Ms. Roop is a freelance writer based in Tampa, Fla.
When Elaine G. Watanabe, PharmD, started working for Kaiser Permanente 22 years ago as an inpatient pharmacist specialist, it was her dream job—something she would be happy doing for the rest of her career. Before long, however, she was encouraged to expand her horizons and take advantage of other opportunities within the organization. Today, Dr. Watanabe is administrative pharmacy services manager with Kaiser’s Pharmacy Strategy & Operations. Each day, she says, brings a new and exciting challenge and allows her to fulfill the goals she set when she became a pharmacist to give to others and practice what she believes.
“It has been wonderful to have had the chance to be mentored and to mentor others. It is very satisfying to think that, even in some small way, you have made a difference in a student’s, intern’s, resident’s, or new manager’s growth,” she said. “The professional environment and collaborative practice at Kaiser Permanente makes it a very desirable place to work and to provide patient care. Most of all, it has been the people within pharmacy who have touched my career and life in the most positive of ways. We often refer to those we work with as our ‘Pharmacy Family.’“
Dr. Watanabe’s experiences working for the nation’s leading nonprofit integrated health plan are not unique. Considering Kaiser Permanente services 8.2 million people in 9 states and the District of Columbia, it is easy to see why the organization is considered by its employees to be an amazing place to work.
For starters, multiple career settings exist within Kaiser Permanente, including:
- ambulatory care
- hospital, or inpatient
- community, or outpatient
- drug use management and education
- home infusion centers
- informatics and technology
- automated refill pharmacies
- drug information services
- pharmacy outcomes research
- pharmacy analytical services
- pharmacy call centers
- administration and management
Pharmacists can specialize in patient population care management or disease state management, in areas such as:
- anticoagulation
- oncology
- asthma
- HIV
- cholesterol
- diabetes
- hypertension
- geriatrics
- nephrology
- pediatrics
- primary care
- medication therapy management
- other pharmacist-run clinics
Within the organization’s hospitals, pharmacists practice in the following units:
- intensive and critical care
- neonatal intensive care
- pediatrics
- chemical dependency
- medication safety
- antibiotic surveillance
- surgical centers
- emergency departments
- other acute care services
Pharmacists also can find challenging roles in these departments:
- finance
- benefits
- drug use management
- contracting
- material services
- compliance
- professional affairs
- human resource
Dr. Watanabe noted that compensation and benefits are “exceptional,” and include employer-paid comprehensive health and dental plan coverage for employees, spouses, or domestic partners and eligible dependents. Kaiser also offers generous paid time off, company-paid retirement plans, life insurance and income protection options, flexible spending accounts for health care and dependent care, and employee discount programs. A high value also is placed on maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
The profession of pharmacy requires a lifelong commitment to learning, she added. As such, Kaiser offers multiple opportunities for continuing education and tuition reimbursement, as well as ongoing skills training designed to keep pharmacists up-to-date on the latest in technology and industry advances.
Training is provided via different avenues on different topics, including face-to-face interactive classes and online e-learning programs. For those who might be interested in management or who are in lead positions, Kaiser also conducts lead development classes. Finally, because of their participation in the education of others, many pharmacists attend preceptor classes to assist them in honing their skills as a mentor for others.
For those interested in learning more about careers with Kaiser Permanente, the best resource is the organization’s Web site, www.jobs.kp.org. There, individuals will discover that opportunities abound for pharmacists at all career stages.
For those joining right out of school, they may become inpatient pharmacist specialists, outpatient pharmacists, or participate in one of the organization’s American Society of Health-System Pharmacists-accredited pharmacy residency programs. Others may choose to do a residency with Kaiser, practice in an inpatient setting, or move to one of the ambulatory care clinics. Some will become drug education coordinators, go into administration or management, become clinical operations managers, or move into the pharmacy strategy and operations offices.
