Take the Ride: The Benefits of a Pharmaceutical Sales Preceptorship

For these unfamiliar with the term, “preceptorship” is just another way of talking about job shadowing, which is the process of spending time with a professional as they execute their position in order to better understand what they do. It’s also called a ride-along, which gives you an idea of the day or days spent with your pro, riding along to different sites as they perform their job. If you wanna launch your career in clinical sales, there’s no better way to get a feel for the every day hustle of the career opportunity than participating in a ride-along with a seasoned pro.

If you’re looking at a career in medical sales, it’s likely you’ve gotten a science degree, or at least achieved a minor in science and studied the area more than the minimum amount needed to graduate. Yep, it’s not a legal requirement to have a science degree to go into clinical sales, but the more you know about the field, the better you’ll be able to understand the products you’re selling and the way they can benefit doctors and patients. Talk with your professors or academic counselors about getting in touch with a medical revenue rep, or do some legwork and call local hospitals to find out the names of reps that call on them.

Getting in touch with rep is the first step in landing a preceptorship. When you’re on your ride-along, ask questions of your mentor but also follow instructions about how and when to interact. It’s likely you’ll have to stay quiet when your rep is actually dealing with clients and trying to make a sale, and that’s wonderful. The purpose of the day (or days) spent shadowing a professional is to absorb the ins and outs of the position, not behave as if you know it already. If you play your cards right, a successful preceptorship can benefit you in several ways:

Firsthand experience: This is vital. Instead of knowing the theory behind lab sales, a ride-along lets you see it in practice and understand what the job really entails. You’ll come away with knowledge of the real job, not the mythological version you may have built up in your head. As such, you’ll be able to start your career knowing exactly what you need to do to get the career opportunity done.

Pros and cons: A preceptorship is the consummate way to know exactly how the position will work for you and what upsides and downsides you will face. A Pharma sale is a challenging but rewarding career, built on the ever-changing health care industry, and there’s no better way to see what the position really entails than a ride-along.

Contacts: Participating in a preceptorship is a amazing way to grow your field of professional contacts and develop yourself as a new sales rep. By establishing a good relationship with the sales rep you’re shadowing as well as the clients you meet along the way, you’ll be setting yourself up for more professional opportunities when you’re out on your own. And don’t forget that a ride-along looks great on a RESUME, demonstrating that you’ve spent time in the real sales world and have a better grasp of the career opportunity than someone who’s only studied it from afar.

A preceptorship is an invaluable training tool and a great way to help your career get started. If you haven’t participated in one yet, now’s the time.

This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of accredited online universities .  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com .

Article courtesy of  Peggy McKee - Owner / Senior Recruiter at the nationally
recognized pharmaceutical and medical sales recruiting team of PHC Consulting.
© Copyright 2008 PHC Consulting | All rights reserved

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Take the Ride: The Benefits of a Medical Sales Preceptorship