Careers in Sports Medicine and Sports Science Webinar

As facilitator of this careers event on behalf of SMA I am able to introduce some leaders in their profession to talk about their Health practice journey and how they developed a career in the practice of Sports Medicine including clinical practice, sports team involvement, administrative positions and research.

Each year Sports Medicine Australia www.sma.org.au conducts a workshop in conjunction with the SMA fellows of which I am the President. The event is conducted over two hours and clinicians from six disciplines speak for 10 minutes each about their career path and trajectory.

The disciplines that presented this year were:

Sports Science with SMA Board Chair Anthony Leicht

Sports Physiotherapy -  Kellie Wilkie

Sports Dietetics - Lisa Middleton

Sports Podiatry - John Osborne

Sports and Exercise Medicine – Dr Donald Kuah

Orthopaedic Surgery – Professor George Murrell

Each speaker presented and then fielded questions from the attendees or from myself to elaborate more on specific aspects of career such as:

-          Their mentors

-          The study they had done

-          What experiences that had been involved in

-          The Sports teams they had assisted etc.

-          How to build a network and take opportunities

What we learnt was the commonality of the careers and the hard work that had been completed as volunteers, presenters, mentors and mentees, the extra study they had achieved and the dedication and persistence to overcome career roadblocks.

I am always impressed when facilitating this event of the genuine desire of such elite practitioners to share their career moments and provide insights into how others may tread their path to career satisfaction and success.

The event was completed with questions and tips the speakers would like to share to the audience. Some examples were:

-          There are many practitioners in Sports Medicine and Sports Science who are willing to be mentors and assist you. Try asking!

-          Curiosity will drive you to be better by researching and learning new techniques or new programs that can be used to assist athletes with injury prevention.

-          It is important to do something that you love doing.

-          Understand the sport you wish to be involved in. This helps with networking and relationship development.

-          Work on your networks and relationships not just with athletes and other SM and SS professionals but with all: administrators, managers, property stewards etc. This will help you be an important part of the team.

-          Accountability in your role is a great motivator. One of our speakers said ”for them to perform they need you to perform?

-          Your pathway may not be linear, so be prepared to switch to keep your pathway moving towards your goal.

Embrace the opportunity to pursue a great career and join us at the SMA National conference in Brisbane in October! Check it out at www.sma.org.au.

Presenting to the Sports Medicine Australia Student Network on Networking and relationship building to enhance your career

I recently delivered a lecture on line with Dr Anita Green to the SMA student network where we covered some important topics that are keys elements of building a career in Sports Medicine.

Dr Green, like myself, is a past President of SMA and is committed to helping develop career opportunities for young clinicians of all SM disciplines. The SMA student network is a key special interest group of SMA and provides opportunities for young and emerging clinicians to pursue a career in Sports Medicine and Sports Science.

It was a pleasure to deliver this workshop and a good number of clinicians and researchers registered for the event.

We divided the workshop into two halves with Dr Green presenting on networking and relationship building and myself on Mentoring and building your brand.Networking

Dr Green covered

Why you benefit

What to do

Who to contact and

How to engage

The key points to consider were detailed

Networks facilitate connection and career growth with improved opportunities to learn and relationships that can help you when you lose you way and need some assistance.

There are a number of events that SMA conducts that you can attend and make these important connections namely:

•        Annual SMA National Conference

•        State based in person education events

•        Large number and variety of webinars

•        Sports coverage opportunities

Some tips on how to make the most of your meetings and time with those who might help you are to:

•        Focus on what you want to ask (Not what you want to say)

•        Move from “Small Talk” to “Deep Talk”

•        Focus on your “Value”

•        Be clear with your request

Joining SMA and if still a student the Student network are ways to start your journey. Do this by going to the SMA web site.

www.sma.org.au

My presentation  focussed on some ways to assist you with getting started in your career.

Finding advisors who may assist with technical details like marketing, finance, business set up and planning etc is an important approach. Identifying and choosing Mentors that might suit your stage of development is a must do activity. You may be surprised that in approaching more established persons in Sports medicine they are willing to assist you, but you need to ask!

Building Relationships is a key to career development and this involves spending time with people and building rapport.

The work environment you find yourself in will be a crucial component of career building and you should look at what is the best environment for you with a focus on assessing an empowered work place via the following criteria:

•        Is Time allowed for you to grow & develop, with patience & support provided

•        Hard work and persistence by you will be required!

•        Seeking Challenging and interesting work, patients, new ideas, clinical and commercial excellence

•        Are there Opportunities for learning and growth, education and mentoring

•        Do you gain some control over the factors that enable high performance and continuous improvement

•        Do you have the ability to have a say and have support for your ideas.

The final aspect of career I spoke of was that of Marketing yourself and developing your brand.

Relationship Marketing is a key for business development

•        Put yourself out there, move past comfort and ASK

•        Be professional, engaged and not distracted

•        Listen with empathy to your patients and athletes. They will gravitate to you when you care and listen and they  then tell others about you

•        You don’t necessarily need training in marketing as you know how to develop relationships

•        Consider methods to develop your brand with appropriate visibility on social media particularly Linked In, write blogs and ask to connect with those you respect and admire in Sports medicine

If you want to learn more, you may consider checking out my book

https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

Overall the workshop emphasised the need to put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to ask!!

You may wish to attend the Careers in Sports Medicine and Science event next week  on August 12th where the careers of those from different disciplines will be show cased.  Go to the SMA web site to register.

YM3 Culture and Performance workshop

With YM3 CEO Anna Yerondais, I recently conducted a culture and performance workshop on behalf of YM3. My involvement with YM3 is as a Director.

YM3 is an independent advisory firm that helps leaders realise their organisation’s potential.

We are experienced mentors, CEOs, business founders and board directors. We run or have run businesses, member associations, peak bodies, not-for-profit organisations and sit on boards in Australia and overseas.

We are fuelled by a passion for great leadership and backed by more than 100 years of combined experience.

The Directors of YM3 pictured above are Cris Massis , Nello Marino Anna Graham nee Yerondais and myself.

Culture

“Culture” is an interesting subject and structuring the event relied on a comprehensive questionnaire distributed to all participants. The frankness and depth of the respondent’s feedback provided important data informing us to understand the current status and areas for the business to build upon. Having a robust culture where there is honesty as well as clear understanding of an associations or healthcare businesses objectives is a challenge for any venture. The other leading point of discussion is around how a good culture, well led and with a clear plan can implement the plan and keep all participants engaged for the journey. Spending the day with the group was a great privilege and seeking to draw out participants a challenge at times.

Performance

Our afternoon was spent exploring the aspect of “performance” and how to move from “good to great”. I explored with the group some measures that I had read from a timeless book called “Good to great” by Jim Collins et al. It is worth exploring to gain insights from companies that had made the transition from being good to being great based on detailed measures of stock market values, growth, longevity etc. To give more insight, I will highlight some of the measures explored, namely :

Level Five Leadership

Such Leaders are Self effacing, quiet, reserved, even shy.

