As we gear up for the GPPA Leadership Summit 2024 this September, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the valuable insights gained from last year’s event.
In this blog post, we’ll share the firsthand experience of our GP Resourcer, Ashley, who attended the GPPA event last year. Her perspective sheds light on the event’s impact, the importance of community in healthcare, and what attendees can look forward to in 2024.
Ashley Rice’s GPPA Leadership Summit 2023 Experience
Here’s Ashley’s take on the GPPA event, in her own words:
“As a Resourcer for the GP desk at MatchMedics, I do not directly deal with the client side of the business, so this was a great learning experience for me to see the challenges that practices and practice managers face. I also had the opportunity to speak with many practice managers for whom I had helped source doctors. It was lovely to put a face to the practice name and speak with them directly. Everyone we had helped had wonderful things to say, and it was very fulfilling to hear that feedback so I could pass it on to the rest of my team.
I had the chance to network, which I really enjoyed. I got to explain our services and exactly what we do to attract top talent in the GP space. I also highlighted how proactive we are as an organisation, which allows us to have a doctor ready to start work in a clinic, a process that seemed very appealing to the clinics. We essentially streamline the entire process to get a doctor here in Ireland, ready to go.
The overall atmosphere of the event was excellent—one of the best events I have attended. Everyone praised the level of organisation, noting that everything ran smoothly and was well-structured. The hotel staff went above and beyond, and Rachael Bothwell did an amazing job ensuring everything ran so smoothly. The two-day event included a gala ball with music, which created such a great buzz. I described it as a “family wedding.”
Many practice managers described their role as a singular one within their practice, which can be very lonely. Being part of the GP Practice Ally means that Rachel has created a community, which is very important as it makes a massive difference to practice managers. When Rachel gave her speech at the end of the event, she received a massive standing ovation. You could tell and feel that her impact made a huge difference to practice managers across Ireland.
The event had so much to offer, from recruitment and training to medical supplies and workshops—everything that your practice might need could be found there. It brought together a community of key stakeholders within the medical industry ecosystem, specifically within primary care. The workshops and speakers were very informative, providing up-to-date information. There was so much to learn about the best and latest technology, HR, clinical risk management, leadership, entrepreneurship, and much more—something for everyone.
My advice would be to attend the event to network as much as possible and participate in as many speakers’ sessions and workshops as you can. Be selfish and get as much out of it as you can, and I promise you will leave feeling motivated and energised! Attending such an event would benefit others immensely. I am not surprised that 100% of attendees said they would return, which only means we can expect an even better event this time—no pressure, Rachel!”
Looking Ahead to GPPA Leadership Summit 2024
As we look forward to the GPPA 2024 event, the team at MatchMedics is excited to once again meet practice managers and build upon the connections we made last year. We can’t wait to see what this year’s event has in store.
See you in September!
Make sure to purchase your tickets on the GP Practice Ally Website, or to find out more about the event, you can read our blog post on the upcoming event here.