24/10/2014 by salvatore ruggiero
A defense of the category to the bitter end is not enough to preserve and create jobs. We need to understand the change and ride it. Tweet this
The crisis of the ISF
The world of scientific information is undergoing a strong transformation, with a contraction of scientific information jobs that no one doubts.
In Italy 12,000 jobs have been lost. According to Farmindustria data, the number of employees went from 75,000 in 2006 to 63,000 in 2013.
What can be done to limit the loss or, if possible, create jobs? And above all, what not to do?
( … KEEP READING)
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We hosted Mr. Ruggiero's theses last July, see:Because the traditional role of the ISF will soon become obsolete (with Editor's note), President Carinci intervenes on the article “Because the traditional role of the ISF will soon become obsolete”, Because scientific information will never become obsolete. Interesting new article by Mr. Ruggiero generated some considerations, which we report. If readers want to give their opinion, they are welcome and we will publish them (send to redazione@fedaiisf.it).
I agree with what Ruggiero writes, even if in the first part, when he speaks of defense to the bitter end of the category which in practice does not generate and does not keep jobs, I slightly disagree. I think that today there is no real category of ISF. Maybe yesterday in De Rita's time with the AIISF, when associations were more felt.
Today we are trying to give a new impetus with the "FEDAIISF" Federation, trying to create a boost of pride, such as to make the ISF feel like a professional integrated into the dynamics of healthcare, as it rightly asserts in the second part of the article. I think that the category has never existed, if we think of the young graduates who manage to undertake this job ... whether it is a pharmacist, a biologist or even a veterinary surgeon, Mr. Ruggiero, that these young people really want to make a career in this profession?
I think their first thought is to consider this fantastic job (because it is) like a parking lot, they hope, sooner or later, to be able to fulfill the true dream of their professional life and they don't even remotely imagine that, with the passage of time (in this job), they lose countless opportunities which, in the meantime, have been seized by other young graduates.
How do you think Mr. Ruggiero, what does it feel like after one, two or maybe more years when you seriously realize that that choice that you thought was temporary in the end sucked away your dignity, your soul and forced you into a role, pardon the expression, of a peanut seller? Yes, because this is how many companies often reduce you. That's why I'm convinced that finding a truly accomplished, satisfied ISF around is like looking for a needle in a haystack. For the reasons described above, I am inclined to think that the ISF has no identity, this is the reason why there has never been a category of the ISF. A condition, this, for which companies go to weddings.
I repeat, the identity of the ISF is missing just as it is not possible to identify a category of the ISF and it is for this reason that the companies have the upper hand over this worker. We must commit ourselves to re-elaborating an important figure like ours, wedging ourselves between the law, respecting it, and innovation that sails at impressive speed. That's why I think that Ruggiero, even if a small company, represents innovation. In fact, it does nothing but ride a context that is rapidly transforming in step with the times and we cannot be so picky since unfortunately, at the moment we do not have solid foundations to be able to oppose and discuss the change underway with determination.
For the rest I am perfectly in line with the conclusions of the article.
AS
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Mr. Ruggiero, by his own admission, sees everything and only from the point of view of his business, period. Everything revolves around this. He calls us the sales force, talks about marketing strategies, etc., the important thing is to use his "means". It is the basis of the erroneous assumption and is the cause of all our ills, i.e. the trade informant.
It is the misuse of whistleblowers that led first to excessive hiring to put unbearable pressure on doctors and then to mass layoffs as companies changed their strategy. That's the reality, it's true, but the law assigns us another role.
To save the ISF, in my opinion, we need to focus on the law. The ISF depends on the scientific service and not on marketing or sales. The salvation of the ISF is all here, otherwise it will follow the market trends and will be wiped out according to a strict cost / effectiveness criterion and if there is an effective means of sale that costs less, the ISF will no longer be needed.
I believe that innovation is fine, but I also believe that it must be functional to the activity of the ISF, not the other way around. Ruggiero argues that the doctor must be the company's interpreter, with the ultimate aim of direct company-user communication (as he calls patients) as companies would like.
But in this way there will also be direct company-doctor communication, pace of the ISF. I don't even think it's a question of being squeamish, this approach is that of the unions who thus let the salesmen pass. What is the limit we can accept? Everything is plausible, but let's call them something else, not ISF.
TO
