In response to a post I did about the Noble EHR Profession, I got the following response about the challenge people are facing in finding a job with Epic or even in the EHR community as a whole. Stories like this make my heart break, so I have to share them. If people have ideas or job leadsfor Joan Baird (who wrote the comment below), let me know and I’ll send them on to her.
To provide some perspective…..I am also a recent grad with 2 degrees. One is in Health Information Management, the other is a Master’s in Medical Informatics. The difference is I am not 22 or 25. I applied for the position the woman in the article did. The test that EPIC administers is pretty intense and the subject matter is really only that which a recent (young) college grad would grasp and pass.
My Master’s graduation was in the past year from a reputable school. People at HIMSS said that employers would be “fighting over me”. I do get lots of calls from recruiters and had a fair number of interviews. Unfortunately, everyone wants people that have been through the entire implementation process at least once. How does one get that first position on an EMR team? This is what my degrees have prepared me for, especially the Masters degree. In addition, I serve on a HIMSS task force, attend HIMSS/AHIMA meetings, teach part time at a local college, take ONC workforce development classes etc.
I feel as though I am doing everything I “should” be doing. If you or anyone out there has advice for an educated, analytical, problem solving, high energy person looking to work on an implementation team, please weigh in.
This post also goes really well with the post Jennifer Dennard did on EMR and EHR about the EMR Job Qualification Gap.