They exhibit a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will and a compelling modesty. Good to great leaders did not speak about themselves

First who, then what

Get the right people on the bus and in the right seats and the wrong people off. Then figure out where to drive it.

Confront the brutal facts (yet never lose faith)

You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be

The hedgehog concept

Hedgehogs see what is essential and ignore the rest. Understand what you can and cannot be the best at.  What are you deeply passionate about. What you can be the best in the world at.

Culture of discipline

All Companies have a culture, some companies have discipline, but few companies have a culture of discipline. When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy and when you have disciplined thought you don’t need bureaucracy

Technology accelerators

Highly relevant with AI. Think differently about the role of tech. Never use tech as the primary means of igniting a transformation

The flywheel and the doom loop

Good to great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no defining action, no one killer innovation, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembled relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn by turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough and beyond.

How do these elements apply to you and your enterprise?

The above elements were considered to be common to all great companies.  That said we need to take them in context to ensure they are useful in the environments we all work in. They may provide a framework for you to consider how your enterprise shapes up against them!

As experienced at the workshop, working with committed teams of people is always satisfying and this event was no less so.

YM3 is keen to build on this workshop and explore other ways to engage with associations and companies in an effort to build on their existing strengths and assist them to move from being good to great.

For more information visit our website www.ym3.com.au

Practitioner retention – the ongoing challenge in Allied health

The APA workforce survey conducted late in 2025 is comprehensive with some 2,778 respondents demonstrating an 8% response rate of the 33,503 APA members.  The census conducted by ‘Survey matters’ is independent research of the APA with solid methodology and is benchmarked against ABS labour market data. 64% of respondents work in Private practice with 65% female. The data collected in 2025 mirrors that of 2023 with further worrying trends.

The banner at the head of this article highlights some trends and reasons why practitioners are considering leaving the profession.

The three main reasons echo those from the 23 census namely:

Stat: Inadequate pay is cited by 60% of those considering leaving, up from 45% in 2023

• Burnout at 35%, limited career progression at 28%, lack of recognition up from 10% to 19%

• Early career women most burned out at 40% — the largest demographic in the profession

Other important considerations were :

Stat: Only 52% of intermediate practitioners see a viable career pathway. 83% of the pessimistic group cite inadequate pay for workload and qualifications

• Intermediate practitioners are the backbone of most private practices — this is your bench strength at risk

• 69% say additional qualifications don't lead to better opportunities — so the traditional "just upskill" response from employers doesn't land anymore

There are many more matters to consider, and I urge you to review the census which I have hyperlinked below in this article.

https://australian.physio/sites/default/files/APA-2025-Workforce-Census-Report-Apr26.pdf

I continue to present and discuss career development as one potential answer to the problem particularly about taking on equity options and the inherent risks and benefits.  The professions have work to do to see a change in the next workforce census.

Addressing the issues

Burnout, limited career progression and lack of recognition and remuneration are complicated matters and require a coordinated approach from the APA, teaching institutions, private practice owners and the industry in general. What more can be done in the teaching institutions to prepare graduates for entry into the workforce? Perhaps part of the curriculum can be deployed to some introductions or lectures from private practice owners to assist with job readiness and expectations of private practice.

Considering each issue in isolation is important as is addressing the professional needs in general.

Let's look at each issue and consider some of the potential solutions.

Remuneration

The APA has been proactive about this issue with their commissioned work on what might be considered a benchmark for gross billings to aim for each hour worked by a Physio. The figure on $261 is a guide only and is considered what is necessary for a private practice to operate profitably, and of course as each year passes will increase with the CPI. Should this number be achieved in private practice then physios could be paid more and see rises commensurate with their work. Change MUST be affordable and equitable for both practitioner and physio business.

Burn out

More and more incidences are being reported about this problem in the practices I speak with.  Recognition by both practitioners and employer is crucial and professional approach taken to provide support and advice to assist those affected. Structuring the working day and recognising travel, work conditions and balance of time will all assist, but a whole of profession coordinated approach to this problem will be needed and perhaps discussion papers from the APA might be helpful to provide guidance

Lack of recognition

I am unsure what this means, and the concept needs more discussion and detail to drill into why this matter is cited as an important issue.

Lack of career progression

This matter is an industry wide concern as practitioners need to feel that their career direction is one of progression. I have discussed that a career pathways document be developed in each practice that demonstrated how a practitioner can move forward into new roles and the development of new skills with salary rises to accompany the journey. Equity options for young practitioners also need consideration. Relevant clinical and business training options should be considered in both private and public practice.

I share a podcast with Antony Hirst and Randall Cooper with Learn.Physio support named #Healthcarebusinessthrivecast and we will devote three of those podcasts to a discussion of the findings from the workforce census. I encourage you to follow up the podcast on #instagram or #linkedin

I have detailed more thoughts in my book about some of the matters mentioned above as well

https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

and recommend that to you. Please advise your own thoughts in response to this article.

Learn. Physio Roadshow

A few weeks ago I was in Melbourne with the Learn.Physio roadshow, and I left reminded of why I love this industry.

The room was full of clinic owners who showed up because they are committed to improving their businesses which in turn impact the industry on a whole. That kind of energy is what keeps people engaged in the industry and begins to change the narrative around the high attrition we’ve been seeing. Suffice to say I think the future of the industry is in safe hands.

I shared a presentation on what makes a clinic valuable, even if you never sell it. It sits within the maximise equity segment of the health practitioner's journey, and it draws on something I've seen play out across my corporate career as much as in clinic ownership: the businesses that grow well are the ones built to last, not just to trade.

A couple of things I kept coming back to in the room:

Your ability to grow relationships really defines your future as a practitioner. Full stop. Referral networks, your team, your patients. Every meaningful outcome in your business traces back to a relationship you invested in.

And the time it takes to create genuine buy-in with your team? That's not overhead. That's the work. Culture doesn't install itself, and the clinic owners who take shortcuts there feel it eventually.

Mick Hughes from Learn.Physio also presented on ACLs, and it was a sharp reminder of how much the clinical landscape is shifting. The condition is showing up in a broader patient population than it used to, and non-operative management is gaining serious traction in the evidence base. What struck me most though was the conversation around AI and the informed patient. Patients are walking in having done their research. Clinics that train their practitioners to meet that patient with confidence and build trust in that moment, rather than feeling threatened by it, will have a real competitive edge.

The roadshow is one part of what Learn.Physio does, and if you haven't explored their platform yet, it's worth your time. They've built a CPD learning hub designed specifically for Allied Health practitioners, covering everything from masterclasses and clinical lectures to roundtables and research summaries. The format is genuinely flexible, so it fits around a full clinical load rather than competing with it. What I appreciate most is that the content is built to be applied actively which is part of what I talked about in my presentation. That philosophy showed up clearly in the room at the event.

