Healthcare Professions Interview
Tim Johnson: Pharmaceutical Marketing Manager
"What do you do? What are the duties and responsibilites of your job?"
"How did you first get involved with this career?"
"What training did you need in order to be successful?"
"What are the skills that are most important for a position in this field?"
"Describe a typical day in your career. What kind of problems do you deal with? What kinds of decisions do you make?"
"Do you find your job exciting or boring? Why?"
"What is the most interesting project you have ever been involved with? Why?"
Tim: "Educating physicians on how to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or also known as Lou Gherigs Disease."
Me: "And what is that?"
Tim: "It is an auto-immune nero-muscular disorder that results in the body freezing, resulting in paralysis and ultimitaly death."
Me: "So why or how was this the most interesting job you have been involved with?"
Tim: "I would go to ALS clinics all across the country and meet with patients who had the disease and educate them on the drug Rilutek, that would help to prolong life and time to trachyoscapy by at least six months"
Me: "What is Trachyoscapy?"
Tim: When a patient has this diesease, they slowly become paralyzed throught their whole body and eventually they cannot breath so they have to have a hole cut into their throat and have a breathing tube that goes directly to the Treachea.
Me: "So what were some of the challenges with this project?"
Tim: Some ALS patients understand that there will be a lot of suffering so only about 25% of patients want to take any drug to prolong their life and 50% of patients commit suicide.
Me: Wow, why do so many commit suicide?
Tim: ALS patients have no brain deterioration. Imagine having a bad pain in your back and you're just sitting there and you can't tell anyone, that's what it is like for them. They can't tell anyone if they are in pain because they cannot speak. Some patients only take the drug to prolong life long enough to be at a special event such as a graduation.
"How would you descibe the working atmosphere and the people with whom you work?"
"High pressure, very political, and very competitive"
Me: "So is it stressful because of the high pressure?"
Tim: "Yes, yes, very stressful"
Me: "So what about the people you work with?"
Tim: "Well, it's a day-to-day basis", they're nice, busy, professional. With doctors they are also very fact-oriented, "they don't want to spend any time chatting, they just want to know clinical data that will help them treat their patients. It is important to know that what you are doing and what you're saying is correct because physicians are giving the patient medication based on what you are saying to them."
"What sorts of changes are occuring in your occupation?"
"How much vacation time do you get a year?"
"What is the job outlook for this profession?"
"Are there opportunities for advancement?"
"So, is there any other information you would like to share?"
Works Cited for Pictures
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs36/f/2008/257/7/e/ALS_Ribbon_by_Paprika_Studios.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/FlattenedRoundPills.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/44/137259915_42e8fc25a9.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7458/13836950534_a7f68509a7_b.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Food_and_Drug_Administration_logo.png