Derrick Nguyen

I graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor?s of Science Degree in Kinesiology Exercise Science. I became a personal trainer following my graduation for 2 years before I committed to doing the Orthopaedic Extremities program in Chicago. I?ve always been a very hard working, competitive and driven person as I?ve always participated in sports and organizations. I played basketball, football, gymnastics, and competitive powerlifting where I?ve always been a top performer in every sport I played.

I was interested in medical sales because I have always wanted to be in the medical field. I originally wanted to be multiple things growing up, a pharmacist, a doctor and a physical therapist, but I didn?t fully commit to it. I?ve always been the person to help people and improving the lives of others some way, so I thought being in medical sales was perfect for me. Not only that, but at Fitness Formula Clubs where I was a trainer, we were 100% commission and only got paid for the number of packages we sold and the number of sessions we did. That led me to be hungry for more and get into sales. Combining both my passions is something I see myself doing for the rest of my life.

I was applying to random device rep jobs on MedReps.com and obviously, I had no luck due to no B2B sales background and no medical device or pharmaceutical sales background. I stumbled upon the internship position for Medical Sales College and I applied. After a few hours, I went back to the posting and looked at Medical Sales College?s website. I was really intrigued and so I figured it was something I wanted to do and the placement rates were high so I went for it.

After calling Kim Smalley a million times asking her questions about the course and how it worked, I had the seminar with Scott Binder and that made me really decide to attend MSC because he explained the process and how we would be successful at landing interviews and jobs. I also wanted a change in my career and I wanted to start as early as possible so I chose the program that was most suitable for me.

My training experience at MSC was amazing. I learned so much about the medical device industry and orthopaedic extremities here at the Chicago campus. I believe I have a solid foundation for me to step into this industry and thrive after attending MSC. We went into depth on the OR conduct, OR instruments, biologics and regenerative medicine, the pathologies, anatomy, procedures and products for the forefoot, midfoot, hindfoot, ankle, and upper extremity, and all about sales that would help us in the field. Dr. Perns has truly been an amazing instructor who is passionate and really knows his stuff. I couldn?t have asked for a better instructor and mentor to lead me into this field. Although I took a job with a specialty in Sports Medicine, I am confident to say that through my training at MSC, I can easily learn and get up to speed with the Sports Medicine side of the industry.

I had absolutely no background in the medical device industry and no real business-to-business sales experience. I asked myself, ?I?m a personal trainer, how am I going to get into this competitive and lucrative industry?? After doing my training here at MSC, I can proudly say that I have enough knowledge to bring me above most candidates that are applying for this position. Employers are emailing me and connecting with me on LinkedIn just because I was a graduate from the Medical Sales College. They love the training it brings and how it prepares you to being a successful rep. I?ve always been hard working, competitive and dedicated, so if you?re someone who won?t give up and will work your butt off to do whatever it takes, then Medical Sales College is the place for you.

I learned about the industry through a friend who?s a senior rep at Arthrex, and ever since the summer of 2017 was when I was trying to get into it. I didn?t really start trying until the Summer of 2018 for about 3 months, where I would apply to positions, get phone interviews and was unsuccessful at getting a face to face interview.

I met Allison Voehringer, HR for Graymont Medical, at MSC?s networking event 2 days prior to graduation. She reached out to MSC saying I was a standout from my classmates and would love to see my resume. She then emailed me talking about the opportunity she has at Graymont Medical on the Smith & Nephew team. She explained that I had to take the Caliper Personality Test prior in order for me to move on with the process. After I spoke with Dr. Perns (MSC instructor) on his thoughts about the company and what they?re about, I told her I?m very interested in the opportunity and will take the Caliper Personality Test. After taking the test, I got a call from Bryce Beasley, the Director of Sports Medicine Sales at Graymont Medical, and we talked about the company, the position, day to day roles of the ASR position, and what the next steps were. We then set up the in-person interview with the founders (Nathan Gray and Matt Montanari) and himself. The interview was at their HQ in the west loop and we talked about myself, my interests, why I?d be a good fit for Graymont and this position, and we talked a lot about Graymont?s future goals and its direction. We also talked about the fact that my position is strictly going to be selling Smith & Nephew and building the territory with Jake Richter, the Sales Rep. We concluded with setting up a meeting with Jake Richter to get to know each other and see whether I would connect with him. We talked about the position, growing the Smith & Nephew territory, how we are representing the company, the surgeons we work with, etc. We then concluded with setting up a ride-along with him to Rush Oak Brook Hospital for an ACL reconstruction and possible meniscus tear; he also gave me information on the surgeon and the products he was using. After the ride-along, we sat down and talked more about the position and what he was looking for and thought that I was hard working and that I would do well. I then received an email from Allison that I got an offer with them. I accepted it and signed the offer later in the afternoon.

I wish I knew how to interview correctly and efficiently. Being persistent with how you go about the interviewing process is something I took away from MSC. After Scott Binder?s 2 sessions, I am super confident with interviewing and what employers and hiring managers are looking for in a candidate.

The most valuable piece of information that I learned from MSC is public speaking and presenting, along with all the interviewing and professional knowledge Scott Binder gives us the last few days of class. I believe that doing presentations in front of the class, allowed me to speak more technical using words that would really make me sound professional in the field. After doing them a lot, it enabled me to be okay with public speaking and going up to doctors and surgical staff without me being nervous.