She brought this desire to help improve healthcare when she was promoted to a role handling specialty surgical indications.

New to her product division, Malen was expected to hit the ground running. In the span of five months, she had to learn all about B. Braun’s surgical portfolio. Concurrently, she was already putting her sales skills to use by managing projects in different territories. Her work leads her to different areas in Manila and the Bicol and Visayas regions. Malen frequently needs at least a week’s stay in each territory to accomplish her tasks, then it’s off to the next assigned area. “It was so hard to explain what I went through when I was just starting out last year,” Malen shares. “But I think my efforts paid off because I was able to win projects.”

One of her first major projects was in Bicol, which entailed developing the first specialized operating room in the region. Part of her success in the project she attributes to her insight as a former nurse. “My partner doctors see I’m not solely after hitting my sales targets. They know I’m there to help them give the best care for their patients with my products and projects. I believe my genuine desire to help improve their practice led to positive outcomes in my project.”

Malen’s natural curiosity, strong work ethic, and the support of her manager energized her to do well in the project. Traveling all the way to Bicol from Manila can be quite challenging, factoring in the distance and usual heavy traffic. Despite this, Malen remained committed to her concurrent projects. She met doctors and operating room nurses, had courtesy calls to decision makers, and did constant revisions on the specifications needed to arrive on their preferred surgical set lists.

Her success in the project meant a lot to her as a former nurse. “Patients for heart surgery from Bicol won’t need to fly all the way to Manila. Now they have access to quality and safe procedures closer to home.

 That’s what made this first project very memorable and successful for me,” Malen said.

Through the project, Malen also recognized the value of sharing expertise. “Being new to cardiac surgery, I had a lot of questions for my partner doctors in order to understand things better. They were very generous in sharing their knowledge and time with me,“ Malen said. “Our constant exchange of dialog helped me understand how I can help the doctors. As they already had strong confidence in Aesculap products, it was up to me to nurture that partnership between us so we can continue exploring ways on how to make their work more efficient.”

Realizing the value she brings to healthcare in the community, she is motivated and remains committed to her job. Her partner doctors trust her more. Sharing Expertise is thus enhanced.