We interviewed Elliott, Operations Manager, and Mary, Senior Program Design Manager, from the CPD team to hear specific insight into what they do, how they support the broader organization, and what kinds of growth they are expecting in the coming year. See their full interview below:
What is the primary goal of NuVasive CPD?
We are committed to drive lifelong engagement with surgeons by building trusting relationships. Based on understanding our surgeon partner’s needs and aspirations, we deliver personalized plans and solutions to support their training, skills acquisition, and professional development. Ultimately, our goal is to focus on and improve surgeons’ clinical performance, patient safety, and patient outcomes.
By these three primary focuses, CPD will build inspiring and lifelong partnerships that support surgeons in achieving their goals, ambitions, and aspirations.
In relation to the lab, it is our goal to mimic the exact environment that our surgeons work in. We have actually received feedback from our surgeons that our lab is better than their OR because of the technology and support that we provide them. This speaks volumes to our OR techs and their professionalism. We also make sure that the work we do on the front-end to prepare for our visits outlines everything a surgeon could potentially need during their lab time.
Our lab techs and event coordinators work tirelessly to make sure that we anticipate all of our surgeon’s needs in the lab.
For example, having all sets that surgeons and sales representatives request, while being proactive to anticipate what they don’t even know they may need. More importantly, we are building out a new lab with more video recording capability so we can more seamlessly film and give our surgeons their entire day in the lab. Therefore, when the surgeons leave they always have the ability to review what they did here. This supports our goal that “CPD will never allow a surgeon to fail.”
Approximately how many surgeons do we train every year in our OR lab?
In 2016, we trained approximately 500 surgeons and in 2017 we trained more than 600 surgeons. As you can see, the trajectory is only growing and we love adding value to surgeons and to the Company. And in 2018, just in the first quarter we’ve had more than 400 surgeon visits!
How many courses do we offer surgeons every year?
We host approximately 30 different type of courses in our San Diego labeach year, which doesn’t take into account the remote labs that we support too.
Are there any other groups outside of surgeons that utilize the OR lab?
One of our primary groups we support are NuVasive Shareowners. NuVasive has a standing tradition of ‘My First XLIF®’, where all new Shareowners participate in an XLIF procedure with our tech team and individual Shareowners help with C-Arm duties. We also work with many local high schools that tour with students in various science or technology classes.
What is the future for NuVasive CPD?
We committed to continuously improvement, while supporting NuVasive as a whole. We are always adding in new technology and resources. Just this year, we upgraded a C-Arm to better support the LessRay® team in their testing and development phase. This allows the LessRay team to use the San Diego lab, as opposed to renting out a lab with various equipment that they need. However, the biggest project in the future is the buildout of our brand new Surgeon Experience Center, a 7,000 sq. ft. hub for global surgeon engagement and training. It will hold eight operating stations, including two separate R&D OR stations for new discoveries and innovation.
How would you describe the OR tech team and their role within CPD?
Our OR Tech team is instrumental in the success of every surgeon visit and training. We have been told by faculty that our OR techs know the anatomy and pathologies better than some surgeons! The techs work tirelessly, staying before and after surgeon visits to make sure everything runs smoothly in the lab. The techs also travel to remote labs to support the training and education of sales representatives and surgeons. Lastly, it is most important to know that they are so much more than lab techs! They are educational specialists that help ensure that all surgeon learners’ needs are met
Learn more about CPD and view the rest of the 2018 surgeon training schedule here.