"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - St. Augustine[/b]
If you haven’t travelled during your internship, you missed out of the real fun.
Standing on the 8th floor of MSD’s Office in Mumbai, I was preparing for my Final Presentation which was scheduled before the Management Team from my Department and the HR Managers. Butterflies filled my stomach with their constant flights. Slowly, my mind drifted into a situation some 6 months back.
I could still recollect the Classroom scene when I was selected for Merck. The news of my selection was made and my batch mates thronged in numbers to celebrate it by beating me black and blue. One of those innocent boys congratulated me for getting selected for Mercedes as “Merc” according to him was Mercedes. I thanked him, corrected him and mused that Merck was more important a brand than Mercedes for a boy with a Pharmaceutical Background.
The next scene that flashed before my eyes was of the First Day of Internship. There are few work places where you take pride in going to work to. Those who have been to BKC, Mumbai can vouch for it to be one of those and the luxurious building of MSD was not an exception. There was the usual delight of meeting other interns, knowing about life at and the history of MSD, but most importantly knowing what project I would be working on. I was accompanied by a girl, Shilpi, from IIFT Delhi and luckily we were assigned the same Project Guide. Waiting at my Project Guide’s Desk, I saw the “Best Marketer of the Year”[/i] Award which made me ponder how much time I would take to attain such recognition. Soon, my Project Guide arrived and after introduction with the team, we were led to our work-space.
Advertisement being restricted in Pharmaceuticals, Promotion becomes the key tool that the industry relies on to market drugs. My Project dealt with assessing and optimizing pharmaceutical promotional tools according to PLC and Specialists. I was delighted to know that the project assigned to me was being carried out for the first time in India for Specialists. It increased my love for my project and I was fully pumped up to work sincerely. We chalked out the time plan of the internship, methodology and other details. It was decided that I would be visiting 4 metros (viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai) for the Market Research part of my Project. I had to meet leading specialists in major hospitals of these cities and obtain their views. Later on, Ahmedabad was included in the list. I tried hard to control my facial expressions which easily gave away my over joyousness on hearing it.
I set out like an adventurer not knowing what fate had in store for me. It reminded me of O’ Henry: “The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.”[/b]
The first day of Field Visit proved to be a Learning Lesson for the remaining days. After making me wait for 3 hours, a Doctor excused himself saying he was busy. On the same day, I convinced authorities, right from the VP-HR to the Dean of a Hospital in Mumbai, when denied permission to meet doctors within hospital premises. I empathized with the pain the Sales Force goes through while waiting for doctors. After an initial pilot survey in Mumbai, I was ready to leave for the first destination Delhi.
“When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better and better.” – CS Lewis
However, my case had to be an exception. When everything was going hunky-dory, I received a Reality Shock. I reached the Airport in a rush to catch the flight to Delhi and discovered that I was 2 minutes late. The GoAir flight employees were stubborn and didn’t pay heed to my requests. I tried all Ps of Pleading but to no avail. I got lucky to get another flight re-scheduled on the same day but with a hefty late penalty. On reaching Delhi, I chalked out a plan for visiting major hospitals within 4 days, the time I had for each of the 5 cities.
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck[/b]
The good part of visiting big hospitals is you are greeted warmly by receptionists and nurses which no guy would ever mind. The bad part is you have to be really patient to meet the doctor. One thing which I can attribute to my internship is teaching an impatient person the importance of patience in life. I learnt the tricks of the business soon and skillfully employed tactics required in dealing with receptionists and nurses as they are key people who provide you access to the Doctors.
Having done a good job in Delhi, I left for Kolkata, my residence for a year now, since joining IIFT. I was joined here by Shilpi and we went to hospitals together for our respective projects. She was a calm and composed person whereas I used to be the guy on action. Being a Bengali, she helped in local conversation. Despite it being a “Home-ground”, we found it tough to generate good responses in Kolkata. Post Kolkata, I left for Mumbai.
I continued with field work in Mumbai for the next 2 days. During Field Visits, I made good friends with interns of other pharmaceutical companies who were good sources of information regarding doctors’ availability. At Lilavati Hospital, I bumped into a celebrity, who turned out to be Sanjay Khan, the creator of Mahabharata Serial. I also happened to meet Mr. Rakesh Roshan in another hospital of Mumbai. Suddenly, Big Hospitals of Mumbai seemed a place where one could try his luck at a Bollywood Career.
