Drug Reps Job Description
A drug rep, also known as a pharmaceutical sales representative, visits doctors' offices and other medical facilities where she meets with doctors, nurses and technicians and talks to them about the different drugs available from her pharmaceutical company. The rep's focus is on convincing health care professionals to write prescriptions for her drugs. When patients fill those prescriptions, the pharmaceutical company makes money.
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Sales Duties
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A drug rep must be very knowledgeable about the drugs he represents; the pharmaceutical company provides initial and ongoing training. When meeting with doctors and others, he will talk about what specific maladies the drug treats, how the drug works within the body and any side effects patients might experience. Additionally, the representative should be able to speak intelligently about competitor drugs. He needs to be very persuasive and driven to sell his company's drugs; building rapport and then leveraging relationships to generate business is important in this field. Public relations is also key; a representative might distribute promotional materials, like calendars, pens and prescription pads, at health care locations. He also provides doctors with samples of the pharmaceuticals that can be distributed to patients.
Administrative Duties
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Each time the representative makes an in-person visit or a phone call to a physician or other health care worker, she needs to document the contact and probably submit periodic call reports to her manager. She must also closely track any drug samples she hands out. Organization is key in this job, as the drug rep is personally responsible for putting together and prioritizing her schedule. She might make appointments to see doctors at specific times, or she could plan on making cold calls (visiting without an appointment).
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Work Environment
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The drug rep spends time in an office completing administrative tasks, reports and making phone calls, but the majority of her time is spent in the field going to doctors' offices and health care facilities. The representative sets her own schedule, but the majority of the work in this field is done during normal business hours when doctors' offices are open. A drug rep is expected to dress professionally.
Requirements
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While it is possible to secure work in this field with a high school diploma, most pharmaceutical companies seek representatives who possess a Bachelor's degree in a business discipline. A better than average understanding of anatomy and physiology (how the body works) and disease and pharmacology (how drugs work) are a plus.
Pay
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A pharmaceutical sales rep might receive a salary, commission/bonus pay or a combination of the two depending on the employer. Indeed.com indicated the average salary of a pharmaceutical sales rep, as of April 2010, was $72,000.
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References
- Photo Credit medicines and drugs image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
