“They put you through the ringer. Tests, finals, everything. That’s where either you graduate or you don’t, meaning you don’t get to keep your job…That was such a stressful time for me that as a 25 year old I started losing hair on the side of my head to a point that it was the size of a nickel.”
If we ever get hurt, or our body has some sort of hiccup in proper function, it’s likely to take a whole team of specialized individuals to get us back on our feet. Physicians, physicians’ assistants, nurses, and the often unheralded medical device rep to name a few. If you have ever needed a procedure done to improve your body’s health or performance, there was likely a medical device rep involved somewhere down the food chain. Reps, like my friend Sam, make sure that the products and devices being used in a procedure are being used in the best ways possible. They can also help troubleshoot problems that could arise during or after use. As they say, it takes a village, and we should all be glad that people like Sam are part of that village.
“A lot of times surgeons will ask me what other surgeons are doing. You’re also a resource because as a rep you see so many other cases at other facilities. ”
“When you’re in the field you’re going to be asked questions by a surgeon or a nurse and you have to be able to communicate clinically…Even to this day I watch videos on YouTube to be refreshed of certain procedures I haven’t seen in a while…At one point there’s gonna be a conversation about that procedure with a surgeon and you don’t want to sound like a guy that doesn’t know any about that procedure.”
Interview Contents
2:45 - What a medical device rep does.
4:30 - Calling on new vs old clients.
7:00 - Having a mature product and being a team member at a hospital.
9:40 - User error and navigating coaching surgeons.
11:00 - Assisting surgeons and being the product expert. 15:20 - How do you get your medical knowledge?
18:00 - The incredibly stressful training environment.
21:00 - Needing to have your clinical knowledge.
23:20 - It’s always the rep’s fault.
25:30 - How to coach a surgeon through a mistake they made.
32:00 - Medical device rep pay.
33:30 - Hurry up and wait.
36:30 - Blood and gore.
41:00 - Building relationships.
42:35 - The craziest case that Sam was a part of.
44:20 - How being a rep changed Sam’s view of health.
51:30 - Sam’s favorite part of being a medical device rep.
52:50 - Sam’s least favorite part of the job.
55:00 - Advice for becoming a medical device rep.
Links
No links today.
THIS EPISODE WAS MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Roxanna
Michelle & Jim Wortner
Janelle Swanson
Jimmy Seymour
