Chapter 2 : A day of a Medical Representative's Life

I was done with Dr. Deshmukhe in Chapter 1 and this is how the rest of the day follows....

I had to walk for 15-20 minutes to reach Dr. Sharma’s clinic from Dr. Deshmukhe’s clinic after enquiring in 3 more pharmacies in that area. Dr. Sharma gave a call to an MR of a particular division only once in a month and it had to be done by taking an appointment through a phone call one day in advance. And, the call had to be exactly at 6:00 pm, not one minute late and not one minute early. I had failed twice in doing so earlier and I had finally managed to get in line exactly at 6:00 pm a day prior. Therefore, this call was very important for me as I also had to get a questionnaire filled by him on the market survey of a molecule and enrol him for an activity. The assistant was very cooperative and asked me to sit and wait till the doctor finished attending his patients. I was the last one to go into his chamber after 3 MRs and  had the advantage to spend a fair amount of time with Dr. Sharma. I took my time to detail the most important brands, discussed a few questions, got the whole questionnaire filled and enrolled him for an activity. I was very happy and satisfied with this call. I had to visit Dr. Ugaonkar in the same building but it was at 6:30 pm and I had to go to Dr. Bajirao’s clinic at 5:30pm which was 10 minutes away from here. 

It was 5:00pm and I had some time in hand to enjoy a cup of tea from a ‘chai ka dukan’ after enquiring from a pharmacy just opposite to the building. I finished my tea and headed to the 6th call of the day for which I had to walk again for 10 minutes. Dr. Bajirao’s clinic was in a building which was a part of a mall. It was a 12 storey building and his clinic was on the 9th floor. While waiting for the clinic to open, one could wait and see the tallest apartments and constructions in South Bombay (Sobo) and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea through the huge glasses of the building. His clinic was spacious. More than 10 MRs could sit and wait when patients were not there. Every medical rep had to fill in their name, company name and contact number in a dairy. The call used to be in the same pattern as that of Dr. Kelkar as there were as many as 20-25 medical reps. The doctor would usually be an hour late. He arrived at around  6:00pm. I did my call. He was interested in a particular activity and as I was discussing about it, I could feel 20 eyes staring at me to keenly know what my company is offering after which they would go and share the information with their managers. I was done with this one and walked back for 10 minutes again to get the following call. 

I was exhausted by now. I reached at 6:30pm at Dr.Ugaonkar’s beside Dr. Bajirao’s clinic. The passage was extremely narrow and all the MRs (around 20) were standing in a line. I met my classmate who was also working as a management intern in the same company and an MR from another division whom I had worked with on one fine day for 2 evening calls as suggested by my area manager. While waiting in the queue, I didn’t get bored as I had two known faces to chat to. Luckily, Dr. Ugaonkar was attending his last patient of the evening, and so we didn’t have to wait for long. Otherwise, he usually took 45 minutes to an hour for each patient. So, if there were 2-3 patients remaining, the call would start from 8:00pm instead of 6:30pm after he was done with his patients. I and the MR from the other division of my company did the call together in his cabin. Dr. Ugaonkar was always very supportive of our brands and it was easy to convert him to other brands too and enrol him for activities. We both spent about 15 minutes talking to the doctor. We were done. I said my goodbyes to the MR and my friend. 

By this time, I was drained out. It was my last call for the day. I had to keep my pace going and I reached the final destination in another 15 minutes by walking. The largest number of MRs would gather here in front of his clinic. After a wait of half an hour, there were nearly 25-30 MRs waiting for Dr. Sardesai who was a renowned Diabetologist of that area. The assistant had instructed all the MRs to not gather in front of his clinic and clear the passage. She came upto us and asked for 5 cards. In a fraction of seconds, 5 cards were already there in her hand. There was no preference given to the ones who had come first among which I was one. I was the only woman among all those men who were trying to push and get in front to give their cards to the assistant. I was angry, disappointed and tired. I still waited just like those MRs did who were not successful in giving their cards. Dr. Sardesai gave the call to only those 5 MRs and refused all others though everyone tried to show their reminder cards while pushing others in the way. I did not attempt to push as I knew it was not going to be a quality call. It is also very important for an MR to stay calm without loosing his/her patience because rejection & refusal calls after long hours of waiting even upto 3-4 hours happen almost daily in some or the other doctor’s calls. 

On my way back  to the station, I went to one last pharmacy for a chemist call. In a few more minutes, I was in the train. At 8:00pm, the ladies 1st class compartment is little off the rush. I was happy to get a seat. I plugged in my earphones and enjoyed my favourite music for the next 20 minutes of train journey followed by 10 minutes of journey via rickshaw. I was home in an hour. I cooked, had my dinner, planned my calls accordingly for the next day, gave a call to report my manager and then went off to sleep after watching a few of my favourite shows on youtube.
This was a quick peak of how a medical representative’s day goes about. To add it, the rep has to be constantly in touch with the immediate manager (area manager) and submit daily reports. I had to daily discuss the next day’s plan with my area manager. It is necessary to be fully prepared especially if there is a camp and other activities that involve the doctor for the whole time they are available in the clinic like pre-OPD, OPD and post-OPD etc.

I hope all of you who are reading this article found it interesting especially for those who can relate to it and for those who are studying and are going to start their career in this industry. 

Thank you so much for being connected with us. Continue to follow our blog ‘Hyperpsyche’ for more upcoming real life experiences.

HAPPY DIWALI  to all ya fellas!!!