My most dreaded day of any given work week isn't Monday. I'm not a fan of Mondays by any means, but Wednesdays are much, much worse in my opinion. Wednesdays are the day that I have to be "on", and that is exhausting just in itself. This is the one and only designated day that my docs assign to see pharmaceutical reps. I'm well aware that the majority of Americans assume that all physicians are catering to these companies every whim, but I assure you that my docs don't subscribe to that type of worship in any way, shape, or form. In fact, exactly the opposite would be true in this particular case. My docs treat these drug reps as if they were gum stuck to the bottom of their Birkenstock.
I'm not sure if it's common knowledge or not, but just as a general rule, it's an unspoken job requirement that these pharmaceutical reps be a member of the "beautiful people". It's almost as if every single Homecoming Queen and King that didn't make it to Hollywood post-graduation decided to go work for Pfizer instead. It's the reps that are unaware (or better at acting as if they're unaware at least) of their gorgeousness that I find myself not having to pretend that I enjoy speaking with them. Then there's the breed of drug rep that has obviously been told repeatedly how exceptionally good looking they are, but they have mistaken this trait for being charming. I'm certain that their perfect physical appearance works to their disadvantage in my office.
Essentially I end up having to overcompensate for my doc's "abruptness", and be sickeningly sweet so that they will continue to bring samples for our patients that cannot afford their necessary medication. I have warned reps against going back to get a signature on a particularly "tense" day, and those who ignored me have regretted it. I have witnessed my docs walking past the rep patiently waiting for just a signature numerous times without even bothering to acknowledge their existence. I have witnessed reps waiting for just a simple signature for over an hour, and holding up the line of reps waiting to be seen in the waiting room, only to see them finally wave the white flag and leave without the signature. I have even seen my bully of a doc reduce a rep to tears over being "ill-prepared".
Yes, there is a serious problem with the power that pharmaceutical companies have in this country. Yes, these reps have huge salaries, and their medications have an astronomical mark-up. I Googled "Doctors versus Pharmaceutical Reps", and found this very interesting article from Forbes Magazine. All I'm saying is that I hate Wednesdays aka "Drug Rep Day", because I have to be a very specific false version of myself. Do you have a day at work that you can't stand other than Monday? Just about everyone hates Mondays. What happens during this dreaded work day of yours? Do you ever find yourself having to make up for your co-worker's shortcomings?
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