From Residency to the Pharmaceutical Industry

The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) offers some great resources that can help you transition from a clinical career to a non-clinical career.

Here's a "Career Stories" presentation featuring Michael Sokol, MD, MS titled, "From Residency to the Pharmaceutical Industry." His current title is Medical Director, Health Management Innovations at GlaxoSmithKline.  He talks about the first job that he had as an Associate Medical Director at Merck-Medco. He got that job straight out of a general preventive medicine residency. He stayed there for 8 years and moved his way up the corporate ladder.

So, how do you find a non-clinical job right out of residency? He was fortunate to have a mentor who was able to guide him through some of those steps. He also emphasizes the importance of building a social network so that you can get your foot into the door. One of his slides says:  "Great opportunities and jobs come from building and utilizing effective networking."

He ends his presentation by providing some tips to prospective physician executives who wish to enter the pharmaceutical industry. Click here to view this 16 minute presentation on the ACPE website.