A huge thank you to the sponsors who made the evening possible.

Bared hosted us for the night, and if you haven't come across them, they're a podiatrist-backed shoe brand that actually managed to make clinical thinking look good. I walked away with a pair and I'd genuinely recommend them.

And VALD Performance , whose human performance technology is trusted by high-performance organisations around the world to measure and improve the way people move. If you're not across what they're doing in the clinical space, it's worth a look.

To every clinic owner and amongst those that attended Paul Coburn Lisa Tran Primal Physiotherapy Barry T. Nguyen Stephan LEE Ian McFarland Jane Higgs @mitchellwalkershannassywho were in that room that night: thank you for showing up and sharing openly. That's what moves the profession forward.

Thanks to Randall Cooper and team from Learn.Physio

Persuasion and how you can use it to build your practice

I read a wonderful book named “The Six Principles of Social Influence” by Robert Cialdini some years ago now and incorporated a summary into my book “The Health Practitioners Journey”

The book outlines six key principles based on social science research that, when used, can influence behaviour. We often frown on social science research as being less objective and less evidence based that more clinical scientific studies. What impressed me in this book was the thorough research done to back up the principles that Cialdini elaborates upon.

I have brief descriptions of the principles in this article and recommend that at the very least you view the summaries in my book of purchase the Cialdini offering for your practice.

Reciprocation: we feel obliged to return favours. Put this into practice by dropping off a gift to a good referrer, if your roster is full try and make space for an urgent patient. Consider sending a thankyou letter or making a call back when not expected. The above will build goodwill but also may lead to the other party reciprocating with a favour for you.

Authority: we look to experts to show us the way. Show qualifications on the wall, mention a reference article relevant to a Patient’s condition. One of the reasons that some clinicians wear a white cost is to show authority. Authority can also come from what others say about your skills or approach to assisting patients. So be really good at your job!

Commitment / Consistency: we want to act consistently with our commitments in accordance with our values. If you say you will do something then do it. If you offer to gain some reference from someone do it. The value shown here is that of having integrity in all that you do.  Another favourite author of mine Stephen Covey used to say that 

“if you show up in interactions with people in a good way 80% of the time then people will mostly assume that you are always like that.”

Scarcity: the less available a resource the more people want it. Think Specialist appt or advising client that “I could fit you in at 11:30 on Wednesday”, not advise “Practice X has plenty of available bookings”. We can use scarcity to build our practices; the more we can create value for the service being offered building urgency by expressing it’s difficult to gain another appointment the more valuable an appointment appears. 

Liking: the more we like people the more we say yes. Be liked by being kind, punctual and friendly and effective with relationship development. To me this goes without saying; those we like we are drawn to; and this is true with clinicians. People that are happy and easy to approach draw others to them. 

Social proof: we look to do what others do to guide our behaviour. Use the phrase “most people book for 30 mins” or “most people do rehab after they finish active treatment to ensure complete recovery”, or “many people make their bookings in a block so they get them when it suits them” Simple use of language that emphasises what most people do isn a powerful way to see behaviour change.

It is worth exploring the above principles and making them a part of your practice as a way to persuade them to use your service over another like service.

The Allied Health care profession has a challenge!! How do we keep clinicians in clinical practice.

https://australian.physio/sites/default/files/advocacy/APA_2023_Workforce_Census_Report_FA_May24.pdfsurvey data

I delivered a presentation at the Business day at the APA conference in Adelaide @APASC25 and talked about the challenge.  I presented a discussion about career development particularly about taking on equity options and the inherent risks and benefits.  I was speaking to business owners and many questions came from the owners about how to start the process and afterwards from some younger clinicians who wanted to understand how to approach their principals to discuss their options.

I am particularly interested in the cohort of those clinicians who are between 3 and 8 years from graduation.

 Why this cohort?

In years one to three I have maintaining in my writing https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book  that the focus should be on achieving a degree of clinical excellence which means high level of ability to treat most conditions/injuries.  Hence years one to three can be well catered for in this phase and should keep clinicians engaged.

It is during the next five years from 3 to 8 that I believe we are not addressing the matters that will see clinicians be fulfilled while they contemplate what is next for them. In these years they should be achieving some commercial success by building a solid following of patients on their day to day list  and hence some better degree of income.  In this phase if we can also promote the career journey then perhaps that will start to ensure that they see what the future can hold in their chosen profession! The acquisition of business skills will also assist the career journey.

So… how do we address the challenge.

I advocate that we need to develop clear career pathways for our graduates, train them well on the job not just clinically but also in the operation of the business they are working in. This may entail some attendance at short business courses and to encourage some reading about business an understanding how the financial aspects of the business work as a minimum developing and understanding of the financial  triple bottom line statements namely:

Profit and loss

Cash flow

Balance sheets

Work on supporting them  to be outward looking and start to teach them about the business operations and what opportunities may await them.

There are many ways we can address disaffection and some of those will be:

-           earning better incomes,

-          understanding the opportunities that a health care profession offer and

-          seeing better training in business

-          start developing younger clinicians to be in a position to take up and equity opportunity

I have been developing a paper on the preparation of clinicians to take up equity options and recently a colleague of mine @craigallingham advised that “equity is an anchor for successful businesses”.  I think the profession need to perhaps include some training aspects about the business of the profession into undergraduate courses or consider a mandatory process of teaching for those who venture immediately into private practice upon graduation…. Most likely on of the reasons I wrote my book!

 I will be continuing my quest to understand better why people leave the professions and look at ways we can assist clinicians to see a long and rewarding career ahead of them

How do you maximise the first few years after you graduate to kickstart your career? PART TWO

Do you have a post-graduation career journey plan?

Graduation is only the start of a great journey!  Any journey needs a plan! In part two of this article I will look at how you can develop referrer relationships, and a referral base, the importance of volunteering to learn, some of the concerns and issues that new grads face and a summary of the key considerations for new grads.

You can learn more about the themes and considerations for graduates in their first years out of your degree in my book which provides a roadmap from graduation throughout your career journey. The Health Practitioners journey is available Check it out on my website.

The importance of developing referrer relationships 

Such relationships will form the base a referral base that will nurture your practice growth.

I have called marketing “Relationship Marketing” as it is akin to developing any relationship that you may have. Once you understand this you can work on creating a network of different referrers, from Doctors, sports clubs, social media etc.

To do the above one needs to “put yourself out there” move past comfort and contact people and be prepared to ask questions of referrers about how they wish to refer to you, what they can expect from you are helping their patients gain quick appointments, you will follow up visits with letters or reports to referrers etc. Remember to be professional at all times, reflect your personality by being engaged and not distracted when you are in contact with them.

