We were lucky to catch up with Andrea camila Martinez ariza recently and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea camila, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking risks, for me, means taking the first step in anything. That first step often feels like jumping into the unknown, and we adapt gradually as we progress along the path we choose.
My first leap into the unknown professionally was the choice of my university degree. I chose medicine because I had always dreamed of helping people and discovering diseases. I felt the need to understand the different medical treatments, and I was guided by my inner child, who had always dreamed of wearing a medical coat as a daily uniform.
As I progressed through my medical studies, everything revolved around life within a hospital or medical clinic. However, when I graduated and started working in hospitals, even though I loved the adrenaline, I felt something within me that knew it wasn’t the place where I wanted to grow professionally. That’s when I began to explore and discovered a world of possibilities for doctors that isn’t taught in university.
The world of pharmaceutical marketing and medical affairs is where I took my second leap into the unknown in my professional career. I began to research and was amazed that, as a doctor, there is a professional field where it’s not just about treating patients; I could also explore my creative and investigative sides.
And here is where I am today, studying a diploma in pharmaceutical marketing to continue training and to further explore this new industry as a doctor.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Andrea Camila Martinez Ariza. I was born in Colombia and graduated as a medical doctor in Argentina. My first job in the medical field was as an emergency physician during the COVID-19 pandemic, a crucial time for medicine. Although it was not an easy period, and I had to deal with extreme situations, it was my first job, and I was thrilled.
I wanted to continue growing professionally, so I moved to Buenos Aires, where some of the best hospitals in Latin America are located. I started working as an internist at a clinic, and this is where my perception of what life as a doctor could be began to change. Unfortunately, due to the medical emergency we were facing at the time, there was not enough medical staff, and those of us who were working reached a point of overwhelming physical and mental exhaustion. This led me to question whether I wanted to work 24-hour shifts regularly, and the answer was no. I wanted to be a doctor but also have a fulfilling personal life.
This prompted me to change jobs and start something that blended medicine with a more business-oriented role. I began working as an occupational physician at Volkswagen, where I discovered that there were positions for doctors in many industries, not just in hospitals.
As I delved deeper, I discovered the world of pharmaceuticals, an industry I had initially thought was exclusively composed of engineers and pharmacists, not doctors. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that doctors are highly valued in this industry.
Since I was about to take a leap into a different field, I wanted to know what I could offer beyond my medical knowledge, and that’s when I discovered my passion for marketing.
If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?
If I could go back in time, I would choose medicine again because it is something I am passionate about. However, I wouldn’t limit myself to the idea that we can only work as doctors in hospitals. I would have started exploring and connecting with other industries as a doctor much earlier.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One thing I had to let go of was the idea of saving everyone. Many of us who study medicine do so with the notion of being heroes. Unfortunately, life is not a TV show, and dealing with death and suffering is something we must be prepared for. No class or lesson can truly prepare us for this; no matter how many courses on grief we take or how well we learn to deliver difficult news, it isn’t until it becomes a reality that we truly feel it—in our body, heart, and mind.
Understanding that being a hero also means accompanying others through grief, helping them accept their new reality, and providing support during treatments is crucial. Most importantly, we must recognize that we are not just doctors; we are people first. Once we leave the hospital, we must leave behind the issues related to our patients and avoid carrying them into our homes.
