The
Physician in the Pharmaceutical Industry
A career working for a major drug company
is an alternative that is too often overlooked by physicians.
Practicing physicians are needed by the research-based pharmaceutical
industry in many areas, ranging from the pre-clinical screening
of new drugs through the marketing of the FDA approved products.
Michael L. Carter, M.D., R.P.,
Assistant Director, Professional Services
Department, Roche Laboratories, A Div. of Hoffmann-La Roche
Inc., Nutley, NJ
"There is a great future for physicians
in the pharmaceutical industry. I am a physician who earned
a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy before entering
Hahnemann Medical College in 1974. After completing a residency
program in internal medicine at Hahnemann, I practiced briefly
in a public health clinic, then entered private practice.
At the time, I had no idea those physicians other than those
possessing a Ph.D., degree or who were already established,
as research physicians were needed in the pharmaceutical
industry.
After three years in private practice, I began to feel that
there might be more to being a physician than clinical medicine
alone could offer, so I began reading the ads for professionals
for a hint of something more challenging. It was in an announcement
in the Philadelphia Inquirer back in March of 1985 that
I found that I was looking for: a well-known and well respected
pharmaceutical manufacturer sought an Assistant Director
of Medical Services, with experience in pediatrics, internal
medicine, or family practice. The four or five key lines
in that ad told me what I needed to know-that the pharmaceutical
industry needed practicing physicians as well as research-oriented
physicians.
The needs of the pharmaceutical industry are deceptively
simple. Research-based drug firms need to collaborate and
cooperate with leading clinical investigators to conduct
well-controlled, state-of-the-art drug trials. An ongoing
relationship with academicians and clinical consultants
satisfies the immediate, short-term needs of the industry
by providing second opinions on the uses of certain investigational
and marketed drugs or on a drug development plan. Practicing
physicians can also act as spoke persons to their peers
concerning particular drugs or treatment approaches. Academic
consultants, however, are important as medical educators
for industry physicians, who are required to remain in touch
with current trends in medical practice and who frequently
arrange for clinical orientation programs.
On a long-term basis, the pharmaceutical
industry has and always will require scientific and medical
professionals to affirm the efficacy and safety of medications
in the clinical research pipeline; to ensure the medical
validity of scientific, educational, and promotional information;
and to assess the medical impact of drugs proposed for licensing
or for development through a New Drug Application (NDA).
Life Changes
The pharmaceutical industry has much to offer a physician
it's more than just trading a stethoscope for a briefcase
and a pen or a lab coat for a business suit. It's being
a team player at all times and learning to access your creativity
on demand. The rewards include opportunities for enrichment
through continuing medical education programs; attendance
at medical and scientific meetings; availability of textbooks
and journal subscriptions as needed, and excursions to marketing
and management meetings as part of the job. During the relatively
short time I've been a member of the corporate community.
I've had the honor of meeting and working with recognized
experts in several medical specialties.
For me, all this has engendered somewhat of a difference
life-style than I had become used to as a clinician. There
have been predictable hours and dependable vacations even
at times of year when I would previously have had to fight
"tooth and nail" to get some free time. Although
I have the opportunity to do so, I am no longer required
to attend hospital rounds. I have also given up the dubious
privilege of answering emergency calls. Also, regular pay
is not something hard to get used to.
As a member of our Sales-Force Education Team, I'm often
called upon to create a meaningful way of communicating
medical concepts and rationales for treatment to our sales
representatives. A recent presentation on anti-tumor antibiotics
and their side effects, for example, could have been very
uninteresting to this audience, which was largely untrained
in the nuances of clinical medicine, but creativity allowed
me to present this topic from the patient's viewpoint rather
than the physician's. My Discussion took on meaning, as
the representatives imagined what it would be like to be
in a hospital bed, pulled away from family and friends,
and receiving intravenous antibiotics because of fever and
leucopenia, and oxygen because of pulmonary fibrosis. Because
blood transfusions may also be required, I asked them to
imagine the apprehension of a patient concerned about possibly
acquiring the AIDS virus from blood replacement.
I completed the clinical picture by describing the side
effects of treatment and their emotional impact on patients.
I needn't tell you that the audience had had enough by this
time, but the point was made. The presentation stimulated
the audience to ask questions, enhanced their learning experience,
and will be remembered better than a technical discussion
in a medical text.
Difficult Choices
My decision to join the pharmaceutical industry was not
made without soul-searching, however. A doctor's family
is often the first to vocalize concerns and opinions about
their young physician/family member looking for a place
in the medical community; mine was no exception. I remember,
for example, having to assure them that I would still be
a physician in every sense of the word.
