There has been a call in recent times – both from practice managers themselves and from those outside the profession – for practice managers to receive a professional accreditation. But what does professional accreditation actually mean, and is it something PMs should aspire to?
Professional accreditation is the formal recognition of an individual’s competence to carry out the many aspects of their professional role. Commonly, accreditation is achieved by undertaking a professional body’s course, which then allows the graduates of this course to become members of the professional body and to practise in their field.
One of the current challenges facing PMs generally (and those who are recruiting PMs) is that there is no formal accreditation. When a practice manager role is advertised, anyone can apply without the need for specific skills or experience. It’s up to the recruiting practice to determine whether the skills and experience of the applicant match the needs of the practice.
While this allows flexibility in the recruitment of PMs – and, indeed, many of our finest practice managers have come from a variety of non-general-practice backgrounds – it also opens the door for under-qualified and under-experienced individuals to take on the title of “practice manager”, which in turn can harm the reputation of the profession.
But what many PMs are seeking is recognition for the worth, value and importance of their professional role. Many find the lack of national recognition to be galling. This was crystallised last year when PMs were excluded from the New to Partnership Payment Scheme, which is open to virtually every other profession. Despite being one of the most natural fits for a GP partnership, in terms of the business expertise and acumen they can contribute, they’re not included.
Now, anecdotally, the reason why PMs haven’t (so far) been included in the New to Partnership Payment Scheme is precisely because they don’t have any form of professional accreditation. There are concerns that organisations could put any individual they wished onto the scheme under the title of “practice manager”.
Professional accreditation would potentially provide a formal standing for PMs, as well as establishing a minimum standard for those in the role. It would almost certainly enable the New to Partnership Payment Scheme to be opened up to PMs.
Of course, nothing is straightforward and accreditation processes can be cumbersome and difficult. For example, in this case, do you introduce an NVQ-style portfolio of evidence to prove you have the skills and experience necessary to become a professionally accredited PM, or is there an exam that you should pass? Either way, at present, neither sitting an exam nor compiling a portfolio of evidence is an attractive proposition, especially given the current pressures PMs are under.
This is just one of the challenges with which the newly formed Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) is grappling. They’re trying to navigate a way through all of this in order to provide the maximum benefit for the profession. You can listen to the directors of the IGPM talking about the progress they’ve made in establishing the IGPM, including where they’re up to with professional accreditation, in the latest episode of the Practice Index Podcast.
June 25, 2021 at 7:14 am
Practice manager are able to gain professional recognition with AMSPAR as their membership levels are L5 Diploma in Primary care Management will also give access to being a certified manager also a member of AMSPAR and a member of their institute of primary care
worth speaking to them to combine alongside the IGPM
https://healthacademy.org.uk/?redirect=0
June 25, 2021 at 7:21 am
As I am in Wales there is no golden handshake for anyone joining a practice, but if professional registration would open the door to this then I am sure it would be welcome by all.
With all practices running differently, a baseline of knowledge to run a practice is not a bad thing. I guess a background to the NHS, finances, strategy, HR, change management as a core would be a start……lets no forget ‘plumbing’ as I am sure we have all unblocked a few toilets.
June 25, 2021 at 7:29 am
The problem with any accreditation scheme is that they are usually a tick box practice, and the boxes ticked in a practice of 2,500 patients where the manager does everything, and a practice of 25,000 where the manager delegates everything are completely different.
June 25, 2021 at 7:45 am
Thanks Ben for highlighting this and IGPM members will know we are creating an accreditation process.
I think the other thing to bear in mind is that the process could become an opportunity to reflect on current skills, opportunities for development and use it as part of an appraisal process – so in effect, it becomes almost a working document that forms the basis of your portfolio which you can then update as and when.
We need this to happen as, in my opinion, we’re often not taken seriously and yet we are pivotal to the success of General Practice.
June 25, 2021 at 8:31 am
This is something I have been on about for years. I retire from practice management soon after 23 years and I am hoping professional accreditation for PMs is not far away.
June 25, 2021 at 9:08 am
Thanks Nicola, I am personally wholeheartedly behind PMs being professionally accredited. As a PM that became a partner 12 months ago, I personally felt the brunt of the snub given to us as a profession, as I missed out on the New to Partnership scheme.
Until we achieve formal professional recognition, we will continue to suffer these ludicrous snubs from NHSE et al.
