MEMBERS
DR . Who
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT RODICA TURCU , MD
Aaron Burch
One of Louisville ’ s leading neonatologists , Dr . Rodica Turcu , called Bucharest , Romania her home for many years . Under the Communist rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu from 1965 to 1989 , Romania was a tightly controlled regime subject to mass surveillance , rations of basic supplies and the whims of secret police . The young Dr . Turcu knew no other life .
“ Things were very different in the Communist time ,” she recalled . “ Everyone was very concerned about day to day life . No one was thinking about having fun or planning for the future , you just had to make a living .”
As an only child , Dr . Turcu would sit in bed for hours reading state approved history books . “ I ’ m sure they were all tweaked a little bit by the regime at the time . We were allowed positive exposure to everything within the Communist Bloc . If you wanted to read about the other side of the wall , you ’ d only get the negative parts .”
Her father was an engineer and her mother was a pharmacist , but Dr . Turcu knew from an early age that she would be a physician . “ My mom said , ‘ You ’ re going to go to medical school . I said , ‘ Sure mom .’ It was an easy decision .” Being a doctor would allow for a better life . In an oppressive society such as Communist Romania , that was an important goal .
The decision was easy , but being accepted into medical school was not quite the same in Romania as it is here . At the time , there were five medical schools to choose from . Each would-be student could apply to only one . Then , all candidates took exams in physics , chemistry and biology . The highest averages between the three tests got in . Everyone else fell short .
“ Nobody really worries about hurt feelings . Your name is below the line ? Too bad . Study harder . The next chance is next year ,” Dr . Turcu said .
Although she had high scores in physics and chemistry , biology brought her average down . Two times in a row , Dr . Turcu didn ’ t make the cut . She willed herself to keep studying and took a job as a phlebotomist while she memorized the biology text . There was a silver lining , however . Being a phlebotomist taught her patient care skills which she ’ d use for years to come .
Her third try for medical school was the charm . Dr . Turcu was accepted to begin her training in the summer of 1989 . A few months later , the Communist regime was overthrown . As she was taking her first steps towards a career in medicine , the previously impossible concept of having “ a normal life ” was spreading throughout Romania . The Berlin Wall had fallen , and there were political upheavals taking place throughout Eastern Europe . On a wave of unrest , the violent Romanian Revolution began that winter .
“ The people of Romania thought ‘ It ’ s our turn ,” Dr . Turcu remembered . “ People went out in the street that December to force out the dictator . There were gunshots everywhere . We didn ’ t know from whom or why . It was chaos .”
The insurrection came to an end with a new regime and a rejuvenated populace . Dr . Turcu ’ s family remained safe as a new chapter began for herself and her country .
Soon she began dating Razvan Turcu , and they married in 1993 . He studied finance and engineering as Dr . Turcu continued medical school . After medical school she completed her first pediatric residency , also in Bucharest , at the Marie Curie Children ’ s Hospital . It was there she would meet a boy who changed her life and brought her to America .
“ The plot is thick ,” Dr . Turcu laughed . “ I ’ d just given birth to our son , Adrian . I was in my third year of residency or so when I met this little boy . He was five and would come in every few months with a very strange condition , a recurring pocket of lymph around his lung . No one knew what was causing it , but we attempted to fix it every single time . I put so many tubes in that poor boy . He ’ d come for treatment all the time , over Easter and Christmas . He became like my little son .”
The boy ’ s mother was fierce and protective . The city they lived in , an hour outside of Bucharest , was visited by a team of American physicians on a mission trip . The mother heard the Americans were
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Editor ’ s Note : Welcome to Louisville Medicine ’ s member spotlight section , Dr . Who ? In the interest of simply getting to know each other as a society of colleagues , we ’ ll be highlighting random GLMS physicians on a regular basis . If you would like to recommend any GLMS physician member to the Editorial Board for this section , please e-mail aaron . burch @ glms . org or call him at 736-6338 .
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