Medical Representative careers

A Medical Representative’s job is to promote the use and sale of the pharmaceutical drugs his/her company develops. The main goal is to convince doctors and hospital staff to carry, use, and prescribe to patients the pharmaceutical drug in question, so that the company that develops it makes money in sales, while providing the best and most effective pharmaceutical drugs

on the market for treating various illnesses and medical problems. The Medical Representative does this by scheduling meetings with doctors and hospitals, and giving thorough and informative presentations explaining how the drugs work, what the possible side effects are, the cost to the patients (and the hospitals/clinics/doctors who provide them), and most importantly, by explaining and/or showing why this particular drug from that particular company is better than whatever else is available on the market. A large part of the job is salesmanship, which requires a charismatic and likable personality, as well as the perseverance and drive to meet with a lot of people and do a lot of presentations (which usually requires a lot of travel). The other part of it is creative and effective communication, as the success or failure of the entire enterprise hinges on being able to introduce a brand-new drug to a doctor/medical administrator in such a way that it stands out from the rest in the best possible light. The salary varies, as it depends on the employer and on one’a work ethic. Given that many Medical Representative jobs are based on commission (or base salary plus commission), the more meetings a Medical Representative sets up and the more effective he/she is at communicating the positive attributes and efficacy of their pharmaceutical drug, the more money he/she is likely to make.

The requirements to become a Medical Representative are minimal. Although applicants for the medical representative position who possess a D-Pharm and/or a B-Pharm are ideal, and are therefore viewed most favorably by employers, any college/university graduate is eligible, and many Pharma companies hire the applicants with the strongest communication, marketing, and salesmanship skills. Experience in the pharmaceutical or medical field is preferred, however.