Dr Helen Zidon is a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Since graduating, she has worked at 3D4 medical, a medical education software company, and is currently deputy head of medical information for Aspen pharmaceuticals in Dublin, Ireland. She talks about how she manoeuvred the transition from medical school to her current role in the pharmaceutical industry.
How did you arrive at the decision not to go into clinical medicine?
There were a few factors that worked out for me. Even though I wasn’t the smartest in my class, I knew I was going to do great things because I’m very hard working. I loved everything about medicine; the humanitarian aspects of it, the technical knowledge, the prestige, and what used to be ‘the money’. But mostly the humanitarian aspect of it. When I did work experience before going to med school, I felt there were several aspects of the healthcare system that needed to be changed. It seemed that patients were not leaving consultations fully knowledgeable and I could see them leave, feeling dissatisfied.
Many people were also coming in with preventable conditions. At that point, I wished that I could give them that little extra time and information by breaking things down for them. So I thought that if I needed to fix the system, I needed to be a doctor. But with time I started getting that sense that there were many dissatisfied doctors and patients.
In addition to that, I began to educate myself about where real, impactful, systemic change was being made. I always had a dream to work in an international Healthcare organisation such as the WHO or the UN because, in those kinds of roles, you have a direct impact on policies. I did not see how working in a hospital would help me make wide ranging systemic change. Now, with more perspective from the work that I’ve done in industry, I can see that doctors are too busy to stop and think about how the system is running, and how they can fix it. Unfortunately, most of the change is achieved politically.
Another factor was my nationality. It can be difficult for non-EU candidates to get jobs. The system in Ireland changed at some point to one that preferred EU candidates first over non-EU candidates regardless of performance. So based on where I would have ranked with my nationality, I knew it would be difficult to get into the internship programme. I knew I had to get a job after graduating so for those reasons, I doubled down on job hunting outside of clinical medicine.
…with time I started getting that sense that there were many dissatisfied doctors and patients.
What were people dissatisfied with?
There was a tiredness and dissatisfaction in the system. I picked up on this from going on rotations and the career talks that we had such as ‘a day in the life’, ‘women in surgery’ etc. I was interested in a career in Obs/Gyn so I spent a lot of time over the summer in the National Maternity Hospital. I loved it, but I felt, ‘this is not living!’. The hours and the working conditions weren’t ideal.
Doctors make it work with what they have, but you just know that they’re not always functioning at their optimum level. I recall a conversation between some trainees who were complaining about the working conditions, the hours, the lack of support. I asked “then why are you doing it?”, and eventually they said, “well, I’ve invested so much money and time into it, what else could I possibly do?”. I talk about this encounter frequently, because I remember how distraught I felt at the time. God forbid, that I would look back in my life and feel like I’m doing something just for the sake of it. At that point, I knew that I did not want to do that.
Talk me through your job application process, how did you go about it?
Initially, I tried to speak to a guidance counsellor about it. I don’t think they really understood how to help me because it probably wasn’t something they encountered often. But I needed to figure it out because I couldn’t believe I could have all this education, knowledge and skills, and the only thing I could do was work in a hospital.
So I started looking into jobs with the UN and WHO and it became clear to me that I needed relevant qualifications and work experience. That research opened my mind to see the different options available such as Medtech and Pharma, medical communications etc.
I couldn’t believe I could have all this education, knowledge and skills, and the only thing I could do was work in a hospital.
It was crazy to think about because all I did was research on my own. The internet took me down a rabbit hole. First, I started off with a simple search term ‘non-clinical options for doctors’ but there did not seem to be much available for medically trained personnel. Most posts available were specialised and technical. So I narrowed it down to areas I was interested in and I read up on different categories. After I gained more insight, I focused on medical writing and communication. I used job search engines and relevant terms. Eventually I got called for an interview to be a medical writer at 3D4 medical and I got the job around the time I finished final medical school.
How did you find the transition? Did you experience imposter’s syndrome?
