Protecting Yourself and Others

As sales professionals we interact with all sorts of individuals on a daily basis. Medical sales professionals are in and out of hospitals and are around patients and health care workers on a regular basis. Outside sales people, on average, come in contact with 100-125 people on a weekly bases in just their normal sales calls. So to hear and read about the H1N1 virus and how easily it can be spread, sales professionals need to take extra precautions to protect themselves from this deadly virus.

As a Medical Sales Professional I have noticed that most hospitals are now requiring sales representatives to be credentialed and prove they are current with all vaccinations including yearly flu shots. Sales professionals should be proactive in protecting themselves, patients and health care workers we come in contact with. Virus can easily be spread from person to person through a simple hand shake. Being current on all vaccinations and getting a yearly flu shot is vital in protecting yourself for contracting TB, Hepatitis, the flu/common cold and the most recent scare the H1N1 virus. Other simple steps can protect you and others from spreading illness; washing your hands regularly or using hand sanitizers and staying home from work when you are sick can go a long way in stopping the spread of diseases. The Center for Disease Control recommends the following: Avoid close contact if you are sick or around others that are sick, Stay home when you are sick, cover your month and nose when sneezing, wash you hands often. Check out the CDC website for more recommendations http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm.

Get Credentialed
While I will not go into great detail on getting credentialed in this post, if you are a medical sales representative, take the lead and get credentialed. If you have not been asked to do so by the hospitals or doctors that you call on, you will be. Health care industry representatives credentialing (HCRI) is becoming the norm. As medical device and pharmaceutical sale representatives we develop close relationships with physicians. Health care workers and clinicians view the sales representatives as a valuable resource and frequently ask for input and guidance on the use of new technologies and drugs. Because we spend a large amount of time in front of clinician's it only make sense that we should provide proof that we are properly credentialed and vaccinated.

In my next post I will go into greater details on what it means to be credentialed.