This is especially applicable even with your interactions with patients/athletes, listen with empathy - as these people will gravitate to you when you care and listen. Then they will tell others about you

The pathway to gaining referrer loyalty

Think about the ladder of loyalty as a guide to monitor how referrals can work.

There are steps that will dictate the progress of the loyalty that a patient or referrer can follow as their relationship with you builds

The first step is that a patient is a suspect! Sounds strange but this means that the referrer or patient becomes aware of you either from others or from something you have written or may be you have made a presentation to a club or like audience. They are aware of you via that stated expertise.

Step two on the ladder is to be a prospect. You have become a prospective person for that patient or referrer to actually either attend your service or refer to you. They are interested in referring to you based upon your perceived reputation.

Step three is when that a patient attends your service as a customer. They are now involved and will be able to assess your reputation as they have experienced your service.

Step four is that the patient becomes and advocate. They now have a commitment to you and/or your practice, refer others and recommend you, even likely telling a referrer that you are great and provide a fabulous service. In a way you now have a professional relationship with that person.

Why volunteer?

I have always been a volunteer in my career. I saw volunteering as an opportunity to learn, to develop meaningful relationships and give back to my community. If you are with those more experienced you will learn just as much as the practical experience you gain in an environment of a local sports club that allows you to develop your manual handling and clinical reasoning.

Concerns and Issues that New Grads can face

Income

As a new grad you need to survive and earn an income!  You may have study debt, wish to be able to buy a house, raise a family etc. Therefore, the first few years after graduation can be very difficult. Seeing enough patients to create an income is important even if you are being paid with a fixed salary. Doing and following some of the ideas I am speaking of will have your employer see you are proactive and will assist with salary increases over time

How do I network?

If you apply yourself to the development of relationships your network will grow but as mentioned, put yourself out there, ask, participate in events and use your local contacts to assist in building that network.

Will opportunities come – what to do?

Yes they will if you apply yourself to your work, read, learn , participate, attend courses and build networks etc etc

Road blocks

There are sometimes road blocks!! 

Some of these are glass ceilings, sexism, ageism, ableism. If you are tackling those aspects it can be useful to gain some mentoring and to seek out a Mentor to help you. Many may arise when you are working with sports teams are in some sports where it is hard to find a foothold to grow in your role. Speaking with senior persons at those sports etc can also be helpful if you encounter some of these road bocks.

Key considerations for new grads

In the first few years you must consolidate on course learnings.

• The consultation

• Manual handling and 

• Clinical reasoning are key deficiencies to work on

Other considerations to consider and some I have mentioned earlier in this article:

• Find a mentor

• Work as a volunteer 

• Work at a Sports Club 

• Focus on Clinical excellence, explore what is needed for commercial success

• In private practice : Clinical and Business pursuit – eyes open working in a performance based environment

• Develop some personal branding

• Plan with a written document clinical, commercial, admin, risk and ongoing education

• Be trustworthy, meet your commitments

• Count and Measure your performance

• Take opportunities when they come your way and put yourself out there

• Control your career – be proactive

• Always consider your life balance to cater for your health needs: 

• Physical

• Mental

• Social emotional

• Spiritual

There is always much to consider in your career.  Many paths you can take and principles to absorb.

Good luck… and if you wish to probe more deeply into some of these ideas remember my book “The Health Practitioners journey” is there to assist you.

https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

How do you maximise the first few years after you graduate to kickstart your career? PART ONE

Do you have a plan?

I spent some time developing a model for the journey and think it is worth providing some explanation.  As you can see the model has four stages and is not necessarily linear and the timeline is relatively arbitrary. Almost any practitioner can see themselves at some stage of the journey at any time.

 You will not be thinking about the end of your journey but as Stephen Covey reminds us  “Begin with the end in mind”. This does not mean you work out your retirement now!! What it means is that you start with Stage one which is the development and achievement of clinical excellence. This will / should take up the first few years of your career and will underpin how your career develops.

To maximise the first few years of your career it is important to understand the need to grow as a person but also as a practitioner and as a worker.  Why is this important?

Growth will see you achieve important milestones:

-          Gradual increase in your income with better pay

-          The ability to attend courses and learn

-          The seeking of a mentor to help you

-          Great satisfaction as your list of patients grows with you

-          The early opportunities with sporting attachments

-          The development of your own unique selling proposition

Clinical Excellence

Being clinically excellent will not just happen. You need to develop that list of people who you see and achieve results with . Make sure you understand the importance of the consult.  I detail in my book two consult  models that you should research. One based on the traditional Subjective Objective Assessment Plan approach and the other based on a more  sales oriented approach. The venn diagram in my book illustrates this approach well. Clinical excellence should include learning more about clinical reasoning and manual handling.  Attend to both of those to increase your competence and effectiveness.

Planning

Planning is a key feature of your growth. Mentors can help you, but understanding how to set Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time bound (SMART) goals is a great place to start. Improve your time management by reviewing the time management matrix on my website here. The next part of planning should be the development of meaningful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They should be referred to monthly as you review your performance. Some examples might be based on the number of patients you see, the articles you attempt to read, referrers who have sent you patients, your plan to do courses through any given year, observations and mentoring sessions that you want to attend and be supported with by those you work with etc. If you set SMART goals then your monthly review should identify if the KPI’s have been met.

Your Working Environment

The environment you work in is a key element of your successful journey. It is not always easy to know you are in the right place where you will thrive but some things to consider in your place of work are:

-          Do I get a chance to have a say in matters in the business

-          Is there a formal education program for the practitioners

-          Is there a process of feedback both given and received

-          Are you seeing a variety of patents

-          Do you have the opportunity to ask your senior people for assistance.

-          Do you get shown new techniques you may be able to use in your treatments

The above is not an extensive list but provides you with some thoughts that will assist you to assess the work place you are working in.

There is much to think about after graduation so best to take on these suggestions slowly and work on one or two of them every quarter of the year with a plan to achieve many of them within the first two years of work.

IN PART TWO I will look at how you can develop referrer relationships, and a referral base, the importance of volunteering to learn, some of the concerns and issues that new grads face and  a summary the key considerations for new grads.

You can learn more about the themes and considerations for graduates in their first years out of your degree in my book which provides a roadmap from graduation throughout your career journey. Check it out on my website here www.michaelkenihan.com.au

https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

Performance Leadership may be the key to performance Management

Performance Leadership

Reviewing performance used to be called ‘performance management’. As the aim of a review is to improve performance, I prefer to call the process ‘performance leadership’. There is a structure to this that I have used satisfactorily for many years. This involves setting a plan with clear objective measures up front (KPI’s)! This approach involves reviews of these KPI’s either monthly, quarterly or annually. I prefer to do different levels of reviews quarterly. Achievement or not of KPI’s will effectively score the review. A managing director I worked with in the corporate environment used to say that: “The score at the end of the game determines who wins the game.”