Of course, I did! When you’re in the medical world there’s a lot of knowledge that we have to learn. It trains you to be able to pick up on information quickly. But the truth is that there are so many things we don’t know in the world of technology, finance, business, accounting etc. So starting off, I thought I would have the upper hand as a doctor. In a way I did, only because I had perspective and sense that I understood the end user (medical students and doctors) and their target population. But when it came to practical things like negotiating a salary, I was not knowledgeable- I took the first offer and undersold myself. So it took me ages to be able to work my way up to something that I deserved.
Secondly, networking. There are a lot of soft skills that you need to have to be able to get recognised for your work and get compensated for it. It was not until after a year and a half where I thought, I’m doing all this work but getting no recognition. And then I got my ‘ah ha’ moment. There’s a little self-promotion that you need to be able to do to be recognised. And there was a flip for me then.
It is important to have strong communication and research skills. Fortunately RCSI prepared me well for that even though I found the research skills module boring at the time. One has to be able to develop a search strategy and understand different levels and hierarchy of evidence in research. So those projects that we did in med school became invaluable after stepping into medical communications and medical research.
From your experience in medical school and the medtech field, what do you think med school is missing?
We are still using archaic methods of teaching to teach people who are practising medicine in the modern world. I understand that there’s a lot to learn, but there’s an element of real world teaching that doesn’t take place. There’s definitely a mismatch between the way medicine is taught theoretically and the reality of modern day practice.
Technology can play a play a more significant role in medical education. There are more efficient ways of delivering information than methods currently being used. For example, 3D4Medical creates 3d models of the human body. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it, but it’s very detailed. You can click on any part of the body and get the same information that you would get from a textbook. But there’s a lot of reluctance from medical institutions to take on such technologies.
Why is there so much resistance to change?
I’ve been in meetings with heads of departments in medical schools and I’ve seen a blatant rejection of new technologies. Perhaps it is due to a fear of the unknown. I think it will change because the heads of departments are getting younger and they are starting to see the benefit of this. It’ll save time, and it’ll save money. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people’s attention spans are short so if you want to keep people engaged you have to leverage technology. The medical world will lose a lot of talent if we don’t fix the way medicine is taught.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where people’s attention spans are short so if you want to keep people engaged you have to leverage technology
Where do you see yourself in the next five to 10 years?
At the moment, I like the reach of my current role. I am directly impacting patient safety at a good company to work for. My increased in responsibility is helping me gain a general understanding of the way the global health system works and what is feasible. I’m also currently at the end of a Master’s in Public Health and enrolling in another course; an MBA for international Healthcare Management. The reason I’m doing that is because the goal is to be able to gain as much understanding of the system as I can, with regards to creating policies, whether it’s on a national level in my country or at an international level with an international organisation. That’s important, because it’s one thing to complain about the system. But it’s another thing to educate yourself on how the system works and how you can actually make meaningful change.
What advice do you have for someone that wants to pursue a non-clinical career path or broaden their career options?
I cannot stress enough the importance of networking. And from an early stage. You may think, well, I’m a student, this person doesn’t want to speak to me. The truth is people are always willing to help. It’s important that if you have an interest in something that you are, you’re on LinkedIn, you are sending the right emails or messages and reaching out to the right people. Attend career fairs and conferences you’re interested in. I was able to have real conversations at events, with keynote and panel speakers; and quite often those people were able to give me information I needed that was not in their presentation.
When applying for a role, you need to not only read the job description, but speak to relevant individuals in that industry. I always encourage people to be brave and reach out to people. Be direct, and send an email or ask to have a zoom call. You need to be proactive about it. You’d rather have enough knowledge to make an informed decision than learn sporadically. This would save you a lot of time, effort and confusion.
I always encourage people to be brave and reach out to people….you’d rather have enough knowledge to make an informed decision than learn sporadically
Finally, I hope that medical colleges are catering to individuals who want to do non-clinical work, because it is serious work. It is work that, while, you may not be touching a patient per se, you are still contributing to the process. So I really hope the next set of medical graduates are more knowledgeable about what other options are available to them.
