u/MedicallyUnserious

Looking to hear any experiences of nurses transitioning to working at Epic. The good, bad, and unexpected. Any thoughts you’ve had leaving the bedside. Thanks!

I’ve spent my first career as a registered nurse but now I’m at a point in my life that I think it’s the most plausible for me to become an airline pilot, which has been a lifelong dream of mine. I’m 30, single, and have flexibility with my job so I can work part time to focus of flying. I also live in Chicago now.

I’m looking for general advice anyone has for my type of situation and any tips you have for my journey ahead. Thanks!

I’ve spent my first career as a registered nurse but now I’m at a point in my life that I think it’s the most plausible for me to become an airline pilot, which has been a lifelong dream of mine. I’m 30, single, and have flexibility with my job so I can work part time to focus of flying. I also live in Chicago now.

I’m looking for general advice anyone has for my type of situation and any tips you have for my journey ahead. Thanks!

I’m an RN with 6+ years of experience, primarily in adult CTICU, and currently work as an ECMO specialist at a large academic medical center. I enjoy the clinical and technical side of my job, but I’m considering medical device as a long-term move away from inpatient nursing.

I’m looking for some ground-level perspective:
• How competitive is a CTICU/ECMO background for breaking into medical device?
• What roles would you target first: Clinical Specialist, Associate Sales Rep, Territory Associate, or something else?
• Which specialties/companies would value ECMO and cardiovascular critical care experience the most?
• How difficult is it to move from a Clinical Specialist role into a true sales/territory role?
• For former nurses, how does the actual work-life balance compare with bedside nursing?
• What does travel realistically look like? Is it mostly driving around a territory, or are overnight trips and flights common?
• How much do early cases, call, add-ons, and physician schedules interfere with your life outside work?
• For reps eventually earning $200k+, what kind of workload, call responsibility, and lifestyle typically comes with that income?
• How much autonomy do you actually have versus being constantly accountable to quotas, managers, and customers?
• What are the biggest negatives of medical device that nurses tend to underestimate before entering the industry?
• If you came from ICU/CVICU nursing, would you make the transition again?

I’m not looking for an easy escape from nursing. I’m trying to understand whether the tradeoffs of medical device are a better long-term fit than continuing in inpatient healthcare.

I’m an RN with 6+ years of critical care experience, currently working at a large academic medical center. I enjoy the clinical complexity of what I do, but after several years in inpatient healthcare I’ve started thinking more seriously about what I want the next phase of my career to look like.

The Nurse Project Manager position at Epic has caught my attention. I’m particularly interested in getting away from bedside/shift-work culture while still using my healthcare background, and I like the idea of working on larger-scale projects, solving workflow problems, and having more ownership over outcomes.

I’ve read Epic’s description of the role and some older posts here, but I’d really like to hear the unfiltered version from current or former Nurse PMs/PMs.

What does the job actually feel like day to day?
How much of your time is spent in meetings, project planning, customer interaction, travel, problem solving, etc.?
How much autonomy do you have?

I’m also curious about the things that are harder to learn from the job posting:
• What is the culture at Epic actually like once you’re working there?
• What are the hours realistically like for a Nurse PM?
• How much do you actually travel, and how disruptive is it to your personal life?
• What is the social environment like for employees in Madison/Verona?
• For nurses who made the transition, what did you like or dislike compared with bedside nursing?
• Do you feel your nursing experience is genuinely valuable in the role, or does everyone essentially become a PM once they start?
• What does compensation progression look like after a few years?
• What are the realistic career paths after 3–5+ years, both within Epic and for people who eventually leave?
• What type of person tends to thrive in the role, and what type of person tends to hate it?

For context, relocating to Madison wouldn’t necessarily be a negative for me. I’m originally from Wisconsin and already have college friends in the area, so I’m more interested in whether I would actually enjoy the work and Epic lifestyle than whether Madison itself is a good place to live.

I’m not necessarily trying to leave nursing tomorrow. I’m mostly trying to figure out whether this could be a legitimate long-term career pivot rather than just something that sounds attractive because I’m getting tired of inpatient healthcare.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually done the Nurse PM role, especially nurses who came from ICU/critical care.