Dear industry-employed physician,
Are you aware that there is an association for people like you? The Swedish Industry Physicians’ Association is a professional society within the Swedish Medical Association and represents all privately employed non-clinical physicians in Sweden. That includes e.g. Medical Advisors and Medical Directors in the pharmaceutical or medical device industries, life-science analysts and different types of consultants or contractors.
Why should you become a member?
There are many advantages with being a member of the Industry Physicians’ Association.
- First, you are automatically also a member of theSwedish Medical Association (SMA), the union and professional body for all physicians in Sweden. Thereby you are entitled to the unemployment insurance that is available thanks to the SMA’s membership in SACO – the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations. This gives you up to 80% of your salary for up to six months in case of unemployment (requires membership in the Academics’ Unemployment Society (AEA) in addition to the SMA; covers up to a maximum salary of 100,000 SEK/mo). Without this insurance your maximum benefit is approx. 20,000 SEK/mo during unemployment.
- As a member of the Swedish Medical Association you also have the right to legal support in case of a conflict with the employer or through the local union during salary negotiations or reorganisations.
- There are also other membership benefits, such as holiday accommodation, discounted insurances and subscriptions.
NOTE! To be entitled to unemployment benefits and legal support you need at least 6 months’ prior membership in the SMA – you cannot become a member when the problems arise!
- As a member of the Industry Physicians’ Association you also have access to our unique salary statistics, which may be of great assistance during your own salary negotiations or if you are changing positions, inside or outside the company.
- The Industry Physicians’ Association is also actively working to improve industry physicians’ working environment, both physical and social. We also work to influence the perception of industry physicians, both inside the companies and among the profession, and we monitor and try to influence issues important for industry-employed physicians, such as ethics guidelines, CME requirements, etc.
- Last but not least we also arrange social activities, like network meetings, lectures and get-together activities with our friends in other societies (like e.g. the industry pharmacists or the Swedish Society for Pharmaceutical Medicine) in order to help our members to learn something new and to build their networks outside their own companies.
There is more information (still mainly in Swedish) on our website and additional information in English on the SMA website.
For more information, feel free to contact your local representative or anyone in the national board.
Welcome as a member!
Björn Pilström
President of the Swedish Industry Physicians’ Association