Month: February 2009 (Page 1 of 3)

i didn’t mean to provoke that much interest, but because i was asked, i will explain. it’s not really a knock on professions or persons, but a state of the industry.

i spent the week interviewing sales reps for a pharmaceutical drug company this week. now these people are in sales. that’s what they do. one person told me that she could “sell matches to a firefighter”. good for her that she’s good at what she does, and from what i could tell, most of them really love what they do.

i have no problems with sales people promoting a product that they believe will help people. i generally don’t love all things medical and rarely take a drug if i can help it, but the profession serves a worthwhile purpose and drug companies have the capacity to do some amazing things.

here’s my problem: i had a rep tell me that she got the doctors in her territory to promise her 2 scripts a week (for the month of december). it’s not that she was promoting the product. it’s not that doctor was prescribing it. it’s the coordination of the two. i can’t hardly believe that ALL these doctors said, “you know, i hadn’t thought about your drug before when it comes to X and Y patient. i bet i can prescribe this drug to them!” maybe one did. or two. but the entire territory?

before doing my job, i had a general faith that if i were ill that my doctor would go to his big reference book and prescribe me the best drug to alleviate symptoms or rid my body of the culprit. now i’m cynical enough to realize that there just might be doctors out there who will prescribe a drug to help a nice sales person meet quota and not necessarily (or primarily) to help me get well. **Erin, you are right, that not all – and i’d argue most – doctors are like this. And it’s also, as i said, a statement of industry, not profession.

so my status was to encourage you to be informed, be active in your health care decisions. don’t let some cute 20-something with free donuts be the decision-maker for what you put into your body. i am optimistic enough to think that most doctors, once you engage them in discussion as to why they are making their recommendations, will gladly appreciate your involvement and work with you to find the best possible solution. maybe it is the over-priced name brand drug that the donut girl brought in. maybe it’s not. but talk to your doctor to find out what is behind his decisions – not to insult him/her, but to participate in becoming well.

10. she has to finish the book, even if it’s bad
9. impeccable taste in nail polish
8. her willingness to share nail polish
7. she’s a book whore, much like myself.
6. she loves my baby – and not just because he’s just any baby
5. we share friends and there’s never, ever, a sense of “i know more” or “i’m closer to” competition
4. she’s honest and up front about her “high maintenance” life of fans and multiple pillows.
3. she drops poptop cans of biscuits because she doesn’t like the popping. i HATE that too, but i’m not smart enough to drop them on the floor.
2. grace and patience seem to be a package deal – she has massive amounts of both (interestingly enough, ALL my friends do… hmm…)
1. when i was complaining about the meaningless sound someone was making because it “wasn’t teaching henry anything” she responded, “he doesn’t always have to be learning.” what a wonderful, eloquent, truthful way of saying “get over it, michele” right when i needed it.

i love friends.

question of the day: why is fun so much work?

i was chatting with a pal who recently took her boyfriend on quite the adventure. however, in wanting him to enjoy it SOOO much, she actually made him really angry and the day was a bit spoiled (well, only in the AM. fortunately they both “got over it”). but as the story was retold, it became quite clear – at the times we want most to have so much fun, it becomes work, stressful, almost a burden.

consider vacations. birthday parties. tailgating. weekend trips to the lake. all of these things intended for good but the devil of details gets in there and uses them for harm (mostly in the sense of destroying relational moments).

even well-meaning people wanting the best for others have a tendency to ruin good things. married people who just really want a friend to experience the joy of sharing life with someone gete a bit pushy (i may or may not be guilty of such actions while enduring the anticipation. please forgive me dave). or new parents, or soon-to-be grandparents, in the excitement of a new baby arriving quite possibly chatter and pester a bit too much in that waiting period (once again, probably guilty. please forgive me jill).

it’s almost like reverse envy. you wanting something – a feeling of joy – sooo much for someone else that it causes you to loose sight of the goal. you want someone to feel joy and in trying to bring it to them you cause problems and thus no joy. horrible cycle. i’m not sure why, but a visual of a mud pie comes to mind. our attempts are mud in comparison to the real thing.