What happens when someone walks into Practice Management with zero healthcare experience, no systems, no training, and a team already set in their ways - yet goes on to build one of the most admired clinics in the Scale My Clinic community?

In this episode, Bec Whitehurst shares her journey from “I didn’t even know what Medicare was” to overseeing two thriving practices, managing 26+ doctors, and creating a culture that attracts and keeps phenomenal people.

This conversation is a masterclass for Clinic Owners who feel overwhelmed, burnt out, or uncertain about how to empower their team. Bec lifts the curtain on trust, leadership, hiring, growth, opening a second site, navigating conflict, and what she learned from a complete cultural breakdown that forced her to rebuild from scratch.

If you’re a Clinic Owner or Practice Manager who wants to scale without losing your sanity (or your team) this conversation will change the way you lead.

In this episode of the Scale My Clinic Podcast, you’ll learn:

• 00:58 - Why transferable skills matter
• 05:54 - How to survive the first months as a PM with no systems, no handover, & no roadmap
• 10:34 - Winning trust fast and the relationship strategies that make or break a practice
• 16:22 - Growing & expanding a clinic, and how culture and systems drive sustainable scale
• 26:56 - How misalignment, unclear roles, and lack of communication quietly destroy a practice long before problems become visible
• 41:59 - Practical frameworks that reduce overwhelm, prevent bottlenecks, and give owners more time back
• 51:21 - How to create empowered managers, what leadership really requires, and how to stop bottlenecking growth

ABOUT BEC WHITEHURST

Rebecca Whitehurst is a Business Manager at Grove Medical, overseeing two clinics in Perth. She love turning chaos into structure, helping people thrive, and learning from every mistake, all while living her best millennial life as a coffee-fuelled, dog-obsessed people person.

• Website: https://grove-medical.com.au/

Missed the previous Episode?

Listen to Episode 82 here: The Walker Street Way: How BM Jessica Led a Culture Shift, a Clinic Move, and a Doctor Uplift; All at Once

🎯 Book your free Practice Growth Call here: https://smc.expert/Personalised-Practice-Audit-PC

Your clinic can’t scale if it’s still running on people instead of systems.

In this episode, Sachin sits down with Jess Rankin, Business Manager at Walker Street Doctors, for a masterclass on what it really takes to transform a clinic from “held together by heroic individuals” into a calm, scalable, system-driven practice.

Jess shares her unexpected transition into practice management, the baptism-by-fire early days, and the pivotal mindset shifts that allowed her and owner Nerida to work as a true leadership team instead of two exhausted people putting out fires.

From rebuilding trust after a tough internal transition, to implementing a service fee increase without losing a single doctor, to moving an entire practice in just eight weeks, to building an intranet that finally ended the “Where is that document?” chaos, Jess lifts the curtain on how real clinics grow - not through hacks or heroics, but through curiosity, communication, and the courage to challenge the old way of doing things.

If you’re a Clinic Owner or Practice Manager who’s ambitious but overwhelmed, struggling with key-person dependency, or craving a smoother, saner way to scale, this conversation will feel like oxygen.

In this episode of the Scale My Clinic Podcast, you’ll learn:

• 05:11 - Why challenging the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset is crucial for breaking growth plateaus and reducing key-person dependency.
• 12:20 - Building the dream practice with your doctors, not for them
• 17:12 - Raising service fees the right way without losing a single GP
• 19:55 - Why centralising processes, policies, and “the way we do things here” is one of the highest-leverage moves
• 29:58 - The power of a true PM – Owner leadership rhythm

ABOUT JESSICA RANKIN

Jess Rankin is the Business Manager at Walker Street Doctors in North Sydney, where she blends strategic thinking with genuine care for people. With a background in HR and health administration, including experience with the AMA NSW, Jess is passionate about creating an efficient, joyful, and values-driven workplace that allow doctors and staff to deliver exceptional care. She’s also the Chairperson of the Unsworth Foundation, leading her family’s philanthropic work to support community and health initiatives across Australia. Known for her energy, organisation, and her favourite question “Why?” Jess believes that strong systems create the space for connection and better care. Away from work, she’s grounded by her husband, two adult children, her parents who live a bit too nearby, and two much-loved cats, Loki and George.

• Website: https://www.walkerstreetdoctors.com.au/

Missed the previous Episode?

Listen to Episode 81 here: The Pressure Index of Ownership: Lessons from AFL, Medicine, and Building a Future-Ready Clinic

🎯 Book your free Practice Growth Call here: https://smc.expert/Personalised-Practice-Audit-PC

If you want a clinic that runs smoother, grows faster, and feels easier to lead, the real breakthroughs aren’t in medicine. They’re in the metrics, mindsets, and leadership moves you make outside the consult room.

In this episode, GP and Practice Owner Dr Andrew Palfreman joins Todd to unpack the unexpected overlap between coaching under-14 AFL kids and running a high-functioning General Practice - and why the “fierce cauldron of self-development” is the best preparation you never knew you needed.

Andrew shares the story behind the now-legendary RPI and why simple, behaviour-driven metrics outperform complex dashboards. He opens up about taking over a long-standing practice earlier than expected, stabilising a team after turbulent ownership changes, and how he rebuilt trust, culture, and momentum from the inside out.

You’ll also hear how Andrew navigated ownership as a new fellow, led calmly through the uncertainty of COVID, built a proactive model of care, and now prepares his clinic for its next major growth phase, both operationally and structurally.

If you’re a GP or Practice Owner looking for grounded, real-world lessons from someone who’s lived every part of the journey - clinical, managerial, cultural, financial - this conversation is a goldmine.

You’ll walk away with insights you can apply immediately, whether you’re stabilising, growing, or scaling your clinic for the future.

In this episode of the Scale My Clinic Podcast, you’ll learn:

• Why coaching-style thinking makes you a stronger Practice Owner (00:22)
• How to create lead/lag indicators that drive real behaviour change, keep your team aligned, and remove ambiguity without overwhelming people with dashboards (01:26)
• The first high-impact decisions new owners must make to stabilise the team, protect the business, and set the clinic up for long-term growth (10:21)
• What strong crisis leadership really requires and how to guide your team with confidence in uncertain moments (23:04)
• How planned care, health assessments, and rebooking systems create sustainable scale (28:49)
• How strategic room planning, telehealth flow, and property decisions that enable growth (36:02)

ABOUT DR ANDREW PALFREMAN

Dr Palfreman graduated from the ANU Medical School in 2009 and completed GP specialty training to become a Fellow of the RACGP in 2014. He worked previously as a Registrar at Winnungah Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service and Interchange General Practice. While Clinical Director at IGP, he was fortunate to help at Watson in 2015 prior to the passing of Dr Phillip Toua (well known to longstanding Watson and Giralang patients). In 2017, Dr Palfreman returned permanently as Clinical Director and bought the practice in November 2018. In 2021, he also began work at a GP outreach clinic with Directions Health Service.

Originally from Melbourne, he is an alumnus of the University of Melbourne and RMIT and worked in 1997 at Monash University. He moved to Canberra in 2001 and spent two years in Solomon Islands prior to studying medicine. In October 2018 he returned briefly to the Pacific as a locum doctor in Port Vila, Vanuatu. He has three children, a Staffy called Steve, and lives locally.

While interested in general medicine, he has specific interests in chronic disease and pain management, men’s health and Indigenous health. In November 2024, he received a Medicare Champion award from the Australian Government:

Announcing Australia's Medicare champions | Health Portfolio Ministers | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

• Website: