Justin Dense

I come from a mostly manual labor work background and graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

I grew up around medical devices due to my father and mother working for companies such as Synthes, Medtronic, Novartis, and Brassler. They mostly dealt with quality assurance and development. Shortly after graduating from college, I decided to go into medical device sales as well.

I decided to attend MSc because I contacted several graduates via LinkedIn and decided to make the investment to jumpstart my career.

The training at MSC was very thorough. Since graduating I have been in the OR twice and although it was still a new and fascinating experience, nothing really surprised me. In fact, I could read and interpret the radiographs 10x better than the rep I rode along with. Obviously, I never admitted to that, but while standing there looking at the diaphyseal fracture in the femur, I noted that it was an oblique non-displaced fracture. He had no idea what I was talking about, and admittedly, noted that the only radiograph training he had was what he learned in his free time. This type of experience is what will give me the edge against reps with far more time in the field than I.

There are three big reasons why someone should attend MSC. First, this is high IQ sales and you need clinical knowledge as well as the vernacular in order to survive in the OR. It's no different than learning a foreign language before moving to a different country. Second, this job can require a piece of yourself that most people aren't willing to give that up. The work and hours you have to put in can be draining and MSC gave me a good idea of what that looks like. Lastly, I achieved a new level of confidence. Daily sales pitches and role-playing eventually pushed me out of my comfort zone. Half the job is doing things that aren't necessarily "comfortable", and after MSC, I finally feel comfortable being uncomfortable.

Less than 6 months.

I had two soft interviews over the phone and one face to face at their office. There were some assignments and phone calls between interviews but otherwise, the process was pretty straightforward. My face to face was with my employer -just one person- and lasted roughly an hour and a half. He asked me some personal questions, what I learned at MSC, whether I understood the demands of the job, and poked around for my qualifications. I reviewed my business plan and left it with the employer to read. Lastly, I asked if there was anything that we had talked about that would inhibit me from moving forward with the hiring process. He listed a few concerns, I clarified my responses to ease any of his concerns, and again asked "Is there anything else that would inhibit me from moving forward with the hiring process. He said "No" so we wrapped up, shook hands, and I left to prepare for my ride-along at 2 PM the next day.

I wish I started networking and putting my name out there sooner so that people knew I was attending MSC. I think the best thing anyone could do prior to attending is to start connecting with hiring managers. Let them know "Hey this is serious to me, I want to be a medical sales rep for your company and I'm going to pay for the education I need to get this job, would you entertain an interview with me once I graduate?". That sets the stage and shows a substantial level of commitment. Also connecting with them via LinkedIn and allowing them to watch you learn and grow gives them a new perspective on your investment/commitment to becoming a rep.

The most valuable thing I learned at MSC was understanding biomechanics and how the devices work and are implanted. Ultimately you can't sell a product you don't understand and that was the first thing my employer wanted to know, "Do you understand how these products work and why they are important?". During my interview, I was asked what I knew about the hip, so I walked him through an entire THA utilizing the posterior approach. By the end of the interview, the job was as good as mine.