Performance leadership should also assist in good relationship development and not be seen as a chore or a stressful activity.

There are three distinct levels of performance leadership:

1.     Feedback

2.     Assessment

3.     Review

1. Feedback

Provide feedback regularly and often. Try to provide such feedback in the first person, e.g. “I have noticed …” It should be based on a clear, factual and objective observation of performance.

Always begin with a positive. It is easy to be seen as nit-picking, so I always make a positive observation in some way, even if I need to provide something that may not be seen as positive. For example, let them know how pleased you are that they are punctual or that you heard them say something really good to a patient, or that the other staff really enjoy having them in the business. The skill is to open the communication in a positive manner before delivering more critical feedback. Ensure the feedback is non-judgmental and refer to what you have observed rather than what you might have heard. Hopefully, what you say will invite a response from your staff or practitioners.

2. Assessment

Assessment is a more formal approach to performance leadership. This is best to perform once you have provided feedback, but have noticed the non-desirable behaviour hasn’t changed. An example of such behaviours may be that the language they are using with patients is overly friendly, or other staff may have mentioned that they were hearing feedback from patients that the attitude of the practitioner is indifferent to the person being treated. Provide objective and non-judgemental feedback in a formal setting that invites a response and hopefully discussion. Go into detail regarding why an action is appropriate/inappropriate and offer suggestions or provide directions or alternative actions if required. Providing resources to assist new behaviour, e.g. articles, some training or role-playing to provide a personal demonstration of the desired action can work well. In role-play you will take the position of the patient and provide responses to the practitioner that highlight the issues at hand and then model the correct responses/behaviour.

3. Review

A formal review should be scheduled annually or biannually, rather than performed in the moment like feedback or assessment. To gain the best outcome, preparation is required by both parties. Schedule the time for the review and advise the format the review will take. This may involve completion of a form that details each area of performance the review will cover, such as attitude, actual review of agreed KPI’s, how the person works in a team, and so on. The review should be documented and use both the agreed quantitative KPI’s and qualitative measurements such as their attitude and so on. Once completed, the review documents should be signed off by both parties.

Why YM3? Providing services to Professional Associations and Health Care Businesses

I am excited to advise that I have joined as a founding partner of  @YM3. In my work life I have worked with many health care associations including with @SMA as both President and Interim CEO. In that process I met and dealt with many other healthcare related associations including the @APA, @APOd A, @Essa and many more. The experiences I gained led me to understand how the sector can be tough to be in, be sustainable and successful. Even more so now in the social media world where many practitioners, researchers and academics see their tribe as on line grouping rather than representative associations from their primary discipline. The necessity to join such associations is not seen as such a compelling thing to do and not something that one automatically does when they graduate.

It is with the above in mind that the idea of formating YM3 with my other three partners/directors @annayerondais, @nellomarino and @crismassis  was born.  I jumped at the chance to contribute to the ongoing viability and success of health care associations and businesses. YM3 was born in order to assist with whatever matters associations, not for profits and business groupings need to work on.

-          Strategic planning

-          Governance

-          Membership

-          Advocacy

-          Operations excellence

-          Consulting advice

Etc

We all know the world is changing and is doing so at an exponential rate given the advent of AI, expanding social media, working from home and the complexities of navigating the various challenges we face. YM3 are not there to reinvent how organisations service their members or build their business but to seek to advise, support and challenge the operations to strive for excellence of service delivery. By doing this we hope to enable members, staff and practitioners who work with in the various entities to create great career journeys and make meaningful and worthwhile contributions to building heathy people and communities.

The above is my WHY YM3 and I look forward to any comments, feedback and interest. www.ym3.com.au.

Best,

@michaelkenihan

Taking on equity partners Part Two

In part one of Taking on equity partners I talked about the importance of having a process to choose the “right” potential equity partner based on their skill and ability as a practitioner, personality, work ethic, ability to add value as a partner in the business, commitment to the task etc. I also covered the steps that a client called John needed to take to attractively present his business equity proposal to Belinda. Some of these activities included having a clear vision for the ongoing business, considering the quantum of equity to make available and at what price, understanding the competitive landscape, what sort of financing he would need to start his new business with Belinda etc.

John and I have worked some more of the above planning and he has now compiled the detail he needs to make the first presentation to Belinda of the opportunity.  We needed to discuss some of the contractual matters like the type of entity that would offer the equity (in his case and country location a Limited liability Company suits him more than my favoured unit trust structure), the detail needed in a shareholder agreement and a contract of sale that will outline exactly what needs to be agreed and committed to ensure there are no outstanding matters.  One key element was to identify what happens in the event of the equity partner wanting to exit (or indeed needing to exit due to unforeseen circumstances), what happens if John is approached by another party wanting to purchase his business etc.

In our most recent discussions before Xmas 2024 John advised that the timeline had changed as Belinda needed to provide some family support and wanted her timeline to be deferred. She remained keen but the timing was not right at this moment. We decided to discuss where to go from here in the new year 2025. This has created the possibility of John taking a different path as he still wants to expand his business and is now not sure how to proceed.

The path this potential transaction has taken is not uncommon and it is prudent that it happens now!! John has readied his business to move forward, and the next steps will be to now explore other options.

The first option is to identify another investor who works with him already and the other is to consider the option of taking an external party who wished to invest but is not another therapist. In John’s case he does have external parties who have followed his progress and have suggested that they have capital they wish to invest in his expansion and see the opportunity as a secure way to park their capital and assist him. We have agreed to discuss this option and work through a new set of considerations! We will need to discuss:

·       How much capital are they interested in investing and how much equity do they wish to purchase

·       What skills could they bring to John in terms of advice, support, ideas for growth and mentoring

·       Do they want an active or passive role.

·       What is their timeline to see returns from the new start up

·       Do they want equity in his existing practice as well as investing in his proposed new start up

Given the progress that John has made it will be helpful to work through his options as he is ready to move forward and can always accommodate Belinda’s interest in equity in due course.

Should you have your own business and looking to expand to another practice or take on an equity partner then make contact with me via email on michael@michaelkenihan.com,.au to see how we can work together or visit my web site at www.michaelkenihan.com.au.

If you also want to read more and learn about how I see practice growth then consider purchasing my book , “The Health Practitioners journey”, available from my web site.

https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

Wishing you all best wishes and every success for 2025

Taking on Equity Partners - Part One

Recently I have been contacted to assist business owners who wish to build their business interests by taking on equity partners. This step in your business growth trajectory is an important one to take and should be considered carefully to ensure you and the interested other party gain a result that will benefit each of you.

In part one I will set the scene of the most recent assistance I have provided to a business owner.

