Fourteen veterans will endure a different kind of bootcamp this week: one that helps prepare them for jobs in the medtech industry. The AdvaMed Medical Technology Veterans Program Bootcamp kicked off yesterday and runs through Sept. 24 in Washington, D.C.
The program helps selected veterans apply skills built on the battlefield to civilian job applications, “translating” resumes, mock interviews and probably most significantly, hooks them up with industry leaders as year-long mentors.
This year’s participants include vets of the Army, Marines and Air Force, hailing from Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada and Virginia.
Mat Keller, now a regulatory affairs specialist at Haemonetics in Boston and veteran of the Iraq War, is a program alumni. He read about the program in a local paper in Minnesota, and knew he wanted to apply. He was in law school and had been a nurse in the Army. Medtech seemed like the right fit. The application involved a statement of intent, a resume and an online application. The program also had a bit of a different bend than others for veterans, Keller said.
“Probably one of the best things about it is it’s not just a handout,” Keller said. “There are a lot of programs that just give things away to veterans.” Rather than treat vets like a special population that requires charity, it trains them for jobs and helps ease the transition back into civilian life.
At the bootcamp and throughout the program, he learned how to network and interact in civilian jobs compares to military interactions, even “how to introduce yourself to people–is it ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘Yes, ma’m,’ or ‘Hey, Frank?'”
The mentors in the program are leaders at medtech companies throughout the U.S. and many are veterans themselves.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“It was great. You talk to people with military experience in the medical device field. They understand how your experience translates into that field,” he said. “It’s very important that there veterans who understand your experience and are highly successful in their field. It gives it instant credibility really.”
Keller’s mentor, Brian Concannon, president and CEO of Haemonetics, kept in touch over the phone to talk about big and small goals. Keller landed a job with the company right after taking the bar.
“(As a soldier), you’re an optimist, you think that you can change things, make the world a better place. Those are things that transfer over to the medical device field.”
