Free guide for Australian GPs

GPs as directors

Practical steps to move from practice ownership to board directorship.

GP practice owners transitioning to board roles encounter a different decision-making environment to clinical practice. Boards operate through collective deliberation on strategy and risk, with issues often resolved across multiple meetings rather than within a single consultation. The most common adjustment involves shifting from providing clinical answers to asking governance questions.

GPs as directors is an evidence-based guide for practice owners considering a transition to governance. The book explains why doctors' skills are valued in boardrooms, outlines the mindset shift from clinician to director and addresses common challenges like business literacy and role boundaries.

Through practical examples and current research, it shows how doctors can build credibility, develop governance competence and find opportunities beyond medicine. Step-by-step sections help readers prepare, present their experience and navigate the realities of board appointments.

Download the book

Why read this book?

Preparing for a board role requires a different set of skills and knowledge than running a clinical practice. This guide covers the governance competencies boards look for, the practical steps involved in finding and securing appointments, and the adjustments doctors typically make when moving from clinical autonomy to collective decision-making.

The book addresses business literacy gaps, role boundaries, how to present clinical experience as a board asset, and common pitfalls in the transition from practice ownership to directorship.

Key sections

Why doctors are needed on boards.

What it really takes to transition from clinic to boardroom.

How to build credibility and fill skills gaps.

Step-by-step guidance to find and land board roles.

Who should read this book?

GP clinic owners planning succession, retirement or sale in the next few years.
Doctors wanting to use their clinical skills for wider impact in healthcare governance.
Practice managers, investors or advisors navigating due diligence or board appointments.
Anyone in medical leadership seeking to understand what boards want from doctors and how to step up.

Author

Dr Chris Mitchell AM, FAICD

Chris is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Rural General Practitioner and Rural Generalist with over 35 years of experience in Northern NSW. Past Head of Adoption, Benefits and Change at the National eHealth Transition Authority, reporting directly to the CEO. He is a Past President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He has served on numerous health sector boards, including the RACGP, NPS MedicineWise, Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd, The Rural Doctors Network and North Coast GP Training. Chris was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2013 for services to general practice and received a Rural Doctors Network Rural Medical Service Award in 2025.