June 25, 2021 at 9:48 am
I appreciate the motivation for this but I can’t help thinking it is a well-intentioned mistake. Absolutely well-intentioned but a mistake nonetheless.
For one thing, as Colin says, the requirements are very different in practice where the PM does everything from those where they manage a team of specialists (e.g. an IT manager, finance manager, HR manager , Prescriptions Manager, etc.). I manage a relatively small practice so I know how a lot of processes work (indeed I am the one performing them) but I know managers of larger practices that don’t even have the clinical software on their PC because they never need to use it. So what professional competencies or core bodies of knowledge should we assess?
Personally I quite like exams so I would much prefer that route but how would it be maintained or updated? It’s going to lead to some sort of revalidation exercise or appraisal process and that will inevitably become a bureaucratic exercise akin to writing a CQC submission, completing the DSPT or any other of the many tedious exercises we already have to do. Who wants more of that?
Professional accreditations – such as those for lawyers, accountants, doctors, architects, etc. – are actually as much about creating barriers to entry to keep people out than they are about creating recognition for those in the job. Do we want to stop people with diverse career histories from outside the NHS coming in?
I often hear people in primary care bemoaning the government and NHS England for all their attempts to micro-manage our activities – ‘just fund us and trust us to get on with it’, they say. Good management of GP practices is demonstrably observable by their effectiveness, efficiency and quality to patients. It won’t be helped by a bit of paper that each PM can wave to say they are a “professional”.
If it’s recognition we crave then by all means lets press on with activities to promote our standing and raise our profile (and pay) for the valuable job we all do every day but be careful what you wish for when it comes to a formal accreditation scheme. Do we want to be even more heavily regulated than we already are? Laudable though such efforts are, it could come back to haunt us!
June 25, 2021 at 10:23 am
Years ago there was a push for practice managers to complete the AMSPAR courses which many of us did. Later there came along various NHS courses such as information Management in healthcare which was also recognised. There are many business management courses out there which cover what we do, all available in different guises shuck as health and social care. Instead of bringing another separate accreditation scheme in, maybe harness what’s there and make it mandatory to be qualified at a certain level. Also let’s not forgot that lifelong learning and ‘currency’ is key to the role, continual update is essential, an AMSPAR qualification from years ago bears no relevance to today. Perhaps an award for navigation in PCSE?
June 25, 2021 at 10:37 am
These comments are very helpful and will guide us as to how we develop an accreditation process that does not feel tick box, covers the wide range and all-encompassing roles and responsibilities of a PM but also enables us to be regarded as a profession to all our stakeholders. We will not be ignored at NHSE anymore. The IGPM is doing everything in its power to give practice management the recognition it deserves.
June 25, 2021 at 12:17 pm
I have read with interest your blog about accreditation and I certainly agree that an appropriate form of accreditation could be important for general practice management. However I think it might be a case of horses for courses.
I recall flags flying in a Practice once because they had employed someone with a degree. The degree was in Zoology. Over the years we have had AMSPAR and similar NHS qualifications and I was a lecturer on an AMSPAR Diploma Course. Over the years I did an Ordinary National Certificate in Business Studies and later a Certificate in Management Studies which I could have converted to a Diploma. I felt my studies were useful but I was convinced that my employers put any value on my efforts other than encouragement and some funding.
So to move to the idea of accreditation it seems to me that there are factors that might complicate the idea. One is the size of a Practice which might require only a part time manager. Next we have the willingness to reflect accreditation in an enhanced salary for a Practice Manager. The third obstacle is a problem I came across in a failing practice last year. The lead doctor saw off 8 practice managers in around two years. Her unwillingness to trust and delegate to a manager made the managers position nigh impossible. The use of agencies and locums abounded. If you aim to improve the professionalism of Practice Managers then some work also needs to be done on the professionalism of GP Employers.
As I am a retired member of the forum I wish you every success with the IGPM. Feel free to use my comments
June 28, 2021 at 11:29 am
Just to add, we wouldn’t be eligible for the ‘golden handshake’ anyway as we wouldn’t be full equity partners. Most managing partners I know of are 50-70% share partners. The scheme only recognises partners that are full equity – silly I know, as this also excludes junior GP clinical partners, who will probably now stay as Salaried GP’s, defeating the point!