What do you do for a living?

I am a Doctor of Medicine who practices as a General Surgeon.  General Surgery is the oldest specialty field in surgery.  At one time, all surgery done in hospitals was done by a General Surgeon.  As medicine has gotten more complex, the fields of Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Gynecology, Urology, etc., have developed.

How would you describe what you do?

I practice in a five surgeon group in a rural area that has  a 225 bed hospital   We are a private, fee-for-service group,  and not owned by a hospital. My practice is not typical of most General Surgeons, since the majority of surgeons live in big cities and sub-specialize.

What does your work entail ?

My practice, luckily, encompasses most areas of the original practice of General Surgery.  I enjoy the variety of cases I am able to handle.

I perform thyroid and parathyroid surgery, non-cardiac thoracic (chest) surgery      ( including infections and cancers), benign and malignant disease of the breast, abdominal surgery such as gallbladder, stomach, colon and and appendix cases, in addition to abdominal hernias.  I also do some gynecology surgery such as hysterectomies, although most of these cases are done in most hospitals by gynecologists.  My practice also involves vascular surgery, including abdominal aortic aneurysms.  I also treat skin and soft-tissue tumors, including melanomas.

In our hospital, my partners and I are also the trauma surgeons, taking care of victims of car accidents and other types of trauma.

I am in the office one and a half days a week, in surgery two-three days a week, performing 40-50 cases a month.  I usually get part of a day off each week.  Although I took call every other weekend earlier in my career, I now take call every fifth weekend. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

I treat sick animals and I put up with people.

How would you describe what you do?

In veterinary medicine you’ve got to do two things: you treat the animal, and then you’ve got to use psychology on the owner. Everyday I put up with people like that. And I make the joke that one end of the leash is easy to deal with. The other end of the leash is very difficult to deal with. If a person can’t deal with these individuals that are very demanding, that read the Internet too much, that think they know everything, if you can’t look past those people, and, bite your tongue at times, you won’t get very far.

When you save an animal’s life or some little old lady comes in here and gives you a hug because you have saved her animal’s life. That’s what it’s all about. Some people don’t think it is. Some people think it’s money. The most rewarding thing to me is what I do for the animal.

But, you know, we’re really treating people psychologically, and we’re treating the animal in their health needs; whether it’s cosmetic surgery or whether it’s sick animals’ treatment, routine health care, or disease prevention. It’s a broad spectrum of needs that the animals have. And then you add the mix of the people into it, and that’s what we do here everyday. Everyday. And some days, if the moon is full, we the wackos…You think I’m lying, but they come in that front door one after another. The ones that you just say, “Oh, God,” you know, “they’re coming in again?”

What does your work entail?

Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

I’m a radiologist and I also sub-specialize in interventional radiology.

How would you describe what you do?

Radiology is using technology and a variety of imaging techniques to look at the human body and diagnose problems. That includes: x-rays, fluoroscopy, which is kind of real time x-rays; CT scanning, which is using x-rays and computer reconstructions to look at the body; MRI scanning, which is using magnetic resonance, which includes radio frequency waves and a high-strength magnetic field to look at the human body; ultrasound, which uses high frequency sound waves to look at the body; Overlay and nuclear medicine, which involves injecting a very small amount of radioactive substance in a person tagged to a substance that will go to different parts of the body and show how they’re functioning.

We’re basically Doctors’ doctors because the patients don’t come to us. The doctors have a patient, and then they have a problem that they can’t solve without our help, and so they come to us whether it’s by ordering a test or consulting us with a problem that they need help figuring out…We’re problem solvers, and a lot of the time, whatever we see and say is going to determine the course of the patient’s therapy.

Then interventional radiology is a sub-specialty. In interventional radiology, we use imaging techniques and minimally invasive techniques to do a lot of things that used to require surgery, including treating arterial disease with balloons and stints, being able to drain different areas of the body including the bowel ducts, the kidneys, and fluid collections or abscesses, any place in the body, and then also using the imaging guidance to do biopsies of almost any place using a skinny needle. So, a lot of imaging allows us to do things more targeted than having to actually open somebody up. Continue Reading …

Peggy McKee, owner of PHC Consulting, can be found at www.phcconsulting.com

What do you do for a living?

I connect sales, sales management, and marketing candidates with companies in the laboratory industry. The laboratory industry supports physicians by providing information about a patient. This information is utilized to determine next steps in the patient’s treatment. I do work with some companies that are research laboratories. Their products are the building blocks of information for pharmaceutical industry and medical device industry to use in product development.

How would you describe what you do?

I get to know my client companies – what they do, why they are unique, what their compensation packages, and specifically what jobs they need to fill and what type of experience, education, and attitude they desire for their successful hire.

If you like a team environment, this is not for you. No one is on your team. The candidate only wants the job. The client wants to fill the position and would rather not have to pay you a fee. So, if you need someone to care about you this is not for you.

I try to find the right person and convince them to interview with my client company. If all goes well, I make a placement.

What does your work entail?

Lots and lots of phone time. I probably spend 5 hours a day on the phone. A wireless headset is a must. I enter information about candidates and companies into a software system that tracks all of my calls and activities. I probably send 100 emails a day that are personal and then another 1000 emails a day to potential candidates. Because you are dealing with people, there are always emergencies and schedule changes. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

I’m a neurosurgeon.

How would you describe what you do?

Neurosurgery is a specialty that involves the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and their supporting and surrounding structures.

