The Endocrinology discipline of the Faculty of Medicine of Craiova was established in 1975 under the direction of Prof. dr. doc. Roșca Traian, who, thanks to his double training (internal medicine and endocrinology) ensured the teaching of the course until 1984, when he retired. The teaching duties were taken over by Dr. Marian Bistriceanu who, together with his two collaborators (Dr. Cergă Areta - university assistant and Dr. Uleia Georgeta) ensured the teaching process.
Between 1975-1985 Endocrinology benefited from the material base of the First Medical Clinic of the Craiova County Clinical Hospital, which also had 15 beds for endocrine pathology. In 1985, the Ministry of Health gave its consent to set up the Endocrinology Department with 30 beds and, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Marian Bistriceanu, the first Endocrinology Clinic was established within the Emergency County Clinical Hospital in Craiova (since 1990), which, in 2018, became the Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic within the Filantropia Municipal Clinical Hospital, where it has 35 beds.
From 1985 until 2011, the Endocrinology discipline was led with dedication by Prof. Marian Bistriceanu. Professor Bistriceanu's scientific concern, his hard work as a scholar and a renowned medical practitioner enabled him to leave behind an impressive professional legacy, a career that began in 1965 and ended 5 decades later. Trained as a scientist in the company of great masters, from whom he learned the rigour of method, the spirit of objective research, without prejudices and complexes, he played an important role in creating a climate of scientific seriousness in the institutions where he worked. Endowed with an exceptional capacity for work, he imposed and cultivated on his collaborators the rigour of research and the cult of work well done; always setting an example of honesty and morality to those around him.
Professor Bistriceanu passed away on 29.03.2016, but he has always remained in our hearts. We greatly regret his passing into eternity but we rejoice and are grateful to him for his efforts and the rich legacy he left behind. Alongside Professor Bistriceanu, three other teachers worked in the Endocrinology Department:
- Assistant Professor PhD Mihaela Popescu, Head of the Department since 2005, Associate Professor since 2022 and Head of the Department since 2011,
- Assistant Professor PhD Corina Răducanu-Lichiardopol, Head of works in 2011,
- Assistant Professor PhD Areta Cergă, until her retirement in 2013.
Subsequently the discipline's collective was enlarged by the arrival of:
- Assistant professor PhD Oana-Roxana Pavel (2006), primary endocrinologist
- Assistant professor PhD Ionuț Vasile (2007), primary endocrinologist
The valuable contribution of colleagues from the Ministry of Health network should also be mentioned: Dr. Sorina Comișel, Dr. Cristina Busuioc, Dr. Aurora Covei, Dr. Mihaela Tătaru-Abagiu.
The Endocrinology Discipline/Clinic has benefited from the direct contribution of the Nuclear Medicine Laboratory, the conventional and high-voltage radiotherapy service, the imaging service (echography, computed tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance), topical neuro-physiology and immunology explorations in confirming the clinical diagnosis of endocrine diseases.
Currently, endocrinology education is carried out in the form of lectures and practical works with the students of the 5th year of the Faculty of Medicine, the 4th year of the Faculty of Midwives and Nursing and the 3rd year of the Faculty of Dentistry, both in Romanian and English.
In the last 10 years more than 50 resident physicians have been trained in the Endocrinology Discipline, numerous scientific papers have been published and more than 50 Licentiate Theses have been elaborated, both in the Faculty of Medicine and in the Faculty of Midwives and Nursing.
The Endocrinology Discipline's research concerns are focused on: research in endocrine infertility, evolution of endemic goitre, immunohistochemical study of pituitary tumours, autoimmune endocrinopathy, differentiated therapeutic approach to thyroid tumours (research contract with the Academy of Medical Sciences in collaboration with Clinic I Surgery), osteoporosis (International Clinical Research study - A randomized, open-label, multinational, multicenter study to investigate the impact of the bone marker feedback on adherence to once monthly ibandronate treatment of patients with post-menopausal osteoporosis), child growth and development disorders (PATRO Children study, a multicentre, noninterventional study of the long-term efficacy and safety of Omnitrope® in children requiring growth hormone treatment - 2013-2019), medical genetics and visceral pathology associated with endocrine diseases (grant - Endocrine-metabolic correlates and gene polymorphism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Contract no. 42140 /2008, UEFISCDI, period: 2008-2012).
Regardless of the particularities of the study, the patient was fully assessed (clinically, paraclinically and functionally), the research always being carried out in a multidisciplinary team.
In 2020-2021 humanity lived the drama of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time a lot of information had to be assimilated quickly, influencing every aspect of every person's daily life. The scientific and educational community has been marked by this major lesson of continuous adaptation, of improvement, of never giving up. This was reflected not only in the beautiful way the medical community responded (including residents and student volunteers, etc.), but also in the way the educational process continued under these circumstances. Thus, it became apparent that we need new models of learning, new models of interactions, an update of the teaching process, with online platforms being essential for networking, for the dissemination and exchange of medical information.
The Endocrinology clinical team has improved its teaching practice by adopting new skills and updated methods, from traditional lecture notes to e-books, digital models and platforms, e-learning elements such as case collections, use of protocols, webinars, masterclasses, live interventions, etc. Research work in this area has been materialized through the grant Evaluation of neuroendocrine effects of stress on a school population during the Covid-19 pandemic - Contract no.26/8C/23.06.2021
At the national level, through the project Increasing the professional competence of medical specialists in the implementation of national programmes in the field of Endocrinology and Diabetes - ENDODIAB, SMIS code 107996, Human Capital Operational Programme (POCU),2023, in collaboration with the National Institute of Endocrinology CI Parhon Bucharest, the Endocrinology Clinic of UMF Craiova has contributed to the implementation of a complex healthcare programme, whose fundamental objective has always been to maintain and increase the quality of life.