A three day training and educational event was planned by BeneCare Medical to train a sales force which included seventeen people in the Far East.
Pat Radcliffe the Clinical Specialist at BeneCare Medical and Stuart Lachs MD of BeneCare Medical lead the workshops, which included theoretical aspects in addition to practical workshop showcasing the BeneCast Polyester, the BeneCast Flex and the POP.
The team were very enthusiastic and eager to learn, with a lot of interaction with questions being asked throughout they all appeared to enjoy the lecture and the workshops. The wholes session was presented through an interpreter to ensure all the staff understood clearly and there was no confusion or misunderstanding.
Day 1
Presentations on the composition of a casting tape followed by the introduction to the characteristics of the BeneCare casting products emphasising the features and benefits.
The Benecare Casting Academy was then introduced to the team to support the use of products click here to join for free. We had a Q & A session then watched a number of the educational videos from the website. The group appeared to be very interested in DFU, they feel this could definitely be a target area for them.
A presentation on a number of the Orthopaedic soft goods then took place creating good discussion on the characteristics of a number of items.
This was followed by a presentation on the Principles of casting – why we cast – the golden rules of casting, this was in preparation for the casting workshop the following day.
Day 2
Started with an introduction to the characteristics of the casting products through a practical hands on workshop. This included the basic application of below elbow and below knee casts using the BeneCast Select, there was a marked improvement by all the staff on their second attempt, focussing on characteristics specific to the application throughout the workshop. Subsequently the team also had to get to grips with the cast saw, as all the cast needed to be removed, this was done with a little trepidation initially.
The next activity on the agenda was role play, the group were put into two’s and provided with a scenario, i.e. one to be a sales representative one to be a nurse/doctor. There was fantastic interaction between the whole team they appeared very animated. Their understanding of the products with regards to features and benefits in such a short time was excellent.
With the BeneCast Select under their belt we then introduced the Benecast Flex, a semi rigid casting material with a very different concept to a conventional cast. The demonstrations included the below elbow Benecast Flex, and the below elbow combicast using the select for the rigid splint, of which the team did practice the application technique in the workshop.
This session was reinforced by a second session of role play focusing on the Benecast Flex. Again this was a great opportunity for the team to learn from one another, and also demonstrate their understanding of the products and how to position them.
Day 3
A demonstration of the below knee combicast was done to emphasise the benefits when compared to the conventional cast for the patient and the clinician.
We then had the introduction to the POP and new POP Gold, the difference of the two products was discussed and demonstrated.
As POP is often used as an emergency treatment it was important that all the team understood the principle of a backslab. A below elbow backslab was therefore demonstrated and practised by the group as well as a demonstration of a below knee backslab.
A demonstration in a below elbow cast in the Benecast POP and the POP Gold enabled the team to make a direct comparison of the two products regarding the weight, set time and strength. The team threw themselves into the workshop with the POP Gold, this session was consolidated by a third session of role play, again the team did a very impressive job, having the ability to discuss the products in detail. This was followed by a demonstration of the below knee cast using the advanced, the aim was to demonstrate the unique characteristics of the product.
The Three days was brought to a close with a final Q & A session, followed by each of the sales team discussing on an individual level how and who they will target with the BeneCare Products.
Stuart Lachs
MD of BeneCare Medical