Page 2 - Demo

MEET
Can you please share a little of your educational background and most recent job experience before joining Novo Nordisk?
I attended the University of Florida where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education and Behavior. I then went on to attend Husson University College of Pharmacy where I received my doctorate in Pharmacy. After graduation, I began my career as a staff pharmacist with CVS Health and made my way to Pharmacy manager. I spent several years in this role learning the practice and business of pharmacy before breaking away and establishing my own independent practice. My focus was patient care and disease state management. Most recently, I worked with Walmart Pharmacy as a Pharmacy manager contributing in various leadership roles mainly around vaccine administration.
What skill sets or attributes made you the ideal candidate for this new role organizationally with Novo Nordisk?
My unique experience and insight into the world and business of retail/community pharmacy. I have an in depth understanding of how pharmacy operates and with this knowledge, I can close existing gaps and make sure we are executing on the pharmacy side of things.
What will be your geography once training is completed, and is there something from the sales organization we can do to help you with the onboarding process?
I will be covering North and South Texas. I will be doing ride-alongs to gain and understanding of how pharmacy calls work in the field. I would like completely transparent information about experience/challenges/hardships out in the field. I also would like to know about the most common road blocks when conducting pharmacy calls. Is it apprehension with approaching Pharmacists? Not finding value in pharmacy calls?
Realistically, how do you see your role and the role of the sales organization not only collaborating together, but continuing to drive the NNI portfolio of products in terms of prescription growth?
I will play a supportive role by serving as a resource for all things pharmacy related. When there are issues related to pharmacy, you can count on me to make them a priority by either solving the problem or communicating with the appropriate internal stakeholders to find answers. I believe it will be a symbiotic relationship where we feed information between each other to drive NNI product growth. Remember, doctor calls are 1⁄2 of the equation. Doctor calls can be done all day long, but we have to apply the same work ethic with pharmacy calls as the pharmacist ultimately will be the final touch before the product reaches the patient.
With pharmacy calls becoming more of a priority for the sales team, especially with a new entrant into the diabetes market space, in your opinion what can we as sales reps do most effectively to partner with pharmacies, and what information can we provide during a pharmacy call that the pharmacy/pharmacist finds to be valuable?
The single most important thing reps can do initially in a pharmacy call is to acknowledge the importance of what the pharmacist (and team) are doing for the public. Now more than ever, pharmacy is difficult. Empathize. There are staffing issues, a million different priorities and metrics being fed down from corporate, vaccination goals, etc. Their time is extremely valuable so taking a moment to acknowledge this is key. Build a relationship with pharmacist/pharmacy manager and the lead technician. Lead techs mostly run the show. Make every interaction about them and how you can solve problems for them. Provide value, be concise, and be friendly. The dinner presentations are awesome too! It worked on me while I was practicing.
Rafael Dikas