#FollowBestPractice
Our latest #Follow is regular #Awakenhubber Asumpta Gallagher founder and CEO of Best Practice providing practice management, tailored consultancy and staff training for GPs & Practice staff.
#FollowBestPractice @BestPracticeGP
Q1. How would you describe yourself in 6 words or less?
Asumpta: Helping GPs gain clarity, time, structure & peace of mind (not quite 6 words but close enough)
Q2. What prompted you to start your business?
I have always had an ambition to set up my own business, but it was a redundancy in early 2018 that gave me the push I needed to pursue this dream.
I had originally registered my business in late 2016 but put it on hold when I accepted what seemed like a wonderful opportunity to manage a new and innovative healthcare clinic in Galway. Unfortunately, just 11 months after I took up this position, the business went into liquidation. I was devastated when I was made redundant, as I truly loved everything about this business including its vision and its focus on patient centred healthcare. When it closed, I knew with absolute certainty that this was my opportunity to develop my idea for Best Practice.
I gained so much experience in those 11 months working in a start up environment and along with my 20 years experience working in management in this sector, I felt the time was right to launch my own business and develop a range of services to support to GPs and their Staff.
Now in my third year, Best Practice is thriving and I have had the privilege of working with practices of all shapes and sizes throughout the country. GPs come to me for many reasons. They may be in need of advice around finances, guidance on HR issues or support with developing a strategy to manage their Practices more effectively.
A well managed practice is a great place to be for patients, staff and health care professionals. Patients receive a better quality of care while the staff enjoy a much more positive working environment providing a better work life balance. Best Practice give GP’s and their teams the tools, systems and processes to run a more profitable and streamlined business so they have more time to be the Doctors they want to be and to make sure the patient remains at the centre of general practice. With over 20 years experience, I understand the unique challenges that are associated with running a patient centred business.
Days vary greatly and are very similar to working in general practice in that there is so much variety. Prior to COVID, all of my work was inhouse but over the last 9 months, I have been working mainly remotely. This has proven to be a great success, particularly with clients I have worked with in the past. Remote training has exceeded my expectations and the feedback has been really positive and think that this is because all the learnings can be applied directly during the training.
Practice reviews take up a lot of my time and can focus on areas such as practice management and finances and includes suggestions for implantation of new systems. I also look at practice ergonomics and workflow, regulatory compliance, assisting with HR issues, change management, growth and succession plans and mentoring – so its never a dull moment.
It is not uncommon for clients to remark that Best Practice helps to solve problems they didn’t even know they had before we got involved. So our aim is to fix the visible and sometimes invisible barriers to having your Best Practice and allowing more time to focus on Patient Care.
Q.3 Can you tell us a bit more about you?
I am married to Paul and Mum to Keeva, Ruairí and Dylan. I grew up on a farm in the lovely West of Ireland and I’m the youngest of 13 children, 9 boys and 4 girls. It was a busy house and everyone had jobs to do and much of our spare time was spent exploring and creating our own simple fun.
I have always been curious and loved learning new things. As a child, I loved to read and have always had a thirst for knowledge. This continued through my working years as I would always wanted to know and learn more about whatever industry I worked in. After leaving school, I worked in various jobs before heading off to London to spread my wings and this is where I gained some wonderful experience in various sectors. I spent over 6 years working in the optical sector with the last 4 years working in a high end optician in Central London where my role included management, buyer and dispensing of glasses.
I loved my time in London. There was always so much to do. We could travel to so many places with easy access via underground/ train. We spent many weekends exploring the many outdoor markets and going on day trips. It was during those 8 years that I gained more confidence in myself and discovered an ability to embrace new challenges and be open to new experiences.
We decided to move back home to Ireland when we were expecting our first child and I was offered a great opportunity to work as a staff trainer for Vision Express, Ireland. It was during this time that I realised how much I enjoyed training and could really see the value it gave to staff. I could see that it helped staff to feel more valued and motivated and it gave them the confidence to really fulfil and often excel in their respective roles.
After our second child was born, I decided to take a short career break before taking up my first role in general practice in early 2000 and so the journey of discovery into this unique sector began.
Q4. How has being part of the AwakenHub community helped your business?
AwakenHub is a wonderful community of like minded people and I have loved being part of it from the very beginning. I have met many wonderful and inspiring people, particularly through the breakout sessions. There is a different theme to every meeting and always a lovely energy. I enjoy listening to the many inspiring stories from business women who have all been so generous and authentic in sharing their stories. They have all shared some great tips and tools, some of which I can apply to my business.
#FollowBestPractice on Twitter @BestPracticeGP or check out Asumpta’s company website HERE.
