Project Scopes
My second week at Boston Scientific (BSCI) has consisted of refining my project scopes and building my network of contacts around the company. Sylvie and I are now working closely on three of BSCI’s new product projects:
- An acquisition of a medical device from a smaller company in California
- Researching a new coating material for a new ureteral stent
- Testing and redesigning the mechanical mechanism for opening and closing a biopsy jaw
BSCI’s Percuflex Plus Ureteral Stent already on the market. This product is similar to my ureteral stent project.
BSCI’s Single-Use Radial Jaw already on the market. This product is similar to the biopsy jaw device I am working on.
I am sorry about the lack of description, however due to Boston Scientific’s policy I can only legally describe my project with this limited detail.
United States vs Costa Rica
While I have had experience working outside of the U.S., Costa Rican work culture has many unique differences.
- Social environment: The most unique aspect is the sense of community and familiarity among the employees here. There is never a quiet moment in the office and you are always running into familiar faces. Everyone always has time to talk about their weekend plans and ask how my internship is going so far. It is not all business and people really invest in getting to know you on a personal level. There is actually a running joke that when Ticos are moved to BSCI’s U.S. locations, that they are the only ones in the cafeteria talking.
- Language barrier: There are a lot of language barriers within an international company, whose headquarters are within the U.S. In this case, BSCI has to ensure that all information is translated accurately from Spanish to English. I saw this first hand during a call with the R&D department from Marlborough, Boston. The engineers from Boston were requesting that the engineers from Coyol translate their regulatory and supplier documents before sending them over. This additional step is very common for all projects at the Coyol location because BSCI is an English-speaking company. Luckily, Spanglish is common since all the medical and technical vocabulary is English. Since my Spanish is beginner level at best, the brief English interjections help me to follow the discussion during Spanish meetings.
- Local sourcing: For a company as established as BSCI, most locations in the U.S. consider suppliers within the U.S. to be local. On the other hand, in Costa Rica it is really important to find convenient and sustainable resource locations, such as in Central America or southern U.S. states, in order to minimize long lead times and environmental costs. In light of this, my main task for the acquisition project is finding more favorable vendors for manufacturing in Costa Rica.
Small Company vs Big Company
All of my most recent work experience, outside of undergraduate research, has been with small or start up companies. I have begun noticing differences while working for a large medical device company.
- Things take time: And many levels of approval, especially when dealing with medical device design and development. All documents and decisions need to be reviewed several times to ensure no mistakes are made and all regulations are followed.
- Jobs are very defined: People have more specific jobs instead of positions where you wear many different hats. BSCI has a lot of specialists within quality, materials, process development and R&D. I have already spoken to four resin and three chemical specialists for my ureter stent project.
- Substantial resources: The amount of resources and number of projects are larger. BSCI has developed some of the most cutting edge medical technology because of the support of their employees, funding and partners. I’ve experienced this first hand while working with new products, as I have a lot of freedom to choose and use any of these available resources.
- Another world: There is an entire city within Boston Scientific. It’s obvious that once you’ve worked here for a while, it becomes much easier to know who to go to in order to complete tasks. Moreover, the network isn’t confined to just BSCI employees. There is another entire network made up of our vendor companies outside of BSCI to work with. During my first 2 weeks at BSCI, I have definitely felt overwhelmed because I didn’t know which employee to go to in order to make progress on my projects. That being said, I am already finding my bearings and have created various contacts within different departments who are willing and able to help me.