Onboarding new staff in a GP practice: a 30-60-90 day guide

Bad onboarding costs practices more than most practice managers realise. A new receptionist who is not properly trained will make appointment errors that upset patients for weeks. A new GP who is not properly inducted will spend three months quietly working around your systems instead of using them. A new practice nurse who is not credentialed correctly is a compliance risk on day one.

Onboarding is not the paperwork you do in the first week. It is the structured 90-day process that turns a new hire into a fully contributing team member. Done well, it protects your compliance, embeds your culture, and keeps people in the role. Done badly, it accelerates turnover and creates gaps you spend years cleaning up.

This guide gives you the core framework, then adapts it for the five roles that make up most Australian general practices.

The 30-60-90 framework

Onboarding runs in three phases, each with a different goal:

• First 30 days: safe and oriented
• Days 31 to 60: competent and contributing
• Days 61 to 90: independent and integrated

Each phase builds on the last. Skip a phase and gaps show up later. Try to compress everything into the first week and you will lose the new hire's attention along with most of the value.

Let's walk through each phase.

First 30 days: safe and oriented

The goal for the first month is that the new hire can operate safely, knows who everyone is, and understands what your practice is about. Not that they are fully competent. Not that they are productive at full pace. Just safe, clear on their role, and connected to the team.

Before day one

Onboarding starts before the person arrives. In the week before:

• Confirm start date, hours, dress code, and where to arrive in writing
• Send a welcome email with a brief introduction to the team and their first-day schedule
• Set up their systems access (practice management software, email, secure messaging, any clinical tools)
• Prepare their workstation (desk, chair, phone extension, name badge if you use them)
• Notify the team the new person is starting and what their role will be
• Ensure their induction pack is ready (position description, code of conduct, policies to read)

Nothing kills confidence faster than showing up on day one to find nobody was expecting you and there is no computer set up.

Week 1: orientation

The first week is heavy on orientation, light on independent work. The goal is exposure to the practice, not productivity.

• Welcome meeting with the practice manager and practice principal
• Tour of the practice, including all clinical rooms, storage areas, sterilisation, waste, and emergency exits
• Introduction to every team member (name, role, how to get help from them)
• Walk through the practice's mission, values, and patient promise
• Review of the position description and clarify what "success in this role" looks like
• Sign-off on essential compliance documents (code of conduct, privacy, WHS, any policies specific to the role)
• Mandatory training kickoff (hand hygiene, infection control, fire and emergency, manual handling as required)
• Set up their preferred communication (which app, which channel, what they should ask directly)

By the end of week 1, the new hire should know where everything is, who everyone is, and how their role fits into the practice.

Week 2 to 3: shadowing and supported work

The next two weeks shift from being told about the role to seeing it done and beginning to do it.

• Shadow an experienced colleague in the same or adjacent role for structured sessions
• Complete role-specific system training (practice management software, clinical software, telehealth platform, whatever applies)
• Complete required online training modules relevant to the role
• Begin doing supervised work, with a named buddy on hand to answer questions
• Attend team meetings as an observer, then as a participant
• Meet other team members one-to-one over a coffee to build relationships

For clinical roles, this is when you verify credentials properly:

• AHPRA registration current and confirmed against the public register
• Medical indemnity current and adequate
• CPR certification current (and rebook now if expiring within 6 months)
• Working with Children Check where required
• Immunisation status verified and documented per RACGP standards
• Police check or National Criminal History Check where relevant

For non-clinical roles, verify:

• Working with Children Check where required
• Right to work
• Any relevant qualifications or licences

Week 4: check-in and adjustment

The end of the first month is the first structured checkpoint.

Hold a 30-minute meeting with the new hire. Cover:

• How they are finding the role
• What is going well
• What is confusing or frustrating
• Anything they need that has not been provided
• Feedback for you on the onboarding process so far

Adjust the plan for the next 60 days based on what you hear. If they are progressing faster than expected, give them more. If they are struggling, identify the specific gaps and address them, do not just push through.

Also at week 4:

• Confirm all mandatory training is complete or on track
• Confirm all compliance documentation is signed and filed
• Formal probation feedback with the practice principal if that is your process

Days 31 to 60: competent and contributing

The second month is about moving from supervised work to independent work in defined areas. The new hire is doing the job, but with a safety net and clear boundaries.