The business owner, I shall name John, in this instance owns a Chiropractic practice working in a near Asian neighbouring country. He has operated for over 10 years and has built a solid practice over a 10 years period.  He has an associate, Belinda, who is keen to pursue her future career in partnership with him. She has worked with him for three years and has developed a practice where many of her clients are referred directly to her from a variety of referrers, social media and via word of mouth. They have just started to discuss the option for her of taking equity and have identified an opportunity to grow into a neighbouring area (some 20 mins from the main business) in the coming 6 months.

I have asked John to commence developing a number of different documents and to firstly consider the strengths that Belinda will bring to his new business.  I list some of the role considerations for her below:

Ø  Access to capital (but not essential as vendor finance is an option)

Ø  Commitment to the practice

Ø  Belinda’s current role

Ø  Amount of time she spends at the practice

Ø  Her ability to establish to new business and then to assist the practice to grow

Ø  Special talents to offer (education officer, great mentor, proven ability to increase practice billings etc)

Ø  Have met certain stated goals required to be met to be offered equity

I advised timeframes will need to be set once the interest has been declared where the practitioner has the chance to evaluate the opportunity.  Such timeframe will be between 90 and 120 days.

While he is sorting the role that Belinda will take, he is planning that:

-          his business vision, mission and values is clear

-          he understands the Capital he will need to establish the new business

-          the amount of equity he will offer Belinda and at what value

-          he needs to better understand the competitive landscape

-          does he need outside investors

-          what are the risks he is prepared to take to develop another business

There is much for John to consider!

In part two I will provide more detail of the process that I am taking John through and highlight some of the potential pitfalls for him to avoid as he moves forward!!

Why I built a stem cell clinic and laboratory

It is dispiriting to treat patients with traumatic or degenerative osteoarthritis and know there are only so many things you can do to help – and that those treatments often don’t help enough.

As a sports physiotherapist, I know patients face a long treatment journey. 

I know how the progress of the disease will likely curb their mobility, test their pain tolerance and damage the function of their joints – cutting their involvement in sport and negatively affecting their lives. 

When I started my career, osteoarthritis treatment options were limited to pain relief, exercise therapy to strengthen the muscles around the joint, weight loss, surgery to “clean out the joint” and, eventually, joint replacement surgery.  It was the 1980s and even then we wondered if there was anything else we could do.

Surgical techniques, such as  joint resurfacing, injections of synthetic substances and other products, came and went. 

None proved to have disease modifying properties – and so far none are seen as part of the solution.  

Sophisticated supervised exercise regimes show efficacy but only when attendees are highly motivated and continue the exercise program long-term. 

At the same time, if patients manage to lose weight, take a sensible and gradual approach to activity and seek supervision, they attain results that on average are 20 per cent better than other approaches.

Then, in 2013, a sliding-doors moment. At the time, I was manager, operator and part-owner of LifeCare Prahran Sports Medicine. We were approached by a group from Monash University’s Monash Stem Cell Laboratory. 

The scientists and veterinarians had been using stem cell therapy to successfully treat osteoarthritis in dogs using donor stem cells from breeds that were known to suffer a significantly lower incidence of osteoarthritis. 

The Therapeutic Goods Administration, the federal regulator, allowed humans to be treated with their own blood and tissue, so stem cell treatment using people’s own cells (autologous) was legal in Australia.

After decades of wondering what else we could do to alleviate the suffering of osteoarthritis patients, I finally saw a possible new approach. 

With our accountant and a number of doctors, including Dr Julien Freitag, we invested as individuals and established a clinic and laboratory in Box Hill. 

We engaged the necessary scientists and other professionals and gained regulatory (TGA) approval, we began treating osteoarthritis sufferers with their own (autologous) stem cells harvested from their abdominal fat via a limited liposuction procedure.

The cells were processed, cultured and expanded to therapeutic numbers.

To date, about 1200 people have been treated with their own cells. Our published research results across all trials demonstrates that 75 per cent of those treated gained more than 70 per cent efficacy from the treatment. A significant improvement on other treatments.

Soon we found that taking fat from every patient’s abdomen and having them wait eight weeks until we had enough cells to inject is expensive, unwieldy and unaffordable for many people. 

The obvious solution was to develop an allogenic (donor) stem cell product and again gain the necessary approvals and do the research.

Earlier this  year, Phase I and Phase IIa safety and efficient studies of the donor product were published and  demonstrated that using donor mesenchymal stem cells is safe and the studies showed some strong signs of being effective. The results were published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open. 

In early September, the Australian Government, via the Medical Research Future Fund, provided us (that is Magellan Stem Cells) with a $7m grant towards further late-stage donor stem-cell research.

It has been a long journey that is not over yet. The science is more than promising. 

We hope Magellan’s upcoming late-stage research with hundreds of patients will demonstrate how well stem cells work for osteoarthritis and lead to the registration of the donor stem cell product, MAG200, for the effective treatment of osteoarthritis.

I think we are very close to answering the “what else can we do” question that has dogged me for decades. Watch this space!

Clinical Mentoring is a pathway to clinical excellence

I am always inspired by the enthusiasm of practitioners to improve their knowledge and skills. When we recently opened Lilydale Physio and Sports Medicine www.lpsm.com.au we had a mix of experience among our team.  From new graduates to those with more than 10 years' experience the opportunity was there to ensure that we focused not just on training our grads but also providing the opportunity for others to learn as mentees and have roles as clinical mentors. Megz is part of the team with experience and has spent the last few years helping others but not developing her own skills as much as she would like. I met with Megan and Laura (both joint practice equity holders) at Lilydale and we chatted about the process of learning and mentoring and how to get the best outcomes for both mentor and mentee.  I devote significant time to the achievement of clinical excellence in The Health Practitioners journey.  Clinical Mentoring is the pathway to clinical excellence. https://www.michaelkenihan.com.au/book

Both Megz and Laura are high performing physios clinically and eager to share their knowledge with others. This can be done in a random or ad hoc way with younger team members asking for assistance at times when treating someone. We try to assist in these cases and quick assistance can be provided but often those with expertise may be too busy to assist then and there. This means that we need to have a structure with all mentoring. Some ad hoc, just now, assistance can be provided but the bulk of mentoring needs to be applied in organised sessions of 45 to 60 mins with topics advised beforehand.

Mentoring sessions should always have both a clinical component where techniques are taught and demonstrated and a theory component where more complex cases are introduced and can be discussed where critical thinking and clinical reason can be encouraged and developed... Ideally the mentee can apply the learned technique to the mentor. If the mentee is well prepared, they will bring one of their own cases to the sessions and discuss them with their mentor.

Towards to end of our discussion Megz asked how we could mentor her. She felt that she had much to learn, and the opportunities had not been there recently for her to do so. To further assist Megz, we plan to organise leading therapists to come and visit and provide input to those with experience. Our other leaders with post graduate study behind them will add a higher level of mentoring to those who wish to avail themselves of such learning.

