ABSTRACT

It may surprise a few people, but clinicians and OR personnel lean on their sales reps to get acclimated and trained on medical device products. New products are presented in the ofce, but more often than not they are presented in the hospital OR. Unless the manufacturer has a huge marketing budget, the surgeon’s only reference point to the device is via the sales rep. It is also fairly common for sales reps to introduce a new device just a few minutes before the actual case. Once the surgeon agrees to try it, the sales rep is then asked to stay for the case and get the OR staff up to speed. At this point, the sales rep is under a lot of pressure. They have to perform and show value, and so does the product. The worst nightmare for a sales rep is to have a surgeon struggle to use the new device.