Tamah Clapham is the first Nurse Practitioner (NP) in New
Zealand’s largest general practice network to take a
shareholding in one of the practices. In May Dr Shomel
Gauznabi, Dr Richard Chen and Tamah became partner owners in
The Doctors Middlemore.
Nurse Practitioners in general
practice ownership isn’t common but it may be a growing
trend and solution for creating more sustainable primary
care.
NP Clapham had plenty of role models to aspire
to during her NP internship with her Massey University
Professor, Prof. Karen Hoare part owner in the Greenstone
Family practice (Manurewa) alongside Goodfellow Lead and
Auckland University Professor Bruce Arroll.
“I also
had a colleague in my intern cohort from the South Island
who had banded together with other nurses and bought the
practice from a retiring GP. Another two colleagues have
recently started their own NP led practice in East Auckland.
Additionally, there is the health connections NP owned and
led youth service here in Auckland.”
NP Clapham
believes that nurses and NP ownership models have immense
potential to add value in primary care and that it was a
good strategic decision to join with Green Cross Health and
The Doctors Middlemore. Ownership offered the opportunity
for longevity as a practitioner, for leadership, and to
positively make an impact through that partnership.
“I
would encourage other NP’s if presented with the
opportunity to take up the challenge and become an
owner/partner as I do believe achieving better outcomes for
patients is also about good business and that these two
things are synergistic. When we put good patient care at the
centre of what we do the retention and satisfaction and
culture that is built around this will create an excellent
and sustainable business or primary care practice, fit for
the future.
“I know for many registered nurses this
is still not an area of strength, but there is a lot they
can bring to primary care as business partners rather than
as employees.”
The other new owners Dr Richard Chen
and Dr Shomel Gauznabi have similar motivations and a lot to
contribute to the practice and partnership.
Dr Chen who
also leads the urgent care services comments,
“Essentially, everywhere I’ve been in healthcare, I’ve
seen the same old dynamics with patients, employees, and
businesses. Patients need good quality healthcare; always.
In our deprived system, demand is endless. Medical
businesses with limited resources struggle daily to meet
demand. Nurses and Doctors get caught in the middle pushing
themselves to burnout and major job
dissatisfaction.
He believes the challenge is, to try
a different model, something sustainable first, then
scalable. And he believes that employees are a great place
for businesses to start looking for solutions.
“Part
of sustainability is integrating our employees and the
business into one. An employee who is competent and
responsible enough should have a chance to become a
shareholder. We all believe that here. And aligning the
incentives for business profit (or loss…) to good patient
outcomes. That is really the rabbit hole for me…” Dr
Gauznabi reflects back to early on in his career, “I had
identified a strong desire to work in primary care to help
shape our local communities which led me to pursue a
vocation in General Practice and Urgent Care. Being
positioned to advocate and impact patients in an underserved
community has been a goal for me and having a share at The
Doctors Middlemore helps me both achieve this and reflect my
personal values.”
Wayne Woolrich, GM Medical at
Green Cross Health says, “Along with our existing partners
we are delighted to welcome these new partners as part of
our succession planning for The Doctors Middlemore. From a
Green Cross perspective having our first NP partner / owner
is an important milestone for other NPs in our network and I
hope it inspires others to come forward when these
opportunities present.”
The current shareholders are
Dr Alan Tee, Dr Mark Young, Dr Huta Tangaroa and Lita Hall,
Dr Chaoning (Richard) Chen, Dr Shomel Gauznabi, NP Tamah
Clapham, and Green Cross Health.
Editorial
notes:
Green Cross Health: listed entity and owner of the
following brands or entities
The Doctors: over 1,400
employees; 55 practices; 339,000 enrolled patients
Life
Pharmacy, Unichem Pharmacy: 351 pharmacies: 1.8 million
loyalty members
Access Community Health: over 3,000
support workers; 3.6 million home visits
annually
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