Next I left for Chennai, where I was joined by another intern, Khushboo. It was my first trip to Chennai and I happened to meet my relatives who warned me of the malpractices adopted by rickshaw-wallas. I was once guided by my cousin and from then on, the rickshaw-wallas were having a tough time dealing with me as they had to agree to rational fares. Taking out time for a walk along Marina Beach and visiting other exciting places after work despite being dead tired became a part of our 4-day stay in Chennai. Vellore proved to be a beautiful city. Finishing off my work at CMC, Vellore, I got to know about a beautiful Golden Temple in Vellore and I visited it despite reaching the hotel at midnight.
From Chennai, I flew to Ahmedabad. Home always brings back those fresh memories of the 22 years I had spent in the city. The localness helped and I could garner more responses within 3 days than I had garnered anywhere else. I could get required insights easily over here.
Being a connoisseur of food, I made it a point to eat the special dishes of each city I visited. Those dishes flashed before my eyes.
I recounted my numerous experiences. The journey had its ups and downs. From being politely asked to get out by one doctor in Mumbai to being treated like a Missionary on a Mission by another Doctor in Chennai, I had a mixed bag of experiences. After convincing 12 doctors for interview in Kolkata, I was strictly warned against interviewing anyone by the Dean of one Hospital whereas I was welcomed warmly by lady doctors in Delhi and Mumbai. One thing which I learnt was you need to deal with different people differently and that’s why it’s important to learn “People Management”.
“Ankit, the team will be here in 15 minutes”. My Project Guide’s voice broke the chain of thoughts and I “Woke Up” from the day-dream. I prepared myself for the presentation and pulled off a decent presentation. I could answer the flurry of questions asked by them properly as I had done my homework well.
“Great Job Done. The efforts that you put in for the project are visible.” – HR Lead
“I can proudly say that my decision in selecting you was absolutely right” – HR Manager
I was ecstatic at that time. I recollected C.S. Lewis’s words “This moment contains all moments.”[/b]
Looking back, I still remember the Chai-time gupshup we interns used to have, of the delicious food at the Cafeteria, of the patient experiences I heard, of few revelations which doctors made to me, of the lessons I learnt from my Project Guide and other mentors, of the entire experience which widened my horizons.
Summarizing it, I would say during these two months, I learnt major aspects of something for which I had enrolled myself in a B-School. I learnt MANAGEMENT.
“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli[/b]
If you haven’t travelled during your internship, you missed out of the real fun.
Standing on the 8th floor of MSD’s Office in Mumbai, I was preparing for my Final Presentation which was scheduled before the Management Team from my Department and the HR Managers. Butterflies filled my stomach with their constant flights. Slowly, my mind drifted into a situation some 6 months back.
I could still recollect the Classroom scene when I was selected for Merck. The news of my selection was made and my batch mates thronged in numbers to celebrate it by beating me black and blue. One of those innocent boys congratulated me for getting selected for Mercedes as “Merc” according to him was Mercedes. I thanked him, corrected him and mused that Merck was more important a brand than Mercedes for a boy with a Pharmaceutical Background.
The next scene that flashed before my eyes was of the First Day of Internship. There are few work places where you take pride in going to work to. Those who have been to BKC, Mumbai can vouch for it to be one of those and the luxurious building of MSD was not an exception. There was the usual delight of meeting other interns, knowing about life at and the history of MSD, but most importantly knowing what project I would be working on. I was accompanied by a girl, Shilpi, from IIFT Delhi and luckily we were assigned the same Project Guide. Waiting at my Project Guide’s Desk, I saw the “Best Marketer of the Year”[/i] Award which made me ponder how much time I would take to attain such recognition. Soon, my Project Guide arrived and after introduction with the team, we were led to our work-space.
Advertisement being restricted in Pharmaceuticals, Promotion becomes the key tool that the industry relies on to market drugs. My Project dealt with assessing and optimizing pharmaceutical promotional tools according to PLC and Specialists. I was delighted to know that the project assigned to me was being carried out for the first time in India for Specialists. It increased my love for my project and I was fully pumped up to work sincerely. We chalked out the time plan of the internship, methodology and other details. It was decided that I would be visiting 4 metros (viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai) for the Market Research part of my Project. I had to meet leading specialists in major hospitals of these cities and obtain their views. Later on, Ahmedabad was included in the list. I tried hard to control my facial expressions which easily gave away my over joyousness on hearing it.