What does your work entail as a neurosurgeon?

Three days a week I operate on the brain, the spine, or peripheral nerves. Two days a week I’m in the office seeing patients. I also teach medical students and I give lectures to residents.

How did you get started?

I became interested in medicine because I had a brain tumor when I was nine months old, so I was around a lot of doctors. I also watched the Donna Reed Show where Donna Reed’s husband was a pediatrician and I thought he had a nice life. And that’s the truth. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

How would you describe what you do?

I manage a territory of NW Arkansas that consists of approx. 250 physicians. I am in charge of calling on a list of physicians, created by myself, my partners, and my company, and selling the doctors, nurse practicioners, and physician assistants the efficacy, safety, dosing, and clinical data of two products in which I have responsibilities for: basically bringing educational value to the office and physicians.

I have had patients in the waiting room thank me for what I do or tell me a success story of how my product changed their life. I enjoy the health field and I feel like I am making a difference each day in someone’s life.

I am also responsible for calling on pharmacy’s in my territory to keep up to date on my products and my competition. I am responsible for my "business" and must manage a monthly budget, travel and expense reports, appointments with clients, dinner programs, email, voicemail, and overall coordination with my teammates.

What does your work entail?

As a rep, I am required to make 8-10 calls on physicians a day, 2 pharmacy calls per day, and recording what happens during each call in my computer. I speak with the doctors through walk ins, appointments, lunch and learns, or dinner programs arranged through my company. I travel to each city within my territory and plan out my week based on my partners and the schedules of the physicians or existing appointments. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

My actual title is called a Respiratory Care Account Manager, but the job description is actually selling critical care and surgical type products in the hospitals and surgery centers.

How would you describe what you do?

The people I call on within the hospital for the products I carry range from anesthesiologists, to surgeons, to nursing staff, critical care, intensive care units, and then also into the purchasing department and the administration. Not very often, but sometimes CEO’s and CFO’s of hospitals. My main two products are types tracheotomy and endotracheal tubes. The tracheotomy tubes are basically a product for patients that go home and have trouble with some type of upper respiratory abnomally or problem. And the endotracheal tube line is more for surgeries.

A lot of people think that because we’re out there selling different products and pharmaceutical companies are selling all these different drugs that it’s driving our insurance up really high…in one sense you can look at us and say ‘yeah it does’…But I guess at the end of the day if you are on your deathbed do you want a product that is from Target, or do you want a product that has been in research and development for a long time and has had some of the best scientists in the world world looking at it?

The doctor administers the anesthesia and once the patient is anesthetized they keep them alive by a ventilator which is connected to the endotracheal tube.

What does your work entail?

It really entails knowing your customer’s very well, knowing what they do really helps you. I come from a nonclinical background in college. I have a double major in marketing and management, and I knew I wanted to get into medical device sales so I took a few premed classes, anatomy and physiology, some basic type classes to kind of get me a little bit of a jump start. It really helps me to know exactly what the doctor’s, or nurse’s, job responsibilities are. It allows me to just be able to communicate with them better. It’s actually a great job for those that are independent and self driven. I basically can wake up whenever I want. I work out of my home office here, and I basically run a territory. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep for Pfizer.

How would you describe what you do?

I would describe it as a sales person calling on doctors and my job is to get doctors to use the drugs that I’m selling. And I have four products, so I have to get them to write my four products for the patients. 

What does your work entail?

You see anywhere between 10 and 15 doctors a day for 5 days in a week. You call on those doctors who are the biggest prescribers, so I would look at a computer

You’re offering a product that a lot of times, people don’t believe in and you have to make them believe in that product because if your product wasn’t superior to most other products, it wouldn’t be out here.

and look at a doctor’s profile and if they have a lot of potential to write my products, I target those doctors and try to get those doctors to write my product.  During the work week, you travel a lot. Some territories are bigger than others, but mine’s about two hours long, so some days I’m two hours away from home in a small town calling on a small clinic or there’s other days when I’m in a bigger city and I call on the doctors there. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living?

I’m a speech pathologist.

How would you describe what you do?

I primarily work with the geriatric population helping people

I enjoy just talking with the patients. I love the elderly…I love hearing and laughing at their stories, that’s the best part.

had strokes, swallowing difficulties, or who have cognition impairments.

What does your work entail?

I usually work from 7 to 3. I work in a nursing home. I usually see anywhere from 7 to 10 patients a day. I see most of my patients in the morning, see some at meals. There’s lots of paperwork involved and lots of notes…that’s about it. It’s between 36 to 40 hours per week. Continue Reading …

What do you do for a living? I’m a pharmacist. Hospital Pharmacist.

How would you describe what you do?

I do order entry of physician orders for the medications that they want to administer in the hospital. There’s the patient chart where the doctor will document and write everything that’s going on with the patient and all the medications and tests and procedures that he wants done. When a medication is written it is faxed to the pharmacy where a pharmacist will review the patient’s allergies, other medications that they’re taking, and appropriateness of the dose. We then enter that into a computer system which goes through a pharmacy database and a robot which is linked to that database

There’s a lot of difference between a Walgreen’s and a hospital pharmacy, and I would work in both before I’d ever think about being a pharmacist.

will fill those prescriptions as well as technicians that work within the pharmacy will manually fill those prescriptions and then distribute them to the right patients.

What does your work entail?

Continue Reading …