Frankly, one of my primary concerns was that, as a member
of a large corporate community, I would lose any authority
to make real medical decisions. I envisioned the corporate
physician as an employee lost in a vast sea of other employees,
chained to his desk, and involved in the development of
potential products that might never reach the market - certainly
not what Sinclair Lewis' young Doctor Arrowsmith had in
mind. My personal experience in the drug development and
marketing process has been exciting and rewarding, but one
sobering fact for practicing physicians is that many members
of the upper administrative echelons of industry arise not
from the field o f medicine, but from business.
The pharmaceutical industry generally recruits practicing
physicians by advertising career opportunities in leading
newspapers and professional journals. Word-of-month, bulletin
board postings at national meetings, and the use of executive
recruiters also provide excellent candidates to fill industry
positions. Although the executive recruiter is working for
the pharmaceutical company seeking a physician, one enthusiastic
about the credentials of a prospective candidate can often
act as a coach in preparing him or her for a winning presentation
at an interview. Once you're a member of the industry, further
career mobility is possible within your firm if another
position is more appealing.
Industry Roles for Physicians
Medical Marketing and Medical Services are two areas in
which physicians are employed as full-time managers, but
with an opportunity to use their medical skills. Physicians
in these areas ensure that promotional and educational materials
put out by the various parts of a firm's marketing division
are medically valid and reflect current and accepted medical
opinion. An industry physician also will assist in training
the sales representatives and may be involved in conducting
Phase IV drug studies.
In Research and Development, physicians generally are included
throughout the drug development process, from Phase 0 (the
pre-clinical evolution and screening of new compounds) to
the comprehensive Phase III clinical trials conducted in
support of an NDA. Industry physicians are then needed to
provide to the Food and Drug Administrative and overall
safety and efficacy evaluation and the medical rationale
for approval as a new drug.
The physicians of the pharmaceutical industry also become
part of the team responsible for ongoing safety surveillance
and documentation of a drug's approved uses. These Phase
IV studies and all drug safety studies of marketed drugs
require a physician's direction.
Although referred to variously as a company's Medial Affairs,
Professional Services, or Medical Services department, all
are responsible for answering queries by health-care professional
about a firm's products. Members of these departments are
also asked to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of
product information and medial concepts used in the training
of the sales force.
Attributes
for Future Industry Physicians
How can you assess your
own potential for a career in the pharmaceutical
industry? I've listed below the "six P's of
industry potential." We each have our individual
strong points, so I did not rank these in any order
of preference. |
| > |
Personality-A
desirable candidate should be enthusiastic and must
have the desire to work as part of a team. A physician
graduating at the top of his class would be of little
value to the industry if he is ill-equipped to deal
effectively with non-medical peers, sales representatives,
or the general public. |
| > |
Presentation-Written
and verbal communication is among the cornerstones
of a physician's effectiveness. Industry physicians
spend a great deal of time representing their firms
as scientific meetings, consultants' meetings, seminars,
symposia, teleconferences, and in community service
for the public. |
| > |
Prominence-You
need not be well known, but physicians who have
achieved some measure of distinction form their
peers, either academically or in practice, are very
desirable candidates for industry positions, particularly
for the research area. |
| > |
Perceptiveness-Industry
work requires an excellent knowledge of medicine,
but perceptiveness drives the industry physician
to anticipate the future needs of the health-care
community and how a firm's products can best meet
those needs. Foresight will help the industry-based
physician direct an product team's efforts toward
the best end. |
| > |
Prior
Subspecialty Training-Although a specialty is important,
further training in a subspecialty makes a physician
all the more attractive and useful to the industry. |
| > |
Practice
Experience-One aspect of medicine that has not changed
since the day of Hippo craters is the experience
of the senses. Medicine is learned and remembered
through the bands, eyes, and ears. There is no substitute
for first-hand application of the healing art. |
|
Physicians are indeed in demand by the pharmaceutical industry.
Industry continues to make a variety of career choices available
for those earning an M.D. degree-choice offering the excellent
remuneration and career benefits described above. Career
advancement within the industry will result from the development
of creative ability, administrative and management skills,
and a willingness to become a team player. Finally, a position
in the pharmaceutical industry allows the physician to use
his or her medical skills in an environment conducive to
predictable hours, infrequent job turnover, and the potential
to help millions of patients at one time."
The Author: Michael L. Carter, MD., R.P.
Although he began his medical career in private practice,
Dr. Carter later joined Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., as Assistant
Director of Professional Services at Roche Laboratories.
After receiving his M.D. from Hahnemann Medical College,
he completed his training in internal medicine at Hahnemann
and at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in the Philadelphia
area.
Article courtesy of: Resident & Staff
Physician Vol. 35, No. 10
top
of page
|