All clinics need to look how they can mentor their personnel more effectively. This is part and parcel of developing an empowered work environment and a way to improve the retention of your people and ensure that the results of treatment will be maximised for the patient’s benefit.

It takes time to become an effective mentor and the best way to develop the skill is to seek out persons to mentor you. Indeed, this is what I have strived to do in my career, and I hope to be able to instill in others the important role they can play in assisting others to learn and grow.

Sharing The Health Practitioner's Journey Through Speaking

I have been fortunate to be invited to speak several times recently. This has eventuated since the publishing of my book “The Health Practitioners journey”.

The notion of a career journey and how that journey can be built in stages has been what has resonated with those who have invited me to speak.

Being a health care practitioner to many is a chosen vocation to be in a position to serve, support and assist the injured or sick. All of us at some time will need to care of the many who choose such vocations. It is apparent that being clinically excellent with your tole is crucial but so is having a career that will provide satisfaction, enable growth and at the same time provide a sustainable income. It is because of the above that I have focussed on these matters in the presentations.

I spoke with Paul Wright's “practiceology” VIPs a few weeks ago and fielded questions about how to assist with motivating personnel, how to encourage people to consider taking up equity options with them at their practices and how generally to assist the practitioners to develop career options that extend beyond seeing and performing a great job treating their patients. The notion of how to be an effective mentor was discussed as well and teasing out how best to engage with staff and practitioners to see their practices grow and thrive.

Last week I delivered a webinar for Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) where practitioners and students from many disciplines were in attendance. It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm for a plan to develop career options, be more effective with managing time and understand the elements needed to advance a career. I also discussed how to build knowledge and networks by attending courses, volunteering at events and with local clubs, and to seek support from more experienced people to assist you. The webinar focused on both growth in your practice but also how that can lead to a career path as one harvests knowledge on their journey.

This week I will be working with learn.physio recording with Randall Cooper a series of round tables. Randall and I will host guests for three round table discussions that will cover:

Session 1

The First 2 Years Out with two recently grads, Laura Mackenzie and Dan Chang who will provide key perspectives on how to use the first years to set up your career. Laura works at Healesville Physio and Sports Medicine in Melbourne and Dan Chang has just started his own practice

Session 2

Career Crossroads with two successful clinicians who have built careers based on excellence and successful practices to work in academia and practice development. Cate Boyd operates a successful business in Eltham in Melbourne and has had roles with elite sport in Netball and Jill Cook a fabulous career as a clinician, tendon expert and now Emeritus Professor at Latrobe University

Session 3

Harvesting Knowledge where Randall and I will discuss what a career can look like once operating a practice has been achieved. I am pleased that Dr Peter Brukner (amongst his other accolades, author of best selling Clinical Sports Medicine with Prof Karim Khan) will join us in session three with Ms Anna Yerondais who has harvested her knowledge to move from being a regarded myotherapist operating her business to transitioning to be CEO of her discipline’s peak body.

Finally in August I will speak with Melbourne University Physio graduates about career development and then host a “Careers in Sports Medicine and Sports Science” event for SMA where six leaders in the disciplines of Physio, Podiatry, Sports Science, Dietetics, Sports and Exercise Medicine and in Orthopaedic Surgery with provide input on how to develop a career in sports medicine practice in the clinic, academia and in team environs. It is such a pleasure to meet and connect with those wanting to understand the stages of career development and thanks to all those who have attended already and will attend the events in the coming months.

Have a look at my speaking experiences here.

Harvesting Knowledge In Your Career

Building a career as a health practitioner should be a structured process. As I outline in “The Health Practitioners' Journey,” structuring your career in stages of development can lead to a satisfying and financially rewarding path. I outline four stages and see the journey taking a linear approach where you move from one stage to the next. This approach may not suit everyone, but most of us will seek to harvest knowledge on the journey, whichever direction it takes us.

Harvesting knowledge involves approaching your career and experiences as opportunities to learn, experiment, and expand your understanding. If you embrace your journey this way, you'll be well-equipped to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise during your career. This is the key to success, opportunity, and fulfillment across all stages of your career. It ensures not only commercial and professional success but also personal growth and satisfaction.

Many practitioners who have ‘harvested’ well have seized or created amazing opportunities. These include positions in corporate healthcare companies, developing courses to teach their unique skills, or using their harvested skills to embark on new directions, such as speaking at events or becoming facilitators or consultants for similar businesses. As the industry constantly evolves, new innovations arise. For example, AI is becoming more widely adopted, enhancing operational efficiency in our practices.

The above may sound reasonable and achievable, but there are examples where practitioners have taken on too much and pursued opportunities they weren't fully equipped to handle. This happened to me early in my career when I was thrust into managing a sports medicine business without the necessary knowledge, training, or experience. Fortunately, with support from mentors, I learned as I went along. I continued with my clinical practice while harvesting more knowledge, attending courses, reading widely, and listening intently to those with greater expertise. This path eventually improved my competence.

Throughout your career, continue to apply your skills to various opportunities, putting the concept of harvesting knowledge into practice. Here are some key takeaways to ensure you make the most of the knowledge you’ve harvested:

• Develop a Continuous Plan: Ensure you have a plan that involves developing your clinical skills throughout your career.

• Understand Commercial Success: Gain an understanding of what is involved in achieving commercial success.

• Network: Build connections with colleagues in your profession and those in related fields.

• Seek Mentors: Find mentors to guide you through different stages of your career.

• Enrol in Courses: Start with courses in your area of interest, then progressively take courses that broaden your knowledge and challenge you.

• Be Present to Opportunity: Always be aware of opportunities. Luck is often just the awareness of an opportunity and the willingness to act on it.

Too often, people miss out on important opportunities due to a lack of awareness. For example, I once shared a room at a conference with someone I didn’t know. That chance encounter led to the establishment of a sports medicine clinic and a move from Adelaide to Melbourne a few months later.

By following these guidelines, your career will become dynamic and fulfilling. Embrace the harvesting process: seeds sown in autumn will sprout in spring, but you must be aware enough to plant the seeds at the right time!

Stage 4 Leveraging Equity for Exit

Writing Stage four of my book “The Health Practitioners Journey” I challenged myself to include the many pathways that practitioners may take to a new opportunity or exit. The stage is named ‘Selling your list – Leveraging equity’. When exploring this stage, I reflected on one of the habits that Stephen Covey talks of in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. That habit is “begin with the end in mind”.

I have always advised practitioners that it is crucial to keep an eye on how you will eventually exit what you do and move to something else. This may happen at any stage of your career. I made the focus in Stage Four about selling your asset to claim the financial return on your equity. Of course, this implies that you have established a business to sell which not everyone achieves.

I describe the possible scenarios to illustrate who this stage for:

‘The Opportunist’ is the practitioner who takes the unexpected offer that is made to him which was very financially beneficial.

