Thursday, June 21, 2007

Tiny Pill Tales ..Part ??

Hey y'all Im starting to think that maybe I need some Tiny Pills.


Its been a funny few days, but then and again, I do have these every now and then. At least some good news; Ive been made an offer to enter an academic program I was interested in. Im going to take it. So hopefully as of September, Ill be a part-time student (again as if the last time wasnt bad enough. This time it will be half the time, but more painful)


However, on with my tale

The Gurney Man Cometh

I dont think I am naïve. I think in this case it was more a series of random sightings, with me trying to make a connection. I made a certain assumption, that 1+1=3, which was like before you learn math, and then after realize that 1+1=2.


I worked for a really long time in the pharmacy of a hospital. Working in retail pharmacy, I got used to seeing all sorts of drug reps and other types of travelers. At this hospital, it was no different, but maybe not so often and not so much in your face.


I noted that those travelers/reps that had the retail pharmacy clients, generally tended not to be really particular about the crispness of how they dressed. I guess it was years on the road experience, as well as entrenched clientele


At this hospital and many others like it, I suppose, the dressing was crisper because of possible monies involved or because it was a route that they gave rookies, who were trying to work up the feeding chain.


I used to see in retail, travelers/reps hawking all sorts of stuff. At the hospital it was a different sort of fare, which included hospital equipment.


At the hospital, every now and then I would see these two really cute, clean cut fellows wearing nice suits WITH jackets, not bad cuts, ties done proper and nice white shirts (I love suits on men especially when they are cut well). They looked like what I thought young men starting out, or any man, who is representing a company, should look like.



Did I say they were cute and clean cut?


I used to see them every now and then, two of them, with a gurney. We were a hospital, not the typical type, so we needed maybe one new gurney every decade. Knowing the business, I figured they were really junior and were given the worst client to sell to the make or break, or see what you are made of ... by giving you impossible sale points, before we decide to keep you or not type of client.

Did I say they were cute and clean cut?

One day, myself and MamaP (a fellow tech and close mate) were out having a cigarette at break (I used to smoke. In those days, for awhile, I did it right: cigarette holder, cigarette case, a real lighter that used lighter fluid and flints). We usually smoked at the side of the building close to the pharmacy. But sometimes, for a change, we would go to what was then the emergency entrance (we didnt have an emergency room, but we had an entrance for picked up and dropped off patients, and it was used often by reps who had large items to bring into the hospital).

We were having a smoke at the entrance


Me: Oh. .there are those two hunks (drooling). I see them every now and then. They are soooo cute.

MamaP: (laughing) They are!

Me: Id hate to have the job they have. It must be horrible being so young and trying to sell gurneys to a place like this. We dont need any. Yet they are here regularly. I wonder what company they are with. I always see them together. But I guess it takes two to move their equipment around. Wouldnt a catalogue be just as easy? I wonder what else they sell.

MamaP: Hmmm.. they dont sell gurneys.

Theyre from the funeral home.

4 comments:

deathsweep said...

Good story, I guess they come in all professions dont they. I've had a couple of incidents of mistaken identity myself but none that included a gurney salesman! No, you're not naive, it's the suits that fooled you, that's the whole purpose!

MedStudentWife said...

do I hear an evil chuckle ?

So what were you mistaken as ?

jmb said...

I love this story.
All the reps I saw in hospital pharmacy came with lunch to give inservices about why their company's version of some drug with a simple change in the remote part of the molecule was so much better than Brand X or some such. Since the buying decisions for the drugs was made for the whole of the province by some big agency they couldn't sell us a single thing.
Lunches disappeared when it was decided by the powers that be, that this was not ethical and attendance at such inservices dropped dramatically.

MedStudentWife said...

Thanks jmb :) I still get a chuckle thinking about it.

I hear you about the "freebies" - they used to be great... Friday morning coffe & donuts. I remember the doctors used be offered computers and in-services that involved cruises.

I'm still using the little rubber circular gripper that makes getting bottle & jar tops of. It still has the drug company name on it *lol*, tho' its getting a bit dry with age.

Funny how times and ideals change. I've warned Fidel that he had better be careful about what graft he accepts.

I'm really happy you are reading my blog :)