Meet Our Team: Sun Ramocan
Meet Sun Ramocan, MPH, Research Account Manager at Rx4good. Sun, who joined the Rx4good team earlier this year, is an integral part of our research team, supporting patient advocacy research and organizing and facilitating the development of patient councils, KOL interviews, survey design, reports, and manuscripts.
Q: What has been most exciting and daunting about joining Rx4good?
The most exciting thing has been the opportunity to work in a specific space for patient advocacy. Before, it was a part of my job, but here it’s the primary focus. It’s been great to branch out, expand my skillset, and gain an understanding of different industries and how they support patients. What’s been daunting has been moving into the consulting biopharma arena. It’s so new to me. Coming into it, I knew that there would be a huge learning curve, but everyone has been very supportive. I’m still learning new things every day, and it’s been rewarding to see myself grow in those ways.
Q: What services have sparked your interest so far?
I was immediately interested and drawn to the ad boards and patient councils from the moment I learned about Rx4good. I’m very passionate about relationship building, and it’s been great to have the opportunity to be that segue between our clients’ needs and patients’ voices. Recently, I joined the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) Committee, which is something near and dear to my heart.
Q: What have you learned about your clients?
They all work so differently, and that guides our work with them. With some clients, it’s very collaborative, and we bounce ideas off each other. With other clients, they want to take charge, while we provide support, so they delegate tasks and trust us to figure it out. It’s been interesting to learn the context of our relationships with clients and how I fit into that mix. It’s also been nice to see that patient advocacy is a passion of our clients, too. It allows us to support them fully, because we have a good idea of who they are and what they stand for.
Q: How would you describe Rx4good’s culture?
It’s collaborative, but I also think it’s very “set in sand.” Everything is subject to change. Everybody is willing to talk about what could be refined and how we could do things better –whether it be processes, how we can support each other better, or how to streamline various deliverables for clients. It’s nice to see that feedback is taken seriously and that leadership is open to receiving it.
Q: Where do you want to make your mark?
My priorities are in DEI and mental health and seeing how we can incorporate it into everything we do and the services we provide, especially with our growing market bases and intentions to expand our work. The mental health impact of living with disease touches many of the patients and disease areas our work supports, and I think it is integral to consider in patient advocacy. It’s important to make continuous efforts to understand how we can do better, how that can reflect in our work, and how we operate in the industry. I think that would set us apart in a lot of ways, so I would be excited to be a part of that. I’m also interested in helping to develop support processes. I love organization and process development. Our company is in that space of trying to figure out how to support everyone better where they are, and I would love to be a part of that.
Q: Why do you think patient-centricity is important?
I have been both a patient and a caregiver, and I went to school for mental health, public health, and health care administration. I’ve worked in frontline hospital and urgent care settings and on the backend of health care. What is true throughout it all is that it’s built to make people feel defeated. It’s not built to support people. It’s built like a corporation. A lot of humanity and human-ness has been lost in our health care system, whether you’re talking about insurance or actual care or billing codes. It’s so important to give a voice to people who a) don’t have a voice or b) don’t know how to advocate for themselves or don’t know what questions to ask. There’s so much jargon used all the time. There are countless issues with access, cost, investing in preventative care, normalizing and mandating screenings, and overall considerations for whole person care. There are all these barriers to care. If we can do one thing to make that a little bit simpler or a little bit more accessible to people, I think that’s huge. Because at the end of the day, what is health care? It’s person care. That’s the point of it. But there can be a huge disconnect. There’s often a lack of collaboration. It’s a whole systemic problem that needs to be fixed, but what we can do in the interim is go straight to the patient and see where their needs are and see what can be done to fill that gap.
Q: Tell us about you as a human.
I live in Denver with my partner and our two dogs. I’ve moved a lot and have lived in many different states, along with Jamaica, where I was born. I was homeschooled until sixth grade. I’m passionate about mental health, especially among BICOP individuals and people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. As a multiple-minority person, it’s super important to me. There is so much that needs to be done to bridge those gaps to help people have a fair shot and adequate support to address generational trauma. That’s definitely my heart and soul.
-Q: Favorite food? Sushi – specifically the Philadelphia roll
-Q: Favorite TV show? Right now, I’m binging Game of Thrones.
-Q: Favorite place you’ve ever been? Anchorage, Alaska
-Q: Your hobby? Hiking, kayaking, taking pictures, spending time with my dogs, traveling and planning trips, and hosting reality TV watch parties