‘The Retiree’ is the practitioner who has operated their business for some years and wished to unlock some money to use in preparation for retirement.

‘The Life Changer’ has worked fruitfully for some years but feels that there is something else they wish to contribute to, or commence and they want to do that while they have the passion and can devote time to that passion

‘The Corporate Opportunity’ can happen to a practitioner who has worked over 10 years in the industry and established a network of practices. The approach from the corporate company was not only to purchase their business but there was the added attraction of developing a role for the practitioner with the Corporation. This scenario was similar to that which I availed myself of a few years ago in my career.

The final scenario I describe is ‘The Career Changer’ who wishes to move onto something that is completely different.

If you see yourself in of the above scenarios you need to make some preparation! To make your business attractive you need to consider how the business looks both figuratively and financially. Identify the services you offer, the patient database you have developed and the current documented systems and processes e.g. recruitment, induction, HR, stock etc that you have or may not have in place.

Some questions to consider are:

• How will you set a value for your business?

• Who will assist you in the process?

• Do you need an advisor?

One important word of caution for you. Ensure that you maintain confidentiality about the process; if you broadcast your intention it may affect the purchaser or destabilise your stakeholders. Change is a frightening thing to so many of us so don’t create fear by telling others of your intentions until you need to. If nothing happens with the process then no one is any the wiser.

Moving on from what you have created can be a painful process as you are passing on what you have built and will not be able to control what happens from then on. Make sure that you give due consideration to whom will purchase the business so that what you have built has the best chance to continue successfully when you are no longer in control of it.

This part of your journey can be exciting and rewarding, if approached with appropriate planning, support and forethought.

Building Partnerships in Allied Health

SMA Chair Kay Copeland at SMA Board Meeting

Establishing partnerships in allied health can be a personal and professional growth strategy for practitioners looking to expand their options, enhance their impact, and advance their careers. I have experienced firsthand the benefits of developing partnerships in many different arenas and can attest to the profound difference it has made in my own journey, particularly in the creation of my book, The Health Practitioners Journey. I will discuss some of the partnerships that I been involved in and detail they have shaped my career.

Partnerships come in various forms and serve different purposes. 

Equity partnership in clinical environments

My first foray into a clinical partnership was the creation of one of the first MD clinics in Australia, Malvern Sports Medicine centre. That centre with a focus on Musculoskeletal sporting injury management involved partners who were Sports Doctors, Physios, Podiatrists and Dietitians. This partnership evolved and developed a further four sport medicine practices in Metro Melbourne and provided three weekend sports casualties as well as services to elite sports clubs. Mutual growth, learning  and support were hall marks of those businesses.

I have mentored many practitioners  looking for equity partnerships in practices, and businesses where they are exposed to opportunities to invest in the success of a venture while sharing risks and rewards. These partnerships are built on trust, transparency, and a shared vision for growth and prosperity.

Network partnerships 

When my sports medicine  group I was a partner and General Manager of was approached by LifeCare Health (LCH as listed Co on ASX in Perth) it was clear that LCH were keen to acquire our business and to partner with a larger clinical group on the East Coast of Australia. This formed a great partnership vehicle to see our service expand and as  a group develop a number of clinics  in Victoria as well as having a corporate partner to guide that growth. The collaboration lead to LCH being acquired by Foundation health care and the two entities became Independent Practitioner network (IPN). An opportunity was created for me to build a corporate career and learn many skills from senior managers and staff from the industry partnerships.

Another noteworthy partnership was a more personal one that built with sports medicine industry association that was with Sports Medicine Australia (SMA). By aligning with SMA I learnt the importance of networking and worked together with SMA on many projects be it with sport event coverage, teaching sports trainers, being involved as President and even CEO where  I was able to amplify health messages and effect meaningful change in healthcare policy and awareness of the importance of excellence injury management and the need for all of us to increase our physical activity to improve our health outcomes

Commercial partnerships

Additionally, partnerships with other consultants have been important to gain industry knowledge and understand the needs of up and coming clinicians who are building their own careers. Speaking and delivering webinars at events and collaborating on commercial matters, have enriched both my knowledge and reach within the industry.

I have recently been developing partnerships where I offer a promo code to those I collaborate with to promote my book to their network to purchase at a lower price point. I hope to set up a collaborative partnership with Universities in the US to include my book as part of the curriculum in their Allied health courses.

Sports Teams and clubs

Furthermore, partnerships extend beyond the realm of healthcare into sports clubs, where mutual support and reciprocity thrive. By partnering with sports clubs, I not only contributed to their members' well-being but also gained exposure and credibility within the community. 

In conclusion, partnerships are a cornerstone of success in allied health, offering opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth. Whether it's working closely with consultants, collaborating with industry associations, or partnering with government entities, the possibilities are limitless. By embracing partnerships as a strategic imperative, professionals can unlock new opportunities, amplify their impact, and achieve greater success in their careers.

Stage 3 for Experienced Practitioners

Stage Three is where you aim to 'lead your list' and maximise equity.

When your career is up and running and you feel you have developed a strong level of clinical excellence and a vibrant, regular list of patients, you will experience satisfaction knowing that people seek your services and advocate for your practice. If this resonates with you, take pride in your achievements.

If you're someone who seeks new challenges and feels ready to embark on a new journey, establishing your own business may be the path for you. However, this new and exciting path can be daunting.

One way to ensure you take the first steps towards success, where you begin to maximise equity (simply put, developing an asset that doesn't solely rely on your billings), is by dedicating time creating a comprehensive plan. This plan should outline your vision for the future business, its operational aspects, and considerations such as name, location, fit-out, and personnel requirements.

from Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of highly effective people

Spending time in quadrant two (non-urgent but important) of the time management matrix, where planning takes precedence. Whether you're considering buying into an existing business or starting from scratch, thorough due diligence is essential.

Consider how you will market your business to increase billings. Determine whom you will employ or contract to assist you and contribute to the business's growth. In my book, "The Health Practitioners Journey," I've included MK Laws of Growth, some strategies to increase referrals and patient flow, aiding in the growth of your team's lists.

Implement robust induction, training, and mentoring processes for your team. Introduce meaningful performance measures or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to guide progress and performance.

Additionally, you'll need to consider

• Understanding the financial aspects, including fair pricing for acquisitions or greenfield startup capital requirements

• Comprehending the operational processes and systems

• Identifying your competitors and ensuring compliance with regulations and permits

• Defining your business's vision and the patient demographics you aim to serve

• Planning for necessary equipment and creating an ambience in your premises that reflects your business's values and professionalism. I suggest creating a checklist as a valuable exercise to ensure no crucial matters are overlooked.

Utilise the example checklist provided in my book to guide you through the various considerations.

This step is a big one and it is challenging but very rewarding and undoubtedly worth considering, so ensure you are prepared to embark upon it confidently!