I freelance for Integremed, a medical marketing and communications company specializing in key strategic medical messaging for international pharmaceutical industry. My contributions include developing clinical trial summaries for marketing and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) purposes, in addition to writing and referencing marketing material from peer-reviewed clinical articles.I have written copy for many companies in this role including: Adcock, Aspen, Bayer, Galderma, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Mylan, Novartis, Reckitt Benckiser, Roche, Takeda and Viatris.

I have trained sales forces for various pharmaceutical companies across many specialised therapeutic areas, from antibiotics to oncology to orthotics.I enjoy developing training material, translating complicated scientific information into clear comprehensible concepts that a sales representative can use in the field to achieve their objectives.I have facilitated learning in several companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Sandoz, Adcock Ingram Critical Care, Pfizer, Janssen, Reckitt Benckiser and MSD.

I worked as a Senior Account Executive for Silent Thunder, an advertising agency in the highly specialized field of pharmaceutical marketing, combining medical expertise with innovative design. I have an in-depth understanding of product attributes, whilst my field experience as a specialised sales representative resulted in a clear grasp of marketing dynamics. These skills enabled me to understand the clients needs, interact with the design studio and develop material to realise the marketing strategy.

I moved into the training department when one of my trial drugs went to market. The drug was a first-in-its-class, titratable intravenous opioid which contributed to a novel way of performing anaesthesia (TIVA). Having conducted the research on this drug in South Africa, I was one of the ‘specialists’ in this area at the time. I completed various international train-the-trainer courses in London, United Kingdom. Using these skills, I was able to develop training material and equip sales teams to have confident interactions with specialist physicians in various therapeutic areas. I have developed and presented training workshops in anaesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, oncology and HIV. I trained the team that launched Combivir, the first HIV drug in South Africa.During this time, I also worked briefly as a sales representative to ensure that the training presented was relevant to the sales teams in the field.

My roles in this position included attending international therapeutic and investigator meetings, applying for local ethics approval and implementing these clinical trials across South Africa. I monitored the source documentation vs. clinical information collected and archived the trial on completion.In addition, I was responsible for equipping and training newly recruited CRAs to effectively and accurately monitor clinical trials.

At the brand new Netcare hospital, I assisted in stock management as well as dispensing medical and surgical equipment for patients. I also interacted with medical staff in ward rounds and had the opportunity to observe several surgical procedures including a heart transplant and hand surgery.

While studying for my degree, I worked part-time at Riverclub Pharmacy. My exposure included ordering and stock management for both the front-shop and scheduled medication (up to S7), as well as learning and using the dispensing computer program under supervision.