Ok, well two fired reps are posting your reply. Those were the good ole days. No, you cannot fake most of your calls. At least, not sitting in your bathrobe eating those free lunches. You will however fake a lot of actually face to face calling as doctors (if you have any that take samples) will give you one minute or less in a hallway. It is not a real call and you can say very little to move a product. If you do move a doctor, it happens in very small moments. Programs are horrible and few doctors in my area go. Yet we are expected to do them. A compliance officer usually shows up and ensures that you have all the right people and an EXACT head count is required with only licensed HCPs. Few offices do lunch and you will get some selling time there and now and then a sandwich to take home. The bad news is all the territories are so big, it will go toxic on any drive home - if you can even go home. Enjoy your cheap hotel. You are expected to get six to eight face to face calls a day. The metric is virtually impossible to ever hit if you are calling on only specialists like cardiology. It is probably impossible if you are calling on primary care in all but a few areas of the country. So, those quick stops at the front desk where they tell you to kiss off, you have to make that a real call or you'll be fired. If you get caught making a "fake" call, you will be fired. You could be fired for just about any reason at all in pharma.
Pharma is a career killer. It can pay well but do not for even a moment think this is a career. It is actually a career killer and if you spend several years (lucky) doing it, you will probably never work a real job again. If you get in, work on your education or a technical degree or a side business. However, most of the AZ reps that I know work at least 50 hours a week leaving little time for much else once you get home to only do tests, trackers, emails, record your calls, sync, reload your car and suitcase and take care of any BS from management or your neverending teleconference schedule. This will bring you to a twelve hour day nearly everyday.
There is nothing about the job that is rewarding and ride alongs usually bring diarrhea and a lot of stress as your manager wants to see you spout the company message on every call. He or she will stand right behind you all day and write you up regarding how well you executed the brand team's strategy and showed your AZ leadership behaviors. Your offices will grow to hate you just for that and good luck getting past the gatekeeper with a manager by your side. If you are hospital, you will be credentialed to death and cannot get in the door without a badge and all their BS. Credentialing means shots, tests, more shots, and reading endless pages of hospital policy to abide by each system's rules.
My advice is to not come in this direction and if you do, be prepared to do something else entirely in a few years as the industry is dying and layoffs/firings are a yearly thing. Go read the "General Discussion" boards here on CP. There is plenty of advice on the horrors of working in this industry. You might as well have blanks on your resume while you are in pharma and getting out to something better is nearly impossible b/c this job is viewed as a joke by all other industries and even entry positions elsewhere. Also, access is so bad in most places that only old timers with great relationship are actually getting any time at all in front of the doctor. Most of the drugs, even the new ones, no one cares about and getting coverage is a bitch. Offices only do a PA/QL when absolutely necessary and not enough to hit your goal unless you are in a great managed care or wealthy area.
BTW, no, you cannot take samples from a closet. It is a federal offense.
