Meet Virmary | Roche | Employee Stories

Tell us about yourself
Mabuhay! I’m Virmary Rose C. Martinez from Roche Philippines, a graduate of BSBA-Marketing at University of San Carlos, AY 2013. Upon graduating, I swiftly embarked on my career journey in the pharmaceutical industry, and in 2018 I joined Roche as a Product Specialist. Since then, I have been highly involved in sales, operations, marketing, patient safety, key account management and now as a Patient Journey Partner.

People perceive me as someone who is enthusiastic and optimistic and the life of the party. I love to spend quality time with people over coffee or on road trips and learn from their experiences and share each other’s wisdom.

Why did you choose Roche, why have you chosen to stay with Roche and what do you most enjoy about working at Roche?
A few of the many reasons why I chose to stay dedicated and passionate about serving our Filipino cancer patients through Roche Philippines are because of the career development opportunities at Roche, the company culture, compensation and benefits, delivering impactful work and having great colleagues. But the one that made me glued to this unique organisation is the unwavering support by our enabling and leadership team. They exemplify our core values and demonstrate MALASAKIT (compassion) for each and every one of us.

What I also enjoy about working at Roche is having a healthy work-life balance. Roche recognises the importance of having a good work-life balance and offers flexible work arrangements or other benefits that support employees’ well-being. I was given the flexibility to work remotely for more than a year, which allowed me to attend to my personal needs as a single mother of a daughter. They also extended all the efforts they could in supporting my brother, who underwent a kidney transplant through the Life-Saving Benefits programme.

How does your role fit into the larger picture of Roche’s aspirations?
Roche aims to be a patient-centered organisation, prioritising the needs and well-being of patients above all else. My role as a Patient Journey Partner is instrumental in achieving this aspiration by actively engaging with patients, hospital stakeholders and organisations, understanding their experiences and advocating solutions that improve patient outcomes and satisfaction. In my service delivery network, which is Central Visayas, I identify Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) champions that would drive the institutionalisation of an MDT at the hospital level. Bringing together key stakeholders and decision makers, we co-create and co-design solutions and activities that would highlight the importance of early diagnosis and the clinical benefits of neoadjuvant and dual blockade in early breast cancer for better patient outcomes. Through these efforts, medical oncologists have expressed that there’s an increase of referrals from breast surgeons / surgeon oncologists for neoadjuvant treatment. On top of these efforts, we collaborate with our health system partners to complement the health system-shaping initiatives, making sure that the treatment is available for the patient at the right time.

Can you describe how Roche’s values align with yours and why it is a meaningful role for you?
One of the core values of Roche Philippines is MALASAKIT or empathy. Malasakit is a crucial quality in the healthcare industry as it allows to understand and connect with patients on a deeper level, leading to more compassionate care and better health outcomes. This is a value that is personal to me as an individual as well. In a professional setting, empathy can drive collaboration, effective communication, and problem-solving. It helps create a supportive work environment where every one of us feels valued, heard and understood, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.

Are there any opportunities provided by Roche that help you develop new skills as part of your career growth?

Roche, through the support of its enabling team and leadership team, conducts regular check-ins, performance feedback sessions and reviews to assess employees’ progress, provide constructive feedback and identify areas for improvement. This feedback loop is integral to employee development and growth.

Networking and gigs inside and outside the affiliate are also highly encouraged for all of us to explore and maximise career development. I ventured to be part of the Legal and Safety Unit Team for six months and learnt a lot about contracts and relationship management with vendors and the importance of legal proper documentation to adhere to the local health guidelines to ensure compliance with our license to operate as an organisation. Currently, we have an ongoing Roche curriculum where we can enrol ourselves in relevant areas that could contribute to our personal development.

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