Well... Speaking from this position, there are more than most. The da Vinci Specialist position, or dVS was an attempt to answer customer's demands for more support. It was sold on a contractual basis to hospitals where the dVS is to be present at every procedure and enhance the hospitals robotics program. This began in the Summer of 2009. It was brought an end in the Summer 2010, leaving 40+ dVSs stranded at their accounts to finish out the rest of their contracts. It was halted because a lot of the dVSs were introduced to their accounts poorly, as the program had been sold to the hospital executives, and not the OR where we spend most of our time. As a result, there were all kinds of problems with "outsiders" becoming permanent members or the OR. After many problems, the program was shut down and the management either left or took other jobs in the company.
The position itself though was redundant to that of the CSRs and often times we found ourselves covering the same cases providing the same value to the customers, especially with newer surgeons who are just starting to use the da Vinci. With more experienced surgeons, you really just stand in the room and watch. It's pointless and boring. Initially, you work with the surgical teams to bring up their efficiency, but after that job is complete, you are dependent on what the hospital allows you to do to have some kind of purpose for being there, which wasn't a whole lot in the majority of cases.
Many dVSs joined with the intent of becoming CSRs in a year or two, but that is in question now. Management tends to be rather arrogant and dismissive of a dVS having the capacity to perform the CSR job, despite the fact that our training is the same and many of us have been performing that role for the whole of our jobs or at least many of the tasks related to it. This may be true for some, but it seems like we are viewed more as a group and less as individuals. Initially there was a plan to move cancelled accounts into a new "associate sales" role, but it appears that little has been done to flesh this out.
