Sports Surgery Division

Hello, currently a device rep outside of sports med. I was wondering if any current reps working in the Sports Surgery division could comment on the job itself, product perception by surgeons, and general feel for working for Covidien in terms of pay, culture, quota requirements, etc. Recruiter told me that 140-150K is realistic. I always take this with a grain of salt being in the business for a while, and knowing that it all depends on territory and a reps ability to flip surgeons from what they're currently using. Just trying to get a sense of what a typical comp looks like in this division makes.

I have an initial phone interview coming up, so I'm early in the process. I was on the web-site and it looks to me that the Stratis and Tritis systems are solid in both form and simplicity. How do they stack up against some of the "bigger players" in the industry? i.e. Biomet, Stryker, Zimmer, etc.

Thanks in advance for your replies

 

First off, Stryker, Zimmer etc. are not the main competitors. Secondly, the devices that Covidien are old technology that is going to have a very hard time competing with the big dogs. Lastly, don't believe anything a recruiter says; $140-$150K IF YOU SELL AND CAN CONVERT SURGEONS. Good luck with this as the competitors have 1000-3000 products to Covidien's 3-5. If I were a hospital, I would stock a company's product on my shelves that had a wide variety of options.

 

OP here: Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. Just for my own knowledge, who are the main competitors in this space?

 

not #2 poster-but think Arthrex, Arthrex, Arthrex. Other players are Mitek, S&N Sports Med, Linvatec. If you are the Covidien Sports rep in a major metro area, there will probably be 4 or 5 Arthrex competitng against you, with a deeper bag. Covidien is pushing the Sports segment hard and making strides. But there is a lot of work to be done, and you will be doing a lot of "missionary work", trying to convert the unwashed. Not a lot of believers out there yet. If you are up to a good challenge, go for it.

 

This division will be a good addition to Covidien. Yes, it'll take some time to catch up to the big guys but as long as the commitment is there, Covidien will be a player in the next 5-10 years.

 

One thing to remember is you will be working with the distributors that they are currently using to get the products into the OR. You are not going to be selling directly to the surgeons. When I got the call they told me 130-140k first year and the recruiter was being realistic. He didn't want to go any higher based on the reps offers that were received a few weeks earlier. They are also looking first for reps that are currently in ortho or sports surgery.

 

I would most likely stay away from this group within Covidien right now. Flora is starting to realize that this group is nowhere close to a true sports medicine company and that it will take a hell of a lot of work and internal investment to make something out of it. The first president was demoted and the new one is still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. She most likely won't be around at this time next year and if she is, I bet we sell it off- or give it away.

 

Was asked to interview with these guys for a position. The division is in complete chaos as HR has no clue what the hire managers are doing. They can't give you a time frame which they will call for an interview. It's a complete MESS.

I finally decided to pursue other options rather jumping into a cluster-#@&$.

 

I agree with the last poster. I interviewed with them and the hiring manager seemed inexperienced and was very unorganized. It seems like no one knows what they are doing and the company is very unorganized.

 

I work for Covidien and had an opportunity to interview for one of the positions and ended up deciding not too. The above quote is correct---Flora is realizing this division is going to take more work than expected. They underestimated the market and the leaders (Arthrex etc).

 

This division is going to get their ass handed to them. Stryker's Joint Preservation Sports Medicine line can't even catch up to Arthrex, Mitek and S&N.

 

The old school otho doc's might not switch to Covidien's SM line (or any other line ever) but the younger, true 'sports med' docs will definetly take a hard look at it because it's new technology. My distibutorship carries their tibial fixation and it's really popular in my area.

 

These guys are going to get crushed in this market. The tibial fixation is a joke. I would rather have my docs use Arthrex's transfix. Covidien's shoulder anchors are not fully threaded and the new technology is biocomposite. Both of which they don't have.

 

Their sports line is a straight JOKE! It would take 15-20 years to gain 10-15% market share and a ton of $$$ to invest. Stay away unless they want to guarantee you 150k, then work for a year a jump ship to Arthrex or S&N. Mitek has good products, but usually is a way to get into the trauma/joints for Depuy.

 

I was contemplating one of these positions but it seems like Covidien is expanding so quickly that they have a lot of inexperienced managers and reps. This is going to catch up to them.

Going to stick with more specialized companies.

 

Good thinkin . . .

 

The lady who is running it is a train wreck. Stay away

 

Gotta agree, stay away. She is really a bad VP, plus it was a poor company( Scandius) When they purchased it. Try to get into Devices or Energy.

 

no

 

Is sports surgery up for sale? How are things in US? Here in Europe they seem to be taking the infrastructure down.