about.

A single review dishonest, unfair, and written by a patient who is also a healthcare professional hit us like a punch to the gut.
Not only was it based on lies, but it also defamed a GP and a staff member who did absolutely nothing wrong except enforce basic practice processes.

And because they didn’t get their own way, they walked out and wrote something that had the power to hurt a whole team.

It shook the confidence of someone who gives her heart to this job every single day.
And it kept me in the clinic long after closing, worrying about how she was coping and how something so untrue could have such a real impact.

People don’t realise how fragile a team’s morale can be.
How one false review can unravel a week of hard work, compassion, and care.
How easy it is for someone to damage a business and walk away without any accountability.

This is the side of practice ownership no one posts about.
Because it hurts.
Because it’s unfair.
Because sometimes you can do everything right… and still get blindsided.

But here’s the truth:
We get up again.
We protect our team.
We rebuild their confidence.
We keep caring, improving, teaching, and supporting.

Because our purpose is bigger than the noise.

Next week, we show up stronger not because we didn’t feel it, but because we did.

And we chose to keep going anyway.

And one more thing that needs to be said.
AHPRA and Google need stronger, fairer review laws to protect general practices from serial 1-star offenders who misuse these platforms out of frustration, not fact. This isn’t about silencing patients it’s about stopping the damage caused by false, harmful, unregulated comments that can crush a team’s morale and impact their mental health.

General practice deserves better.
Our staff deserve better.
Mental health matters.
Do better.

12/11/2025

Where do we draw the line?

As practice managers, we’ve all been there.
You pour your heart into your practice the staff, the patients, the endless hours and then one online review can undo so much of that hard work.

And here’s the part that stings: we can’t even reply.
Not properly. Not honestly. Not under AHPRA’s current rules.

Even when what’s written is false, harmful, or personally directed at a doctor or staff member our hands are tied. We’re told to “stay silent,” “report it,” and “move on.” But meanwhile, the review stays up for the world to see.

Where do we draw the line?
When does protecting patient confidentiality stop meaning that healthcare professionals have no right to protect themselves?

This isn’t about being defensive it’s about fairness, accountability, and mental health.
Because behind every “business” review are real people who care deeply, who go home exhausted, and who just want to do the right thing.

Maybe it’s time the system changed. Maybe it’s time reviewed its stance and allowed a safe, compliant way for practices to respond with the facts without fear of penalty.

What do you think, fellow practice managers?
Where do you draw the line?

29/10/2025

When the local Facebook group comes for your clinic… 👀

You’re just scrolling through your feed minding your business, checking who’s selling second-hand office chairs or which café’s burnt the toast today
and BAM! 💥

“Anonymous post: Has anyone else had a bad experience at that clinic in …….…?”

You stop.
You blink.
You know exactly who they mean.
And the best part?
You know it’s not even true! 😂

Then come the keyboard warriors.
The same five “local legends” who comment on every post like it’s their civic duty.
“Oh yes, I’ve heard they’re so rude!”
“My friend’s cousin’s neighbour said they overcharge!”
“One time the doctor was running late unacceptable!”

And you’re sitting there, sipping your cold coffee thinking:
“Well sorry, but the doctor was late because he was treating an actual emergency… not because he was scrolling TikTok.” 😏

You want to reply.
You really do.
But instead, you close your mouth, open your emails, and go back to running a clinic that’s busier than the comments section of that post.

Because while the Facebook experts are diagnosing “bad service” from their couches
you’re out here managing 100 fires, 10 staff, and one very dramatic waiting room.

Ah yes… the glamorous life of a Practice Manager. 🙃

The Life of a Practice Manager

27/12/2025

23/12/2025

11/12/2025

07/12/2025

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

25/11/2025

18/11/2025

15/11/2025

14/11/2025

12/11/2025

29/10/2025

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