Hours worked per week as an Associate

How many hours a week does a Territory Manager Associate put in with Applied Medical? Also do you have to work weekends? I have an interview on Monday and I'm curious to find out.

Thanks!

 

I don't work for applied and saw the subject / thread title and couldn't help but laugh.

Is this a serious question? Is this your first Med job?

 

I do work with Applied and I have to agree with #2. It's a full time job, so expect to be working full time. Some days more, some less. Typically not on weekends, but things may come up.

 

I would begto differ. 70-80% of my accounts don't need my help. A monkey could insert a trocar and our products are sold on price/GPO's. Some of the newer products are where I am focusing my efforts and i would say I spend the other 20% or so defending my business because most of the surgeons hate our stuff.

 

Why do they hate your stuff?

 

I'm a new poster to this thread, but felt compelled to jump in. The statement that surgeons hate Applied products is a big exageration. Sure, there are some surgeons who hate any product their administration tells them they have to switch to because they resent the loss of their ability to use whatever they want. And there are other surgeons who really like some aspects of Applied trocars (yes, some surgeons prefer Fios or Fixation to what they had been using). But the reality is most surgeons have evolved to having the attitude that they will work with whatever the hospital gives them, and focus on learning how to use whatever it is to get the best outcomes for their patients.

We became the US and worldwide leader in trocar sales three years ago, so if whoever posted that statement has most of his/her surgeons hating our products it could be a function of that rep not competently presenting the differences in a manner to make them receptive. If a surgeon doesn't understand the differences between ours and whatever he/she had been using, and understand the intended benefit of those differences before it's handed to him/her in a case for the first time they will understandably be upset and hate the product because it's different from what they were comfortable with.

And by the way, Applied is not only US and worldwide leader in trocars, but also in wound protection devices, hand-assist and single-site laparoscopy devices, specimen retrieval bags and disposable laparoscopic graspers (and possibly more categories by now). How could that be the case if "surgeons hate our products", no matter what cost benefit we provide?

I'm not saying our products are perfect and I'm not saying there aren't things about the company I wouldn't change. I'm also not an Applied manager or a lover of everything Applied. I just do my best to sell the products every day, and wanted to set the record straight on that obviously unsuccessful person's comment.

 

The above quote is complete and utter bullshit. Applied DOES not lead the US (nor the world, holy shit) in trocar or specimen bag sales. There is literally no way that Applied has more share in these categories than EES or Covidien. Given that facilities are often out of contractual compliance if Applied has sizable share in the account, their pricing will in turn go up and negate any savings from use.

Ask yourself this, Applied rep: Has a surgeon ever demanded that he/she have their Applied trocars back after an account converts away? NEVER.

 

I always see Covidien reps in the OR but rarely see an Applied or Ethicon rep. Covidien reps are working a lot of hours.

 

You are clearly from an alternative universe than the real one. Besides third-party market analysis showing us to be market leaders I just have to look at my terriotry, district and zone. Of the 14 hospitals in my territory we have all the trocar the business in 9 of them, and it's a similar ratio in my district. I have 19 surgeons that use Fios for first stick and of those at least 8 would scream if they had to go back to Ethicon (or 2 of them, to Covidien). Two of my accounts are standarized to Fixation, and the other ones have about 50/50 fixation/Z-thread usage. All of them initially were not crazy about what they perceived as two additional steps, to inflate and deflate the balloon, but after having cases where the minimal cannula depth came into play as a benefit they began preferentially choosing Fixation, and many of them have said how much more they like it than Ethicon's.

My strong suspicion is that the person writing that doubtful post is not an Applied employee but a competitor of Applied's, because Applied does sell more in each of the product categories I mentioned than anyone else.

 

Haha. Let me guess, these same surgeons use Alexis for breast surgeries and Path regularly. They are concerned about eliminating sharps completely in the OR. They are also the same surgeons that believe in the sequential helix tip and vertical integration. They want a true M/L clip from a 5mm applicator. With all of those outstanding accomplishments, you are making 500k. Great job. You should teach how to sell because you are truly a master and at the pinnacle of the profession. Or.... you are in marketing and have no idea what you just typed.

 

Like I said, I don't love everything Applied, and agree that some of the things you point out that Applied tells us is bullshit, or at very least shows a disconnect with real ORs, not favorite surgeons we pay as consultants who give us BS positive spin to put on our stuff. To your points: 1) I've had NO surgeons interested in Alexis on breasts, 2) the concept of reducing sharps (not eliminating) is attractive to ORs but will cause no one to stop using a Veress needle if that's how they were trained and are what they're comfortable with, 3) not sure what you mean about "believe" in sequential helix tip, but I point it out as a difference from what they were using simply so they know why they need to modify their previous technique (i.e. "more twist, less push").

On the other points, Gelpoint Path's low usage isn't due to any product fault or lack of surgeon enthusiasm, it's due to the infrequency of even a busy colorectal practice getting a patient with a non-invasive polyp 5-12cm from the anal verge. This is a great product that even general surgeons in rural community hospitals can use, and when they do it often means the difference between a 45 minute procedure with no abdominal incisions vs. a low anterior resection. Those words are from numerous surgeons I've worked with.

On vertical integration, if you've had no one latch onto the fact that we design, develop and manufacture everything domestically in the US then I am baffled. I'm not saying everyone I discuss that with responds, but I would say about 1 in 5 see it as a positive differentiator for us. It won't suddenly turn someone who doesn't like our products to suddenly like them, but from my experience has influenced some people's overall impression of Applied favorably.

On the concept of having a "true M/L clip in a 5mm applicator", I'd say that's the only thing that had kept our Universal clip business at all. Surgeons absolutely saw the difference in security with our clip, and put up (for a while) with the inconsistant performance of our clip applier because of it. Are you saying none of your surgeons who tried ours felt our clip was better and more secure? If we truly do launch a smooth, consistant 5mm applier with our better clip, and (as usual) a better price I do believe we can become market leader in the clip category as well.

So yes, you have to seperate out the bullshit from corporate and find what the reality is, but when it comes to the original topic, trocars, they have benefits that are sellable. Just my opinion based on my experience, and yours obviously differs.