Nursing Career Conversation:
A series of interviews with nurses about career opportunities and nursing jobs-outside of acute care nursing.
Sales. A sale’s job one of the more high paying jobs in any industry. And yes, there are successful Nurses in sales. Many companies in health care use sales reps to market and instruct end users how to get the most out of their product.
Nurse as a Pharmaceutical Rep:
Nurse T is a 10 year veteran sales rep for a national pharmaceutical company.
She agreed to talk on condition of anonymity. Very cloak and daggery. Her voice has been changed by advanced electronic gizmo’s…(if it sounds like you, it may be ’cause you’re reading aloud…)
Dr Dean: What is your Nursing background?
Nurse T: I got my BSN in 1991. My first job as a new grad was on the Neurology floor of an acute care facility. After about four years one of the admitting Docs hired me to work in his office. I took a pay cut but was ready for regular hours and no more nights!
I worked in the office for about 4 -5 years. It was there that I was first exposed to drug reps, or more formally- pharmaceutical reps or salespeople. I was the gatekeeper for the practice. The sales reps had to go through me to get to the Docs..
I was curious about their jobs, so I asked a lot of questions. They all seemed to be happy and laid back. Having a good time!
I asked about qualification requirements and was happy to find a bachelors degree was all that was required-which I had.
Dr Dean: Is that was what attracted you, the more casual and laid back persona of the reps?
Nurse T: Yes they seemed to be in a good mood. By then I was a little bored in my job. I had been in the office long enough not to be challenged. I wasn’t quite ready to make the big step out of nursing though.
A marketing job in the hospital came open. I applied and was accepted. This was a job selling our facility to the community, putting together programs to get the word out to schools and the general public. Drug reps were also involved in this arena with sponsorships and I made a lot of contacts by networking.
Dr Dean: When did you take the plunge?
Nurse T: After a year or more in the marketing arena several sales reps encouraged me to apply. I put my resume in over about three months with a lot of companies-and nothing. I had basically given up when I started getting interviews and call backs. Overall it took about 8 months between first applying and finally getting a sales job.
My first offer was with my current company.
Dr Dean: What was the training like?
Nurse T: I had a lot of materials in the diabetes area-my first product being a diabetic medication- I had to learn first. That was basically home study for the first couple of weeks. I then went to the home office for several weeks of training. Two thirds of the training was science and background information on the product I was to be promoting. One third was on sales techniques. A lot of role playing and learning how to make my presentation in a small amount of time was the focus.
Dr Dean: Did you have a mentor or sales trainer once you finished your training?
Nurse T: No, they just told me to go forth and sell. I was scared to death at my first sales call. I was a wreck, an absolute wreck! I remember it like it was yesterday-I can tell you which office it was even though it was 10 years ago.
Dr Dean: What does being a pharmaceutical rep involve?
Nurse T: I make office calls giving information to physicians and their staffs about my products. It is informational in nature. It is not a “hard sell” environment any more. Offices won’t let you in if they feel you are only pushing a product. You have to provide them with valuable information.
Dr Dean: How did your nursing background help or hurt?
Nurse T: I was familiar with the medical lingo, although the depth of knowledge required was much more deep than what we learned in nursing school. And of course I had no sales background-that put me a little behind the reps that came from sales.
Dr Dean: What are the pro’s for jobs as pharmaceutical reps?
Nurse T: The salary is great-starting salary is probably $60,000 for most in the industry. You also get a vehicle, gas allowance, and the usual benefits like retirement and health insurance. Most reps after a few years are making in the $90,000 + range.
Your pay is part salary and part commission-so the more you sell the better your salary.
You also have a lot of flexibility regarding your schedule. I have found it to work well with being able to spend time with my kids.
Dr Dean: Would you recommend this job for other nurses who are looking for a career change?
Just a couple of years ago, I would have said emphatically yes. However the current environment with the changes with the health care bill, our job is much more difficult. Doctors are seeing more patients because of dropping reimbursements and have less time to spend with you.
We are also much more limited in the ways we can promote a product and have many more people looking over our shoulder.
Almost all pharmaceutical companies are laying off staff making the environment much more competitive. There may be other sales jobs outside of the health care industry that would be more appealing these days. If you want to sell though-it can be very financially rewarding.
I kept my nursing license active, just in case. One thing about nursing is an experienced nurse can usually find a job.
Dr Dean: What tips would you give someone who wanted to give it a shot?
Nurse T: I would remind them that you are “selling” every day. You are selling good health tips, you are selling yourself when you learn to communicate with your patients and how best to motivate them. And remember your clinical background gives you an edge over non-health care trained sales people.
Thanks to Nurse T for her time-and she didn’t even charge me!
My Take on Nurses in Pharmaceutical Sales:
It seems as if the health care environment and the new health care bill is affecting all areas of medicine. The pharmaceutical or drug rep may be a dying beast. I now get many of my samples and information online.
The current model for many companies seem to be more consumer driven advertisements than live reps. My patients come in asking for a certain med because of an ad on TV or in a magazine. I’m not sure this is a better but it’s the way it is….
So times they are a changin…
If you get an opportunity to get into pharmaceutical sales go in with your eyes open for the overall direction of the industry-go for it. You may feel the future uncertainty may be worth it for the benefits of getting away from shift work, acute care, and better pay.
My job is to help you to see other career opportunities as they truly are, not with rose colored glasses.
I want to thank Nurse T for agreeing to talk with me. Her honesty about her profession and potential job prospects in Pharmaceutical Sales is refreshing- or maybe she just wants it all for herself…(just kidding!)
{photo credit dno 1967b c.c.}
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