Dylan Snowden, B.S. Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Louisiana Tech University Class of 2020
“Start With Why”, by Simon Sinek, is a book that I read my junior year at Louisiana Tech, and it changed the trajectory of my life. In this book, Sinek dives deep into asking the question, “What’s your why?” At the time of reading this, I was your classic college student trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do with my life. Asking questions like, “Do I really want to go to physical therapy school?” or “Am I only pursuing this degree and path in life because it’s what I’ve always known?” Questions like this is what kept me up at night because I knew at some point I “had to have it all figured out.” I knew that I wanted to be in the medical field but didn’t know exactly what I should do. This question, “What’s your why?”, Simon Sinek poses to his readers is something I really put a lot of thought into. What is it that drives me, and what do I find the most satisfaction in doing? After some time of self-evaluation, it was very clear that I needed to pursue a career field in which I could: serve the people around me (whether that be patients or colleagues), provide for my future family one day, and make a positive difference in patient lives.
When I finally set the foundation and answered Sinek’s question for myself, I began to explore every avenue in the medical field. Following many conversations with physicians, occupational and physical therapists, nurses, athletic trainers, etc., my dad, who is a CRNA in West Monroe, Louisiana, mentioned medical device sales. That wasn’t the first time that heard that term. In fact, I knew a few people in the industry, but didn’t know exactly what their job entailed. My father put me in touch with a few people in the industry, and they shed some light on exactly what their job was. Now, at first, I thought these individuals just went the doctors offices, took the staffs out to nice dinners, and then they get paid because the doctors started to use their product. But what I came to find out, is that is just a glimpse of the job truly is.
Before we get into the actual role of some one in medical device representative, we need to understand what a “medical device” is. A class III medical device is defined as “a product used to support or sustain human life.” All over the world there are thousands of different companies that sell medical devices. Those companies then hire representatives to go into surgery and be an asset to the physician using their product. Representatives can be a HUGE help to physicians and provide valuable knowledge about their specific product. With technology always advancing in this industry, this means instruments, surgical techniques, and overall procedures are changing. This is where medical device representatives really come into play. For instance, if an Orthopedic Surgeon finished his fellowship 30 years ago, do you think he/she initially learned how to a robotic total knee replacement? The answer is no. Robotic technology is new, therefore the physician must be educated on how to use the technology.
Now let’s talk about my path into medical device sales and how I got where I am today. Upon graduating from Louisiana Tech in 2020, I attended a program called “Medical Sales College” in Phoenix, AZ. It was a 3-month program where I learned the “ins and outs” of the industry. This program was geared all towards Orthopedics and Orthobiologics.
Once finishing the program, I landed a job as a Sales Representative at Arthrex in Little Rock, AR. In my role at Arthrex, I supported Orthopedic surgeons in the operating room in all different types of surgeries: ankle fractures, rotator cuff repairs, wrist fractures, ACL reconstruction, and many more. In this role, I truly fell in love with the medical device industry, and the value a medical device rep can bring to the operating room.
After some time spent at Arthrex, I was offered a job by the company I work for now, PROCEPT BioRobotics. PROCEPT is the fastest growing robotic surgery company in history, which specializes in treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia(BPH) in men. Now, you might be reading this thinking, okay, that’s a tad weird… why would someone want to work in the men’s urology space??? Well, the answer is simple, and it all goes back to my “why.” BPH is the #1 reason men visit the urologist. In fact, 1 in 2 men ages 51-60 have BPH and their prevalence increases over time. At its core, BPH is a disease that truly effects men’s quality of life. PROCEPT had a study come out which went “head-to-head” against the Gold Standard TURP (Transurethral Resection of the Prostate) and had superior results. The superior outcome is what drew me in. It aligned directly with my why of making a positive impact on patients’ lives.
I joined the company as a clinical representative. In this role, my job was to educate surgeons on how to operate the robot in the OR, teach them how to read ultrasound, and instill confidence in them through supporting them in cases. Because I joined the company very early in its growth, as soon as I got trained up, I was put in a position where I had to train our new clinical reps. In this season, I found a huge passion for training. There’s just something about taking something super complex, like robotic surgery, and breaking it down so simple for others to understand and learn.
After about a year and a half with PROCEPT as a clinical rep, I had the opportunity to join the Global Learning and Development team as a Global Trainer. The Global Learning and Development team is responsible for the training of all new sales reps, continuing education of field support, building education content with cross functional counterparts, development of surgeon training curriculums, etc. As a Global Trainer, my role is heavily focused on ensuring our new clinical and sales reps get brought up to speed and become clinically sound. Once a quarter, I fly out to Santa Clara, California for our new hire training. During these two weeks, half of our time is spent in a “lecture” type setting where myself and the other trainers will teach the procedure technique. The other half of the time is spent in the lab where we are instructing “hands on lab sessions” with the robots. When our reps leave this training, the goal is for them to become independent and support physicians in surgery on their own.
Within the medical device industry, there are so many different avenues you can take. Whether it’s sales, clinical, marketing, or education like myself, there could be a future career path for you. My advice is that before you chose your field of work, medical device or not, ensure that you understand your own personal “why,” and ask yourself can I fulfill it in this field. For me, I was seeking after a role I could serve the people around me, provide for my future family, and make a difference in patient’s lives. Thankfully, I can truly say that have found a career that fulfills my why.
The Exponential Factor 