I set out like an adventurer not knowing what fate had in store for me. It reminded me of O’ Henry: “The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.”[/b]
The first day of Field Visit proved to be a Learning Lesson for the remaining days. After making me wait for 3 hours, a Doctor excused himself saying he was busy. On the same day, I convinced authorities, right from the VP-HR to the Dean of a Hospital in Mumbai, when denied permission to meet doctors within hospital premises. I empathized with the pain the Sales Force goes through while waiting for doctors. After an initial pilot survey in Mumbai, I was ready to leave for the first destination Delhi.
“When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better and better.” – CS Lewis
However, my case had to be an exception. When everything was going hunky-dory, I received a Reality Shock. I reached the Airport in a rush to catch the flight to Delhi and discovered that I was 2 minutes late. The GoAir flight employees were stubborn and didn’t pay heed to my requests. I tried all Ps of Pleading but to no avail. I got lucky to get another flight re-scheduled on the same day but with a hefty late penalty. On reaching Delhi, I chalked out a plan for visiting major hospitals within 4 days, the time I had for each of the 5 cities.
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck[/b]
The good part of visiting big hospitals is you are greeted warmly by receptionists and nurses which no guy would ever mind. The bad part is you have to be really patient to meet the doctor. One thing which I can attribute to my internship is teaching an impatient person the importance of patience in life. I learnt the tricks of the business soon and skillfully employed tactics required in dealing with receptionists and nurses as they are key people who provide you access to the Doctors.
Having done a good job in Delhi, I left for Kolkata, my residence for a year now, since joining IIFT. I was joined here by Shilpi and we went to hospitals together for our respective projects. She was a calm and composed person whereas I used to be the guy on action. Being a Bengali, she helped in local conversation. Despite it being a “Home-ground”, we found it tough to generate good responses in Kolkata. Post Kolkata, I left for Mumbai.
I continued with field work in Mumbai for the next 2 days. During Field Visits, I made good friends with interns of other pharmaceutical companies who were good sources of information regarding doctors’ availability. At Lilavati Hospital, I bumped into a celebrity, who turned out to be Sanjay Khan, the creator of Mahabharata Serial. I also happened to meet Mr. Rakesh Roshan in another hospital of Mumbai. Suddenly, Big Hospitals of Mumbai seemed a place where one could try his luck at a Bollywood Career.
Next I left for Chennai, where I was joined by another intern, Khushboo. It was my first trip to Chennai and I happened to meet my relatives who warned me of the malpractices adopted by rickshaw-wallas. I was once guided by my cousin and from then on, the rickshaw-wallas were having a tough time dealing with me as they had to agree to rational fares. Taking out time for a walk along Marina Beach and visiting other exciting places after work despite being dead tired became a part of our 4-day stay in Chennai. Vellore proved to be a beautiful city. Finishing off my work at CMC, Vellore, I got to know about a beautiful Golden Temple in Vellore and I visited it despite reaching the hotel at midnight.
From Chennai, I flew to Ahmedabad. Home always brings back those fresh memories of the 22 years I had spent in the city. The localness helped and I could garner more responses within 3 days than I had garnered anywhere else. I could get required insights easily over here.
Being a connoisseur of food, I made it a point to eat the special dishes of each city I visited. Those dishes flashed before my eyes.
I recounted my numerous experiences. The journey had its ups and downs. From being politely asked to get out by one doctor in Mumbai to being treated like a Missionary on a Mission by another Doctor in Chennai, I had a mixed bag of experiences. After convincing 12 doctors for interview in Kolkata, I was strictly warned against interviewing anyone by the Dean of one Hospital whereas I was welcomed warmly by lady doctors in Delhi and Mumbai. One thing which I learnt was you need to deal with different people differently and that’s why it’s important to learn “People Management”.
“Ankit, the team will be here in 15 minutes”. My Project Guide’s voice broke the chain of thoughts and I “Woke Up” from the day-dream. I prepared myself for the presentation and pulled off a decent presentation. I could answer the flurry of questions asked by them properly as I had done my homework well.
“Great Job Done. The efforts that you put in for the project are visible.” – HR Lead
“I can proudly say that my decision in selecting you was absolutely right” – HR Manager
I was ecstatic at that time. I recollected C.S. Lewis’s words “This moment contains all moments.”[/b]
Looking back, I still remember the Chai-time gupshup we interns used to have, of the delicious food at the Cafeteria, of the patient experiences I heard, of few revelations which doctors made to me, of the lessons I learnt from my Project Guide and other mentors, of the entire experience which widened my horizons.
Summarizing it, I would say during these two months, I learnt major aspects of something for which I had enrolled myself in a B-School. I learnt MANAGEMENT.
“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli[/b]
