Susan Merritt

I would say the support of my husband, definitely. He was the breadwinner while I was a stay-at-home mom, but he allowed me to go to school and was so supportive during my undergrad and then my master's degree - he was there to support me 100%. So definitely, I would say my husband. My husband and my kids were very, very supportive. I would also give credit to the association - them giving me a scholarship was extremely helpful to pay for my expenses, and that was really nice to have a little bit of money to go towards school.

The biggest advice I would give is join an association that is particular to the field that they're interested in, because that's where you're gonna get the platform that you need to really brand yourself and to get your name out there. It allows you to be in rooms where there's people that could help you move up in your career. For example, for me, I would have never been in a room with healthcare executives had I not been involved in my chapter. That really got me in those rooms where those people are and allows me to build relationships with them. While I work with them in the chapter, they can see how I work and get to know me, and then they could say my name in another room whenever they're making a decision. I would highly advise young people starting out to get involved in an association, but not just become a member - actually be involved. A lot of people don't understand - you can be a member, but if you're not involved and you're not doing work for the chapter, it's completely different.

The DFW Metroplex is growing like crazy, and one of the challenges I find in my role is that with growth comes new competitors coming into the market. I've been in my role for 6 months, but within those 6 months, I've seen so many new businesses coming into the market that are competitors, so competition is really heavy in Dallas and Fort Worth. Being out in the market and talking to these clinics and getting feedback from different people is so crucial. I would say invest in your marketing and really make sure you're talking to people within the community, because there's so much competition out there in the healthcare space. As for opportunities, being a physician liaison definitely means building those relationships with the doctors - you get to build relationships with other clinics, and with that gives you opportunities that potentially you can move into the pharmaceutical space or the medical device sales space. It really does help out whenever you can build your book of contacts to continue moving up the chain to maybe some bigger companies.

For me, I think that the biggest compliment anyone could ever give me is to tell me that I'm kind. I don't care about my job title - all of my other achievements don't matter to me if I'm not kind. So that is, to me, the biggest compliment anyone could ever give me. That's what I really strive for, that's one of my values on the top of my list - being kind to every single person, no matter who it is. Going to these clinics day in and day out, some of these MAs or referral coordinators, some of the reps aren't very nice to them, but I make sure that I am nice to every single person. I don't care what their role is. I'm a huge believer in kindness. And then being trustworthy and dependable - those are one of the things that I pride myself in. If somebody asks me to do something, I'm gonna do it, and I'm not gonna let them down. If I'm gonna let them down, I'd rather just say no. I really pride myself in being dependable.