Valeria Ursu

Some say that their passion comes from saving lives, to be able to tell the patients families that their loved ones are no longer in danger and in safe hands. This is true for me as well, although there is something else that drives me to become a doctor more then this desire to be useful in society and help people. What drives me towards this career is my passion for the process of saving lives. I find the process of helping someone out to be absolutely incredible and breath taking. There is a pleasure in accomplishing this task that I enjoy very much. There is nothing like the rush I feel just from thinking that I could in an operation critically think about the situation and have to make a decision instantly in order to save someone’s life. I think and act very well under pressure, and in that type of environment I strive. I seek those types of situations in my daily life and when I accomplish something under pressure I gain the best results.
I also like to ask questions, and am very curious. That’s why I also want to become a researcher. My passion for research did not come over night, and it wasn’t until I had my internship in a research field that I found out that research is something that I completely love. Research is a rather slow process in many situations it requires perseverance and internal motivation to be able to succeed. I find it to be a rather opposite extreme to becoming a doctor because of it’s nature, but I found that I’m really successful in this environment as well, because I have the qualities that make me good at it, and also because I enjoy the process very much.
This desire to become an MD/PHD was a decision I made at the beginning of my freshman year of education at Oregon State University. It was a decision that took about four years of high school to come up with by trying out different other fields, and also researching, and doing internships. But now I am absolutely sure that I will be completely ecstatic to have that profession and perform in it for the rest of my life. The MD aspect of my decision is a very practical way in which I could help many people and see the reality of situations, and have first hand experiences. While the PHD aspect will help me become a more rounded doctor because I can create products and systems that can help out real life situations that I will be faced with as a doctor.
I am a big picture kind of person, and I am fascinated by how systems work together, and seeing everything work in conjunction with each other. At the same time though I relish in the little things, and find pleasure in accomplishing small things that help the bigger picture become more clear. I do things to the best of my ability and never give up if something doesn’t go according to the plan, I try over and over again in different manners until a goal is achieved. Life is too short to have regrets, and I am determined to do anything and everything possible to get to my MD/PHD degree. In a world of possibilities one accomplishes whatever he/she puts their mind to as long as he/she wants it bad enough, and I want this with all my soul.