Michaela Fendley’s connection to Intuitive began years before she joined the company. Her father is a da Vinci surgeon, but Michaela took her own path—spending six years in education before discovering that many of the skills she developed as a teacher could translate to a career in clinical sales.
Today, she works in da Vinci Urology and Gynecology Clinical Sales, combining her passion for education with a mission that has long been personal to her.
You spent six years in education before joining Intuitive. How did you make the leap from teaching to clinical sales?
The more I thought about it, I realized teachers are salespeople. I had to sell the importance of algebra, a very abstract concept, to a group of seventh graders. I had to make them care enough about the content to put in the effort.
I think that mentality transferred over, but teaching also really informs the way I look at my role now. My job is to educate surgeons on the resources Intuitive has. If they’re training, it’s taking them through that pathway, teaching them how to use the technology, and connecting them with peers who have made that transition so they can learn from them.
It’s been really cool to see how two areas I really love—education and da Vinci technology—can come together.
What was it like learning an entirely new field when you joined Intuitive?
Intuitive has an incredible commercial learning organization. The trainers throughout CAST went above and beyond for us. I felt like I had all the help I could have needed, and my CAST class was really close. Everyone was supportive and encouraging, and we got through it together.
There’s no way you can ever fully train for this job. I’m almost four years in, and I still feel like I learn something new every day.
Once you get started, the mentorship at this company is unbelievable. I have mentors I still talk to every week, and they all serve different purposes. I have someone I can go to with a question I think is silly, and someone I can call when I have a challenging situation with a surgeon and want another perspective.
Everyone’s willingness to support people who are just starting is really special. No one is going to hold your hand, but if you’re reaching out for someone, there’s someone right there.
What does a typical day in clinical sales look like?
It’s hard to even describe a week because every week is really different.
We’re on site almost every day, and a big part of our job is supporting surgeons through the training pathway. That could mean taking a surgeon to observe another da Vinci surgeon who has transitioned their practice or spending time in cases to understand what matters to them and where there may be an opportunity to support their goals. We also work with staff, and at academic centers we support residents through training and online learning.
The job requires you to be flexible and adapt. You can have a plan, and sometimes it goes according to plan. Other times, everything changes.
The way I sum up my job is: help surgeons reach their goal as a da Vinci surgeon, whatever that looks like. If they’re brand new, that could mean helping them through training and their learning curve. If they already use da Vinci and want to do more, it’s asking: How can I support you getting from A to B? What resources do we have? What can I do to help you get where you want to be?
What makes this career meaningful to you?
There are moments that are truly heartwarming. I just feel very grateful.
When I was looking to transition out of education, it was really important to me to find something where I felt like I was contributing to society in a positive way. I found that with Intuitive. I feel so lucky every day to be able to do this job because I really believe we are helping people.
Surgeons care so much about their patients. They carry these cases with them. To know that we played a role in helping them get where they wanted to go is really meaningful.
Just being a small part of that—and helping them help their patients—is really, really special.
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