New Epic Pharmacist Position – T Minus 5 Days

Today I got a check-in call from the HR department to touch base and see if all went well with the pre-employment drug test and to ask if I had any questions. She also called to let me know what my exact starting time on my first day on the job would be… 10am.

Now will my regular start time be 10am going forward…? I don’t know, I’m not complaining and I certainly wouldn’t hate it if it was… 😉

The Interview Process – More Background Info

Getting this new Epic pharmacist position involved going through a 4-step interview process. Yes, you read that right… There were a total of four phases I went through prior to landing the position.

Step One

So the first stage, like most job interview processes, was a phone interview. I spoke with a recruiter who asked me some questions about my clinical background, training, and past work experiences. It was basically a conversation to figure out if I was qualified enough to move forward in the process.

What were they looking for?

Since the Epic pharmacist position was specifically for the Epic Willow module the checklist was pretty straightforward:

• Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D)
• Previous experience working in a pharmacy (inpatient or outpatient) for a minimum of three (3) years
  • Understanding of how work flows in a pharmacy
  • Familiarity with pharmacy policies and procedures (in a general sense)
  • Good understanding of patient care
  • Familiarity with pharmacy practice regulatory requirements
• Some familiarity or experience with EMR systems but not necessarily an in-depth knowledge of coding or any of that technical stuff

And there it was… My hopes were up. I felt that I had met the most basic requirements of the position and we were off to a good start.

The recruiter got the information now it was my turn to get my own information…

• How many positions were available? – One (at the time)
• How soon were they looking to fill the position? – ASAP (but isn’t that always the case?)
• What were they looking for in the candidates above and beyond the basic requirements? – Someone that “clicked” with the team and had an aptitude for learning technical stuff (now I’m getting scared…)
• Were they really going to pay for the Epic certification? – Yes (could this really be…? Yay!)
• Was “no Epic experience” really not a show stopper? – Yes (okay… there is hope yet…)

Join me tomorrow for Step Two.