Medical Affairs Spotlight

It was Mother's Day 2024. Sarah did what any reasonable, overachieving woman in Medical Affairs does when given the gift of "treat yourself." She bought herself a presentation course. (Her family was... supportive.) But here's what happened next. She went back to Patrina and said, "We have to br...

May 09, 2026

Edition 60: Are You Worth 15 Minutes?

15 minutes. That's all anyone is asking for. A KOL. A hiring manager. A potential mentor. A cross-functional partner who keeps saying "let's find time." And yet, getting that 15 minutes (and deserving it once you have it) is one of the hardest things in Medical Affairs. This week, we're talki...

May 01, 2026

Edition 59: You can't win a race that never ends.

You're running a race. You don't know how far it is. There are no mile markers. No finish line in sight. Do you: A) Sprint full speed and hope for the bestB) Slow down because why botherC) Stop at mile 3, sit on the curb, and question all your life choicesD) All of the above, depending on the d...

Apr 24, 2026

Edition 58: Accountability

AI accountability is knocking on the door. And not in the way you’re thinking. Companies are starting to crack the whip on AI. Not just “try it.” Not just “learn it.” Show the impact. 4 different companies reached out this week. Different teams. Same energy: “We have an AI mandate...

Apr 18, 2026

Edition 57: Clinical Trials Upskilling

When Patrina was doing Medical Affairs strategy consulting, a colleague said: “You know everything about this [referring to clinical trials] because you have a PhD.” ??? Her PhD was in basic research. She had spent exactly zero minutes thinking about clinical trials in grad school. ...

Apr 12, 2026

Edition 56: DIA & Congresses

"I'm in my 50s. I don't want to fall behind!" Said by an MSL lead in the sweetest Southern accent after she reached out about AI training for her team. She’s spot on. In 100% of teams we train on AI, we see the same thing: → Some people have never touched it → Others are alre...

Apr 03, 2026

Edition 55: MAPS Denver 2026 Recap

Medical Affairs leaders are starting to say this out loud. “Our MSLs know what to do, they’re just not doing it.” Everyone has had the lecture-style training and knows how. But this alone doesn’t drive behavior change. One-and-done training does not work. We’ve been hearing this since we f...

Mar 27, 2026

Edition 54: MAPS Insider

When it comes to Medical Affairs conferences, there are sessions you attend… And then there are sessions you experience. Patrina’s MAPS sessions fall into the 2nd category: Laptop open.Fingers pounding the keyboard, writing prompts, and building agents live on the fly. Testing ideas in real ti...

Mar 20, 2026

Edition 53: The Power of the Follow-Up

During a Medical Affairs team meeting, an MSL Director based in Chicago asked a simple question. “After your last cross-functional meeting, who sent a follow-up?” A few people raised their hands. The rest of the room was quiet. He explained why he asked. “In Medical Affairs, a lot of our work ha...

Mar 13, 2026

Edition 52: Bonuses Just Hit in Medical Affairs

The week after bonuses separates people. One MSL updates her LinkedIn. Another finally responds to the recruiter who’s been “just checking in.” A manager quietly realizes:Two of my strongest people might not be here in 2 months. Bonus season doesn’t just move money. It moves people. 1. Don’t ...

Mar 13, 2026

Edition 51: Your 90-Sec Reputation

We’re bringing a mini-barrel to a team training in Nashville this week. Yes. An actual barrel. Reply and guess what it’s for... Get it right and we’ll send you a prize. Now here’s why that matters: When we roll unexpected things into a room, people lean in. Curiosity goes up. Energy spik...

Mar 01, 2026

Edition 50: Territory Planning

Here’s a topic that comes up in almost every conversation we have with MSL managers: Territory planning. Or more accurately, the lack of it. Managers usually pretty blunt about it: → “Pssht. What territory planning?”→ Or a giant eye roll→ Or a long pause And almost every time, it traces bac...

Feb 20, 2026

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