Tag Archives: Hospitals

Congratulations Mini Marathoners!

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flora-mini-marathon

To all the fabulous women that completed the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon yesterday we offer a huge congratulations! Hold your medal up high and say “Well Done to Me”!!

Well done to you all, it was a fantastic achievement!

As a participant myself, stiff legs and aching limbs make for a very tired lady this morning but nevertheless we should be so proud of ourselves and all the fundraising that has gone alongside the day itself.

Monday 6th June 2011 is a day to be remembered with just over 40,000 joggers and walkers…. with a good few “men in tights” joining us all and putting a little smile on our faces!

Charities of all shapes and sizes were represented with a vast array of coloured shirts, which in itself was mesmerising – particularly at the 6km marker and coming down the fly-over at UCD. It was right at that point that was so breath-taking and seeing exactly how many people care that much to participate in such an event!

So many worthwhile causes had a representative yesterday, everyone from regional Cancer Support Groups and respite centres, to Temple Street Hospital, to Crumlin, to Motor-Neurons to name a few!

After yesterdays efforts, I think the one thing we can say about the people of our country is that although there are people in need of medical treatmentwithin the walls of our hospitals, we are a nation that deeply cares about both the welfare of our people and the organisations who are trying to help them with their struggles in life. And Monday 6th June 2011 is testament to that.

Whether you walked, jogged or skipped, whether you fundraised for a respite centre, a childrens hospital, a cancer support group, or something more specific like Motor Neurons Disease, yesterday has proved that we are a nation that cares intensely and has now shown this nationally that we are more than willing to do our fair share to contribute to such fantastic causes.

To the Women of the Flora Mini Marathon of 2011 – Congratulations! You have done everyone of this country proud!

Choose Wisely with your Sales Career!

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Stay on the right Career Path

Stay on the right Career Path

Choose wisely when it comes to applying for jobs in these times.

With dole queues out the door and numbers of unemployment rising, it is understandable that getting back to work is the ultimate goal. But be careful what you send your CV forward for as it may prove fruitless.

Choose wisely and do not be hasty in applying for every “Sales” job you see on the internet if you are in Sales.

As aware as you are of the lack of employment in the country, rest assured that potential employers know this all too well, which makes them even more picky in the CVs that they wish to see.

Tips for applying for jobs:

  1. Job Title:  if the title fits then read on!
  2. Job Description: Read through the job description, the responsibilites and especially the area/ industry this job is in. e.g. if you have worked in Medical Sales and the job spec is for IT Sales then tread carefully. You may have all the skills for selling Medical products, OTC products or medical devices but no experience in selling Computer Software, JAVA programmes or PCs then this may not be the job for you.
  3. Qualifications Required:  These days employers really like their Sales employees to be relevantly qualified, i.e. Nurses selling Wound Care/ Dressings, Science qualifications for medical device, and Nutritionists/ Dieticians selling Nutritional products. Take special heed to the qualification requirements.
  4. The Location: This job may be based in Cork and you are based in Dublin. This could be another deciding factor, as confident as you are that you can cover the Southern territory with your home life in Dublin, the higher the chances are of “burn out”.

The fact is that if you are an experienced Medical Sales Rep then you have the advantage of -

  • Product Knowledge – no need for month long training sessions!
  • Client base – which means you have the existing client relationships and are on a business relationship with key opinion leaders in  hospitals, GPs or pharmacies. This, to potential employers, is like gold to them and is an essential part of what they are looking for when taking another Medical Sales Rep on their books.

I know there are bills and mortgages to pay, but best advice? -  Stick to what you know and choose wisely.

Play the waiting game as your working experience will stand to you once the right job comes up.

Instead of applying for every Sales job that comes in, choose only ones relevant to your experience.

It’s All in the Details

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Details Details Details

Details Details Details

Whether you are applying for a Medical Sales job, a Nursing Job or a job in the Medical Device industry, your CV says everything about you from first glance. Whether you get that second glance depends on the contents of your CV. It’s all in the details you have provided.

Where as once upon a time, your title in the medical company you worked for and the dates you worked there were all self explanatory, these days a little more fine tuning is required in the details of your CV.

For example, if you are a Nurse, it is no longer acceptable to simply give the name of the hospitals you have worked in and your title of “Staff Nurse” and hope for the best. You need those extra details of not just the hospital, but the type of ward, the specific duties you carried out on a daily basis. Whether you are Orthopaedics or Cosmetics… it is all in the details.

Similarly, if you are working in the Kitting Department of a Medical Device company, you cannot just assume that your next potential employer will automatically know what your current job entails:

  • Do you deal with QA? How so?
  • Do you have regular contact with R&D? In what capacity?
  • Do you have detailed involvement with Product Development? Explain the details.
  • Have you named or detailed the specific projects you have worked on?

It is a very difficult mission, and although a bit daunting it will be worth it in the end. It is those extra details in this day and age that could get you that second glance.. possibly the job!

Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI’s)

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Right now there are 1.4 million people worldwide suffering from Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI’s).

What is a HAI?  Healtcare Associated Infections are infections that are picked up while receiving treatment for some other condition.  This is usually in a hospital setting, but is not confined to hospitals alone.  Doctors Surgeries, Nursing and Care homes and Clinics are all prone to spreading infectious diseases.

You will be familiar with the names of Healthcare Associated Infections.

  • MRSA
  • VRSA
  • C.Diff
  • Pneumonia (VAP – Ventilator Associated Pneumonia)

What they all have in common is that they can be picked up in Healthcare settings and are difficult to treat.

They are also relatively easy to prevent.  It all comes down to Hygiene.  Top of the Hygiene list is Hand Washing.  It is such a simple thing, but a lack of proper hand washing by patients, relatives and healthcare professionals is attributed to a high percentage of HAI cases.

The above handwashing demo is aimed at kids.  What it pointed out to me is that there really is no excuse for us growed ups to be spreading HAI’s as a result of improper hand washing.

Are Healthcare Associated Infections really that serious?  Well in 2002 98,987 people died from them in the United States.  Here in Ireland we do not have good or accurate figures.  So yes, it is an extremely serious.

Kimberly-Clark have started a campaign called “Not on My Watch“, which is a prevention and education campaign.  Follow the link and I will update this post when I have more details about the campaign in Ireland.