Romanian doctor seeks to improve quality of life in Provo

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    By Brian Rust

    Downtown New York differs quite a bit from downtown Provo, however, that isn”t near as big a change as Romania to Provo.

    Dr. Loredana Militaru experienced both those changes firsthand, and she”s coping with it fine.

    Militaru, a native Romanian, recently finished her residency in internal medicine at the Metropolitan Hospital in New York. Militaru currently practices internal medicine — which ranges from physical exams to cancer screenings — at the New Horizon Health Care facility in an area where female physicians are sorely needed.

    “In Utah County there is a big need for female physicians in internal medicine,” said April Lane, New Horizon Health Care office manager.

    A lot of female patients request a female physician to help them because they feel much more comfortable having any type of exam from a female rather than a male, Lane said.

    Militaru”s story of how she arrived at the position she holds now is not a simple one. Education in Romania requires a lot more dedication and it is harder to receive a college degree, Militaru said. For those not familiar with the Romanian education system, she explained the situation in the following way:

    In order for a person to graduate in a certain field of education, they must attend a specialized high school in their field of study. For Militaru, in order to get the degrees she wanted, she needed to attend a school that specialized in mathematics and physics. Upon completing high school, she had to take three college entrance exams and score higher than others so she could enter a university.

    Even after passing the entrance exams and being accepted to a school, the process is still difficult. Romanian students must pay for all of their schooling, unlike schools in the United States that offer many scholarships to students. She added that the economy is in bad shape, so paying for school isn”t the easiest thing to do.

    Militaru said as challenging an experience as it was for her to become a physician, she didn”t do it for the money. She told the story that when she was younger she had to get glasses and was a little self-conscious about it. The doctor she went to helped her a lot with her vision and also helped her feel better about herself.

    “He made a big difference in my life, and I thought I would like to make the same difference in other people”s lives,” Militaru said. “This is why I wanted to be a doctor.”

    Not only is Militaru a much-needed asset to the health care facility, but she also speaks Romanian, English, Spanish and basic French, which enables her to communicate with patients of various ethnicities, Lane said.

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