Dr. Simona Florica Turcu

Dr. Simona Florica Turcu, Lecturer, Pediatrician Specialist, Clinica Pediatrie II

Curriculum Vitae

Personal Details

  • Date of birth: 29.01.1972
  • Place of birth: Timisoara, Romania
  • Marital status: Divorced, one child
  • Romanian College of Physicians Registration No. 897566 /1998
  • Specialist Registration (in Romania): PEDIATRICS - 29/04/2002 – awarded by Romanian Ministry of Health and the Family Directive No.256/2002
  • Member of European Respiratory Society 122847
  • Secretary of Romanian Cystic Fibrosis Association
  • Member of Romanian Society of Immunology

General education

  • 1986–1990: C.D.Loga College, Timisoara, Romania
  • Grade point average 9.49/10 (honours equivalent)

Medical education

  • 1990–1996: Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania   
  • Degree: MD 09/96 (MB BS equivalent)
  • Diploma No. 194/8.11.1996
  • Grade point average 9.78/10 (honours equivalent)

Postgraduate qualifications

  • 1997 Resident in Pediatrics confirmed by Romanian Ministry of Health, Directive No.274/14.03.1997
  • 2002 Specialist Physician in Pediatrics (Pediatric Specialist), qualification awarded by Romanian Ministry of Health and the Family, Directive No.256/2002

Relevant postgraduate courses

  • 1998 Pediatric Basic and Advanced Life Support, Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania,
  • December 6 -14, 1999
  • 2002 Pediatric Diabetology, Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania, April 1 - May 25, 2002
  • 2002 Basic Life Support -Pediatric Advanced Life Support Course, Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania, May 17-19, 2002
  • 2004 Assessment and Interpretation of Infant Lung Function in Children, European Respiratory Society Course, Nice, France, April 21-24, 2004

Clinical exchange programmes

  • Great Ormond Street Hospital – Portex Unit, London, U.K., September 2005  in Respiratory pediatrics
  • Brompton Hospital- Heart and Lung Institute, London, U.K., October 2006, Noninvasive Ventilation

Current Position

  • Lecturer in Pediatrics, Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania
  • Pediatric Specialist, Pediatric Intensive Care Department, Timisoara Clinical Hospital No. 1, Romania

I am also a PhD student in pediatric rheumatology and a member of a local special committee responsible for child protection.

Our pediatric department is a teaching hospital of 90 beds belonging to the Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Romania) and also serves as the Pediatric Department of Timisoara Clinical Hospital No.1 in the same city. The National Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Centre is also located in our hospital.

The Pediatric Intensive Care Department has 10 beds with approximately 300 patients admitted every year. In this Department I am responsible for the management of critical patients requiring respiratory support (non-invasive ventilatory support), noninvasive monitoring, ALS and hemodynamic support. The patients are aged between newborn and adolescent. Besides my responsibilities for 6-8 inpatients daily, I attend 3-5 outpatient clinics each week and I cover on call duties at a specialist level, typically 1:6 each month.

Subspecialty Experience

Respiratory Medicine

I developed an interest in pediatric pulmonology during my first rotation in this subspecialty. My present post gives me the opportunity to enhance my experience in the management of asthma, wheezing disorders and cystic fibrosis, as well as my knowledge of pulmonary function testing and aerosol therapy.

Pediatric Intensive Care

The 6-month rotation period in PICU and the 9 months I spent in the Neonatal Department during my medical training represented a major step in developing my skills in the management of cardiac arrest and resuscitation, tracheal intubation, ventilatory support and total enteral/parenteral nutrition. After finishing my specialist training, I worked for a period of 7 months in the Pediatric Emergency Department of the largest pediatric hospital in western Romania which furthered my knowledge of the management and administrative issues. Unfortunately, there is no subspecialty of Pediatric Intensive Care in our country and no modern medical equipment to work with. That is why physicians working in PICU have to find other ways of training (postgraduate courses, clinical attachments and relevant reading).

Research/Publications

Books
  1. „Hypoglycemia” and „Growth and Development” in I.Micle Pediatric Diabetology - theory and practice - Marineasa Press, Timisoara, 2000, ISBN 973-9485-68-5.
  2. Pediatric Outpatient and Pediatric Emergencies (Course for students), vol.I and vol.II, Timi?oara, 2003 - co-author.
Translations:
  • ISPAD Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Children and Adolescents, Romanian translation, Marineasa Press, Timisoara, 2001.
National medical review articles
  • co-author: 13
International Congress Papers (abstracts published)

Co-author:

  1. Oral treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infection in CF with lincomycine-clinical observations, The 28th European Cystic Fibrosis Conference, Hersonissos, Crete, Greece, 22-25 June 2005.
  2. Genetic heterogeneity and specificity in children with cystic fibrosis (mucoviscidosis) in Romania, The 4th National Pediatric Conference, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, 24-26 May, 2003.
  3. Nutritional status and gastrointestinal problems in children with cerebral palsy, The 10th United European Gastroenterological Week, Geneva, Switzerland, 19-23 October, 2002.

Current Projects

  • The second edition of our course for the 5th year students - „Pediatrics” (volume I –pulmonology, cardiology and gastroenterology).

Teaching Experience

Medical undergraduates
  • Clinical instruction, case presentations and end of term assessments of 4th, 5th and 6th year students in the Timisoara University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
  • Lectures on pediatric emergencies and renal disorders
  • Diploma paper coordinator for final year students
 Medical postgraduates
  • Clinical tutorials to residents
  • Case presentation coordinator for the junior medical staff 

Timisoara, July, 2007

06.12.2007