Pros
At a clinical level, I have no complaints. My co-workers are some of the most bright, creative empathetic people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Shepherd does a really great job of finding talent and generally providing resources to allow that talent to grow. There is not a dull crayon in the box and the result of that is some pretty amazingly creative clinicians, patient outcomes, and overall environment. For the most part, there is a great deal of trust and support for clinical decision-making; very little micromanagement. There are abundant educational opportunities, both in-service as well as CEU funds. Plus the nature of the environment is such that you would have to plug your ears and close your eyes to avoid learning.
Cons
Shepherd senior leadership and middle management lean heavily on the notion of "Shepherd Culture" and "We are Shepherd" to engender the warm-fuzzies from their staff. However, they do not adequately communicate an understanding of how changes to the economic, educational, and industry landscape influence how their entry-level and early-career workforce experience its demands. Many in senior leadership and middle management have built their careers entirely at Shepherd, so they are invested in this idea of workplace-as-family. They espouse the ideals of purpose-driven work, which their staff also values. However, purpose does not offset rising cost-of-living; higher educational threshold to entry (doctoral level programs to enter clinical practice when it was once a bachelors degree); and demands to work-life balance. There is little in place to prevent employee burnout in any meaningful way and often "Shepherd Culture" is a driving force accelerating it. There are always more committees, projects, and tasks--"for the patients"--and the family-style culture makes boundary setting complex/difficult at times. When someone does leave a position due to a life change that makes Shepherd unsustainable--financially, time-wise, emotionally-- it is always discussed in terms of that individual's personal circumstances and never in terms of how perhaps Shepherd's demand is not sustainable systemically. There is often a tacit subtext (or, sometimes overt statement) that people are lucky to work at Shepherd, and yet the 1st year turnover rate is above 30%. Shepherd is equally as fortunate to have the talented staff that they do.