Physician careers in pharmaceutical medicine

I had a pleasant chat today with a physician who has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for several years. It was interesting to hear how he transitioned from the clinical world of academia to the pharmaceutical world.

You'll find all sorts of physicians who have built a career in pharmaceutical medicine. Some are in their thirties and skipped residency. Others transitioned into pharma while they were in their fifties. How do these people do it? You don't need an MBA to work in a pharmaceutical company. You also don't need to have a long list of publications. These things may help, but they are certainly not essential.

How many physicians do you know who currently work for a pharmaceutical company? What do they do? Are they involved in marketing? Clinical research? Health outcomes? Drug safety monitoring? Medical education? Public health? Pharmacoeconomics? Drug development? Regulatory affairs? Quality control? Medical affairs? Professional education and development? Medical writing? Managed markets? Managed care?

As a physician, there are so many possible career paths within the pharmaceutical industry. If you wish to learn more about some of these possible physician careers in pharmaceutical medicine, I encourage you to subscribe to my blog posts and visit this site frequently. The best way to learn is to hear some first-hand experiences from people who currently work in these areas.