Weeks 5 to 6: expanding scope

The buddy relationship shifts from constant to as-needed. The new hire works independently on core tasks but escalates anything unusual.

• Take on the full range of routine work for their role
• Begin managing their own workflow with less oversight
• Attend team meetings as a full participant
• Contribute to a small piece of ongoing work (a QI activity, a policy review, a project)
• Complete the second wave of training (advanced features of your systems, more complex procedures)

The goal is that by the end of week 6, the new hire is doing 80% of what an experienced person in the role does, with support available for the other 20%.

Weeks 7 to 8: role-specific depth

By now the new hire understands the role. This is when you build depth in the areas that matter most for your practice.

For a receptionist, that might be complex bookings, Medicare billing edge cases, or telehealth setup.

For a nurse, that might be immunisation planning, chronic disease management support, or care plan reviews.

For a GP, that might be the practice's approach to specific chronic disease pathways, referrals, or the mental health treatment plan process.

Whatever the role, week 7 to 8 is when they move from "can do this" to "can do this well".

Week 8 to 9: culture and contribution

Alongside the technical depth, this is when the person's sense of belonging in the team should be solidifying.

• One-to-one with the practice principal or clinical lead about their observations of the practice
• Invitation to contribute to something visible (a team meeting agenda item, a QI project, a policy update)
• Opportunity to give feedback on how the practice runs, not just receive it
• Any social or team-building activity that reinforces they are part of the team

Week 9: 60-day review

The second structured checkpoint. Longer than the 30-day, ideally 45 to 60 minutes.

Cover:

• Progress against role expectations
• Areas of strength that are emerging
• Areas that need continued development
• Specific goals for the final 30 days
• Career development conversation (what do they want next, and how can the practice support that)
• Feedback in both directions

Days 61 to 90: independent and integrated

The final month is about the new hire becoming a full member of the team, not just occupying a role.

Weeks 10 to 11: full independence

The buddy relationship formally ends. The new hire is expected to work independently and escalate only when they genuinely need to.

• Full independent workload
• Begin mentoring or supporting others where appropriate (even a brand new hire has knowledge to share)
• Take ownership of one recurring responsibility (running a specific meeting, maintaining a register, leading a QI activity)
• Complete any remaining training or certification gaps

Week 12: 90-day review and confirmation

The final checkpoint. This is the meeting where you formally confirm the new hire is settled in the role.

Cover:

• Final probation decision (if applicable)
• Formal role confirmation and any adjustments to responsibilities
• Performance goals for the next six months
• Development plan and any training the practice will invest in
• Recognition of the transition being complete

At this point:

• All mandatory training is done and recorded
• All credentialing and compliance documents are in the staff file
• The new hire has an assigned owner for ongoing development (usually the practice manager or clinical lead)
• They are counted as fully productive in your workforce planning

Role-specific adaptations

The framework above is the same for every role. What changes is the content, the emphasis, and the depth in each phase. Here is what to adjust for each of the five main roles in an Australian general practice.

GP (senior or established doctor)

An experienced GP knows the clinical work already. Your onboarding is about your practice, not medicine.

• First 30: heavy on your systems, your workflows, and your patient population. Which chronic disease pathways do you use? Which referral networks? How does billing work here? What is your recall system?
• Days 31 to 60: build relationships with the nursing and reception team. GPs who do not know their team well end up frustrated and isolated within six months.
• Days 61 to 90: contribute to the practice beyond the consulting room. QI activity, policy input, or mentoring a registrar.
• Watch for: senior GPs who resist your systems and quietly build their own. Have the conversation early.

GP registrar

Registrars need more scaffolding than experienced GPs, and their onboarding is more heavily regulated.

• Before day one: confirm training program registration, supervisor allocation, and any specific training requirements.
• First 30: extensive orientation, clinical software training, exposure to the patient population, and clarification of scope of practice.
• Days 31 to 60: supported clinical work with formal supervision structure. Regular case discussions with the supervisor. Clear escalation pathways.
• Days 61 to 90: increasing autonomy within the training framework, but never full independence during the registrar period.
• Watch for: registrars who are quietly struggling but not raising it. The supervisor's role is to notice.

