Forging a Successful Career in Industry
If you’ve ever been to the AARC Congress you’ve seen them. They’re respiratory therapists working as sales reps, marketing managers, clinical specialists, and the like in the manufacturers’ booths that line the Exhibit Hall. How did they get those jobs?
Long-time industry leader, and Past AARC President, Jeri Eiserman, MBA, RRT, FAARC, tells us how she made the move in the following Q&A —
When, where, and why did you first become interested in respiratory care?
My mother was a nurse who absolutely LOVED her profession and instilled in me an interest in health care. However, I dreamed of getting a degree in English Lit and writing the “Great American Novel.” When I graduated from college and harsh reality set in, I got serious about my future prospects and began to investigate careers in health care. I applied to a radiology program and a respiratory therapy program, sending my applications to each on the same day. I learned that I had been accepted to both programs a few weeks later . . . again on the same day. I literally said the “loves me, loves me not” rhyme and, at the end, the one that “loved me” was the respiratory program. That is where I cast my fate, with no regrets in the 40+ years since.
Where did you go to RT school and what was your first job in the profession? What did you learn at that job that helped guide the rest of your career?
Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI, is my alma mater. My first job was at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, which was the site of one of my clinical rotations while a student. During my time there I developed a passion for respiratory care — what it could mean to patients and their families and what it could mean to the art and science of pulmonary medicine. I have never lost that passion and I credit the staff at St. Joe’s and my experiences there for instilling it in me at the very beginning of my career.
How long did you work as an RT before transitioning into industry and how did the industry opportunity arise? What job was offered to you?
I worked as an RT for approximately ten years. Then in 1984 I was offered the opportunity to work for Hudson Oxygen Therapy Sales Company as an educational and clinical consultant. At the time, they did not have anyone with clinical experience at the company, and the owner, Allan Hudson, believed it was important to have the voice of clinicians represented in the company’s business model. I developed training materials for the sales force, worked with marketing on new products, interacted with RA/QA on quality and safety initiatives, and traveled internationally to provide education and training on the company’s products. That was just the beginning of what has now been a thirty year tenure with the company.
What made you decide to move into industry and how have you liked working in that setting as opposed to the clinical setting you worked in before?
It was the perfect opportunity to use my clinical education and experience to have an impact on the respiratory therapy products being manufactured and sold. And, of course, the reputation of Hudson was well known in health care, so I was proud to be able to go from the clinical side to the industrial side with a company of their stature and credibility. I sometimes miss the “action” in the hospital and the close knit relationships with the respiratory staff, nurses, and physicians that are fostered by being in the “patient care trenches” together every day. But I have never regretted the decision to leave the bedside and move to industry.
How did your background as a working therapist help to prepare you for your industry position? How did it help you move up the ranks?
My clinical experience gave me the confidence to tackle that first job in industry. The traits that most respiratory therapists possess — tenacity, curiosity, willingness to take on more responsibility, and a passion for patient care — have helped me as I moved up the ranks. Of course, I also recognized that I needed to improve my business acumen and got an MBA to demonstrate that I was serious about my commitment to the business side of health care.
You served as AARC president back in 1986. How did that experience — and your volunteer efforts at the AARC as a whole — figure into your success on the industry side of the profession?
My experiences at the state level and, ultimately, as a Board member, officer, and president of the AARC, were some of the best of my professional life. Those experiences broadened my outlook on the profession of respiratory care and health care in general. They provided me with a network of clinicians that I still rely on today to keep me grounded and close to the ever-changing, challenging needs of patients and clinicians. They demonstrated a commitment to volunteer and work for something bigger than just one person or company. And they instilled in me the belief that the patient is at the center of everything.
Where do you work today and what is your position there? Do you still feel like you use your background as an RT in your job today?
I still work for the company that hired me 30+ years ago! That company, Hudson Oxygen Therapy Sales Company, became Hudson RCI and now is part of Teleflex. In the 30 years since starting as a consultant, I have held positions as a product/marketing manager, business center manager, and director of marketing. Today, I am the director of clinical support and education, manage a team of credentialed respiratory therapists, and coordinate the many CRCE-accredited education programs that we offer to clinicians throughout the year. My background as an RT still serves me well today!
I understand you are retiring this year. As you look back on your career, what bits of advice would you give to therapists today who might like to follow in your footsteps and move from clinical RT to RT industry?
There is no one answer to this one! But, here are my words of wisdom:
- Do it for the right reason. Working in industry is no easier, nor is it more glamorous, than patient care. Move to industry only if you really want to have an impact on the variety, quality, and application of products being offered in the marketplace.
- Prepare yourself via classes and/or a degree in business. Quality online programs as well as evening and weekend university-based programs are plentiful.
- Talk to clinicians working for medical companies, develop a network of contacts, inquire about opportunities, and let your interest be known.
- Keep current on best practices, new technology, and challenges related to respiratory care. Study the business principles and practices and government and economic situations that affect both respiratory care and health care in general.
- Have fun!
