Example of a creative/innovative person who took a risk.
- First Female Neurosurgeon
- Grew up during World War I and served as a doctor during World War II
- Decided to follow her family line of doctors
- Performed her first brain surgery after her mentor got his hand injured (supervised)
- Had high positions within her career
- Sacrificed a lot for her career
I have attached my Creative Individual paper if anyone is interested in reading more about her and the research I did on her.
Sofia Ionescu
Sofia Ionescu, First Female Neurosurgeon in the World. Born in April 25, 1920, Fălticeni, Romania. Her schooling consisting of Secondary School Ion Irimescu 1937, Colegiul Național "Școala Centrală" 1937–1939, and Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy 1939–1945.
As stated above Sofia Lonescu was born in Fălticeni which is a small city located in the north east of a struggling Romania. In the year 1920, a time when the First World War was approaching. Sofia's story begins with her father who’s wishes were for her to become an educated young Woman, who would know how to sing, speak several languages fluently, and bear children. However, Sofia knew she wanted more from her life and decided to pursue the medical field and become a doctor like many in her family. After attending the Girls' Gymnasium in Fălticeni, she transferred to Bucharest to the “Maria Brâncoveanu” Girls' School, where she could apply to study medicine in the capital city. Where she would attend the Faculty of Human Medicine of Bucharest between 1939 and 1945. Which provided the opportunity to study under great figures of medicine such as Francisc Rainer (anatomy), George Emil Palade (cell biology), Oscar Sager and Arthur Kreindler (neurology), Nicolae Cajal (pathology), Daniel Danielopolu (pathophysiology), Alfred Rusescu (pediatrics), and Iacob Iacobovici (surgery).
The beginning of her career in the clinic was heavily influenced by the Second World War as casualties filled the beds of every hospital and required all available individuals. The continuation of her career involved spending her summer doing an internship in the Neurosurgical unit of the “Central Hospital for mental, nervous and endocrine diseases” in Bucharest in 1943. This specific occasion was also the beginning with “the golden neurosurgical team” led by Professor Dimitrie Bagdasar, the founder of the Romanian Neurosurgical School, alongside his disciples Dr. Constantin Arseni and Dr. Ionel Ionescu, who would later become Sofia's husband.
Sofia states that an impactful person in her life was Professor Dimitrie Bagdasar who was a Neurology specialist that established Neurosurgery as its own individual/independent branch of medicine in southeastern Europe after training in Professor Harvey Cushing’s clinic in Boston at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital between 1927 and 1929. The reason as to why he is such an influential individual in Sofia’s life is because Professor D. Bagdasar was unable to operate due to a wound on one of his fingers which led Sofia to perform her First supervised surgery, saving the life of an 8 - year old comatose boy who had an extradural intracranial hematoma that nobody would operate on. This in Sofia’s eyes was the start of her career in Neurosurgery and would change her future completely.
Although she would have to overcome obstacles in her life to be successful. After her graduation in 1945 she would go on to marry Dr. Ionel Ionsecu, and they would go on to devote 7 years living in the hospital and no rest leave for more than 15 years. Sofia only had one month for maternity leave after her second daughter was born and was to operate the day before she would give birth to her first child. Sofia would state herself that her children did not have a mother since she was always tired or working extra hours to be able to supplement the family's income. Let’s not forget that the beginning of her career was during the Second World War and a time period where Women were still fighting for equality which are challenges she also had to face and overcome to reach her success as she had to prove herself to reach her success and continue to prove herself even after becoming an established Neurosurgeon as other individual didn’t believe a Woman could be at the forefront of Neurosurgery. Even then debates arose as to whether Sofia truly was the First Woman in the world to perform brain surgery and become the First Neurosurgeon although it has been proven she was.
In 1954 Sofia became a specialist Neurosurgeon and would spend 25 years as chief of the Cerebral Tumor Department and 22 years as chief of the Spinal Pathology Department. Dr. Sofia Ionescu would go on to teach while alway coming up with creative solutions to ongoing challenges, and finding time to research and publish articles to the extent of two or three articles per year in her country and abroad as soon as she got her primary physician diploma and even after her retirement. A perfect example that demonstrates her creative process and her unique techniques was when she had read about a drainage system imagined by a Norwegian scientist when she was trying to release the pressure caused by a blockage in the ventricular system. She took the risk and performed a premiere surgery because a nurse walked by with a tray of Foley catheters and she felt encouraged. She carved a groove in the bone, fixing the catheter between the cerebral hemispheres and the meningeal sheath. The patient ended up living.
Near the end of Sofia’s career she was acknowledged as the First female Neurosurgeon during the 13th World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Congress (WFNS) in 2005 and was awarded the Order of the Star of Romania along with many other awards. Sadly Sofia passed away on March 21 of 2008 at the age of 88 in Bucharest, Romania.
The reason why I chose to research the Sofia creative process is because I myself want to be a Neurosurgeon and learning about the First Woman who performed brain surgery and became a Neurosurgeon is inspirational and motivating for me as a current student. Learning about her story also put a lot into perspective for me and made me aware that it is okay to take risks and fight for what you want. Sofia worked so hard and put so much effort into her career to further the field of Neurosurgery and sacrificed so much of her life. In my eyes Sofia is a very powerful role model as an Individual, Doctor, Neurosurgeon, and Woman. Reading and researching about her story only made me want to be like her and be even better one day. Learning about Sofia also showed me how much I have in common with her and how if she was able to achieve what she did then so can I. I also enjoyed learning about how some of her creative/unique techniques spawned from as I can implement them in my life as well and in my future career as a Neurosurgeon and hopefully also learn from her mistakes. Knowing what Sofia had to overcome to reach her success in difficult times gives me hope as life is much easier now and I won’t have to deal with the same obstacles/challenges Sofia had to deal with in terms of her gender and World Wars. Learning about Sofia has provided me with energy and clarity to focus back to why I started college in the first place and what my end goals are as well. I enjoy the fact that Sofia and her peers found so much knowledge and information in the medical field and in Neurology in specific and that they all created a legacy from their devotion and dedication to their careers and the field of Medicine/Neurology/Neurosurgery. I hope to find more information that can further our knowledge on the brain as an organ and further surgical techniques in my own unique way as Sofia did and find inspiration in everything surrounding me, leaving my own legacy. Professor Dimitrie Bagdasar's last words to Sofia and other colleagues was to not let Neurology/Neurosurgery as an independent branch die and to not stop researching and furthering the knowledge of the brain/surgical techniques etc. Sofia kept those promises and it has been passed on and continued since then and is something I hope to continue one day as well.
Describing a time I took a risk. How I overcame feelings of inadequacy, fear, and/or vulnerability. Also What I learned from the experience.
- A risk I took was moving out to Colorado at 17 for college
- I had never seen the CU Denver Campus before or my apartment which I had signed a 12 month lease for
- No form of transportation and two suitcases
- Not enough money
- Although I was excited I was scared of the unknown but in this situation I did embrace it
- Luckily enough my apartment is great consisting of having my own room and bathroom, sharing a kitchen, living room, amenities and balcony. Great roommates, pool, club house, bonfire, study areas, grass area, and more. Walking distance of CU and affordable.
- CU Denver is a great school and a beautiful campus and I picked great classes for my first semester
- Soon after I got two jobs focusing on my majors and future career that pay great and where I enjoy working
- I have made great friends
- What I learned from this experience is how great everything ended up being after taking the risk even with complications throughout I can't deny I have had a good experience overall