Practice nurse

Nurses often have the most variable prior experience. Some come with 20 years in general practice, others are moving in from acute care and need to learn a whole new model.

• First 30: heavy focus on the general practice model of care, chronic disease management, immunisation programs, and the specific workflows around care plans and reviews.
• Days 31 to 60: full nursing scope including complex work like wound care, spirometry, and 4 or 6 year old health assessments.
• Days 61 to 90: take ownership of specific programs (cold chain, immunisation register, care planning coordination).
• Watch for: nurses coming from hospital settings who underestimate how different general practice nursing is. It is not a downgrade, it is a different discipline.

Reception and administration

Reception is often the most under-invested onboarding, and it is also the highest-risk. Reception errors affect patient safety, billing accuracy, and the patient experience.

• First 30: intensive systems training. Practice management software, phone system, Medicare, private billing, telehealth setup, appointment types, triage protocols.
• Days 31 to 60: complex scenarios. Difficult patients, urgent triage, billing edge cases, Medicare rejections, Workcover, DVA, all the things that only come up occasionally but must be handled correctly.
• Days 61 to 90: take ownership of specific administrative tasks (recall list management, incoming results workflow, patient feedback collection).
• Watch for: reception staff being thrown to the wolves at the front desk on day two. This creates errors that ripple through the practice for months.

Practice manager

If you are onboarding a new practice manager (or being onboarded yourself), the framework applies but the content is more strategic.

• First 30: understand the business (financials, patient demographics, clinician mix, systems, key relationships). Meet every team member. Understand the current accreditation status and any open compliance items.
• Days 31 to 60: begin driving improvements. Take ownership of a specific area (recruitment, finances, compliance, or systems).
• Days 61 to 90: full ownership of practice operations. Presenting to owners or the board, leading team meetings, running the compliance rhythm.
• Watch for: new practice managers being expected to fix everything immediately. Give them the 90 days to understand what they are inheriting before they change it.

Common onboarding mistakes

Six patterns that undermine onboarding, and how to avoid each.

Compressing everything into the first week. New hires cannot absorb 90 days of information in 5 days. What you cannot fit into week 1 will not stick. Structure the drip.

Skipping the credentialing checks because you are busy. Every clinical hire needs their AHPRA, indemnity, CPR, and immunisation status verified. Every clinical and non-clinical hire needs whatever Working with Children or police checks are relevant. Do this properly on day one, or accept the compliance risk.

Treating onboarding as HR's job or the practice manager's job alone. Onboarding is the whole team's job. Clinicians orient the new GP. Nurses orient the new nurse. Reception orients the new receptionist. The practice manager coordinates.

No named buddy. Every new hire should have a specific person they can go to with questions. A group inbox is not a buddy. A vague "ask anyone" is not a buddy.

No structured check-ins. Without the 30, 60, and 90-day checkpoints, small problems become big problems. The check-ins are non-negotiable, even if everything seems to be going well.

Forgetting about culture. Compliance training and systems induction do not make someone feel like they belong. Culture takes deliberate work: introductions, coffees, meaningful invitations to contribute, and follow-up.

How Practice Managed helps

Practice Managed keeps the records a new starter's first 90 days produce in one place. Their registration, indemnity and CPR sit in Credentials. The policies they need to read are on their list in the app, and you see when they have acknowledged each one. Write an induction course in Training, or record the induction you run elsewhere. Training shows who has finished what, and a new doctor has a first-day checklist. Managers see who is on track without chasing spreadsheets or wading through email.

The result is consistent onboarding across every hire, evidence you can show a surveyor, and new team members who feel supported from day one.

Practice Managed opens for sign-up soon. Join the early access list to be first to start your free 30-day trial. No credit card needed.

Final thought

The practices that retain staff, run smoothly, and pass accreditation with minimum fuss share a common trait: they take onboarding seriously. Not with 100-page induction manuals nobody reads, but with a structured 90-day process that gets people safely, competently, and fully into the team.

If you invest 90 days in doing this well, you save yourself years of managing the consequences of doing it badly.

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This guide is general information for Australian practice managers. Adjust the framework to fit your practice size, structure, and specific role requirements.