Patient Contact Careers

1. Patient Contact Careers Naomi Cox Product Specialist and Territory Manager- St Jude Medical Australia

2. St Jude Medical Aust • Global company manufacturing cardiology products • Pacemakers • Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs) • Electrophysiology catheters • Heart valves • Stents

3. St Jude Medical Aust • Currently work in Cardiac Rhythm Management Division • Assist cardiologists/cardiac surgeons with pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator implants • Pacemaker follow-ups and clinics • Education of doctors, nurses and cardiac technologist • Patient education • Business role-responsible for a budget (big one!)

4. Career path • Always wanted to be a doctor! • Did well in VCE-interview for med at Monash but did not get in…devastated • Decided to do BSc (Biomedical) and later (?) transfer to medicine

5. Career path • BSc (Biomed) • Anatomy • Physiology • Why did I decide to do these subjects? • Because both subject interested me!

6. Career path • How did I find my first job? • Through a friend of a friend of a friend…. • Ask your friends, family, colleagues - use your contacts! • register with employment agency • read newpapers/employment websites and send out resumes • First job was as a dialysis technician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (renal failure patients)

7. Career path • Dialysis technician for 18 months and decided I wanted a change • Accepted to do medicine but declined the offer • Looked at internal employment board at RMH and decided to apply for a cardiac technologist position without knowing anything about the job.

8. Career path • Thoroughly enjoyed area of Cardiology • interpret ECGs • analyse holters • stress tests • tilt table tests • haemodynamic monitoring in catheter lab • pacemaker and defibrillator checks

9. Career path • Poached by pacemaker company • Role at St Jude: • Clinical Support Specialist • Product Specialist • In this work I use both anatomy and physiology knowledge learned at university • Also need to be aware of latest studies and clinical trials in arrhythmia and heart failure management so need to know how to interpret scientific papers

10. Typical day • Day 1 post operation check • Find patient on the hospital ward • Have a chat to patient and ask how they are feeling and answer any questions they may have (usually there are many!) • Perform pacemaker check using programmer • Call implanting physician with results and inform nurse looking after the patient

11. Pacemaker implant • Meet patient in trolley bay outside theatre or cathlab and talk them through what to expect from operation • Prep patient for surgery and help set up lab • Discuss product to be used for the patient with doctor

12. Pacemaker implant Cont… Be the ‘eyes and ears’ for the doctor whilst he/she is implanting.

13. Pacemaker implant cont • If implanting a defibrillator induce arrhythmia and shock patient • Check the device post operatively to make sure leads have not moved Pacemaker/ICD clinic • Patients with pacemakers/ICDs must come for follow-ups on a regular basis ~6 months • Follow up is done in conjunction with physician

14. Other duties • Education for nurses/techs/doctors • Sales calls to implanting physicians and inform them of latest technology • Pre and post op checks for major operations • Clinical trials

15. Future prospects • Started a Master of Public Health at Alfred Hospital (Monash Uni, Melbourne Uni, Deakin Uni consortium) to learn more about clinical trials • 3 year course part-time

16. Take home message • Not getting into medicine was not the end of the world for me! • There are many other career options that can be just as rewarding that you may not even know about or have considered. • Be creative when looking for a job and do not have preconceived ideas! • Talk to people, ask questions.