Janet.
I'm excited to come in to work because I know that when I leave, I'll have accomplished something.
Why Epic?
It was a fluke. Epic was my first interview, I fell in love, and they offered me money to do something I love. It wasn't until I started working here that I realized what a great match it was, and how lucky I was to find a job where everyone is engaged and excited to come into work every morning. I think it's pretty rare to be working with other people who are smarter than you but are eager to teach you and to learn from you.
What projects have you tackled at Epic?
I started in our billing software, and then hunkered down in a conference room for 6 months with a crew of crazy-smart people creating our cardiology module from scratch. I then led the development of our obstetrics module from an idea on a whiteboard... to production. More recently, I've been trail blazing on our personal health record website, a community networking portal for doctors. I've even been able to contribute to government initiatives to foster interoperability among disparate medical records systems - this is the type of thing that has the potential to change healthcare for all.
How much freedom do you have in your day-to-day work?
My days vary. I appreciate the times where I can sit in my office, turn my music to 11, drink coffee, and code. But I also have plenty of opportunities to help and comment on development projects from all kinds of teams. I help with interviewing and reviewing the portfolios of UI designers, I create documents that attempt to clearly explain different projects and concepts, and I train new employees. As long as I'm accomplishing what I promised to accomplish, I'm free to do that however I'd like. I appreciate that.
What makes you excited to come to work every day?
I never know what the day is going to bring. Maybe it's an emergency. Maybe it's a breakthrough. Maybe it's a last minute strategy meeting in our treehouse. I'm excited to come in to work because I know that when I leave, I'll have accomplished something.
There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when you see your own doctor using code you've written.
What's your advice to new employees?
You might be frustrated if you come up against a problem that no one here has any experience with. Don't be. It's a complicated industry with many facets, and you've just found an opportunity to make yourself the in-house expert. Expand what you know, reach out beyond the company, and start researching. Make guesses. And then, smarty-pants, teach others. You've just made yourself indispensible.
