'Full-service rep' loves her job

Published on: 

Pharmaceutical Representative

Jill Shoffner-Brown loves satisfying the customer and hearing success stories about her products.

When asked what aspects of her career keep her motivated, Jill Shoffner-Brown, a pharmaceutical sales rep for Boehringer Ingelheim Corp., replies, "I really just love my job. I love satisfying the customer and hearing success stories about my product(s)."

Shoffner-Brown considers herself a "full-service rep," meaning she takes care of everything for her physicians. "I talk to the office manager and make sure I have supplied him or her with all the information he or she may need," she said. "I leave patient-education materials if needed. I also make sure I know where the samples are so I can take inventory without having to disturb the physician."

Being a full-service rep also means understanding managed care and formularies. "Managed care is a huge part of the business," Shoffner-Brown said. "Reps need to know a physician's plans and what products are on the formularies. A rep should also find out if his or her competition's products are on the formulary, and if so, report these to his or her district manager."

Advertisement

Another part of being a full-service rep is understanding a physician's work.

Shoffner-Brown finds preceptorships useful for reps. "A preceptorship allows reps to increase their knowledge about diseases and human anatomy," she said. "It's like watching a case history; you can see a physician prescribe your drug and see how physicians use the information you supply them. It also builds rapport with that physician and any other attending physicians. Preceptorships make a rep really feel like a team player."