The “Ugly” Side of Being an Epic Willow Pharmacist

Last week I told you I’m becoming a Pharmacist Lifestyle Blogger… Don’t laugh, I plan to make it a real thing… I hope…

All that means is that I won’t just be talking only about being an Epic Willow pharmacist, especially since, knowing my career history, it won’t be the job I retire from, regardless of how much I enjoy it right now.

So… Back to the topic at hand… The ugly side of being an Epic Willow pharmacist.

Yes! There is one… And no, I’m not turning into a negative Nelly… I just think it’s only fair to present both sides of the coin as there is no perfect pharmacist job or pharmacy practice setting out there. At least, not in my humble opinion or past experience so far.

A job may be perfect for some time, but things do crop up that may make it imperfect for some after a while… And it’s the same with this.

Here’s what “They” will always tell you about being an Epic pharmacist…

And by “they” I mean anyone who stands to gain something from you getting such a job… Be it a recruiter, a hiring manager, even your future co-workers looking for someone else to bring onto the team…

You’ll probably usually hear:

• You can make good money (well, you’re a pharmacist… you can make good money in almost any practice setting)
• Become an Epic consultant and pick the projects you want to work on anywhere in the country… Yea, even the world (Epic is becoming more popular across the globe actually)
• Your schedule will be very flexible
• You’ll get to work from home, or at least, partially remote (ah, the Holy Grail for weary and frustrated hospital and retail pharmacists)

Here’s what “they” won’t tell you…

You’ll probably never hear:

• You’ll constantly have to scramble at the end of your contract (or if you’re on top of things, as your current contract is drawing to a close) to find a new placement or project to work on if you work as a consultant and aren’t an employee of a hospital
• After the organization finishes launching the Epic software a.k.a “after go-live” there will be a mass exodus of Epic consultants from said organization which, if the hospital IT staff haven’t been well trained to work without the consultants, can be quite devastating and dare I say, catastrophic…?
• If you’re an employee and not a consultant, the truth is that you really don’t have many, if any, opportunities for vertical advancement within the Epic ecosystem… Unless you have an eye for your manager’s job, that is. Now there are lots of lateral moves you can make, for instance, if you choose to get certified in another Epic application. But who wants to build their career on lateral moves… You’re not actually “building” if you do that, you’re only “sprawling” out really.

So… Is this a bad thing?

It all depends…

On you.

If you aren’t interested in career advancement and just want to find a nice comfy job, put money in your 401K, settle into a routine and not rock the boat, then none of this should phase you.

If you’re a gung-ho clinical pharmacist who got a residency or what have you and just can’t live with the thought that you’ll never get to spew off all that wonderful clinical information stored in the recesses of your mind, then this may not be the long-term path for you.

Regardless of which camp you fall into, or even if you fall into neither, and personally, I think I am neither… I just like change a lot, the experience of being an Epic Willow pharmacist is one that will not hurt to have under your belt.

Just go into it with a plan and come out with an agenda when your time is up.

What camp do you think you fall into? Let me know in the comments section below.