Dr. Alexandru Burducea is the operator of a private practice in pain management and anesthesiology. He sees patients with chronic pain, be it spine pain, people with cancer. He uses a non-surgical approach with injections for that pain, which is an advanced treatment for pain management.

Dr. B, as he is referred to, received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of New York, at Stony Brook, followed by attending New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. A transitional rotating internship was completed at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, NY. Dr. B fulfilled his residency in anesthesiology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. His pain management fellowship was at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

Building a business which provides patients high quality care in New York City, means that Dr. Alexandru Burducea works a lot, and is kept very busy. He has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach to pain management. If somebody has pain, he treats it with multiple therapy sessions such as acupuncture, physical therapy and injections for the best possible care.

Dr. B is married, and he and his wife, Danielle have two boys. Family time is one thing that Dr. Alexandru Burducea really enjoys. 

Why did you choose to become a doctor?

My passion for medicine developed as I was raised by my grandmother in Romania, from birth to age 5. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1982 and unfortunately, at that time there was no sort of treatment. I always saw her suffering with the pain and that has stuck with me. With this passion for pain management, I believed that I could make a difference in the community to help people who are going through what my grandmother did.

This experience helped me make the decision to go into the medical field to treat patients who suffer. I believe I made the right decision to go into pain management, the fact that I can help those to receive treatment that my grandmother didn’t, it has made me a very passionate physician. I do whatever I can to help my patients and treat them all like family.

What area do you specialize in?

I am bored certified in both Pain Management and Anesthesiology.

What is your daily routine?

My days are very busy and hectic but that’s why I love my job. I always keep myself organized to ensure that I am on top of everything and can make time for my family. I usually wake up early, around 5:00, work out for an hour at home. I am always the first one in the office and I begin by opening the procedure room and getting things ready. I review my patients’ chart to get an idea for their history and continue to work until lunch.

I work part-time in Manhattan, so those days are usually very different as I see patients with chronic pain, back pain and cancer pain. I review MRIs, CAT scans, perform injections and develop a multi-disciplinary plan to help manage their pain.

In the afternoon, I pick up my sons from school and day care then I come home and spend time with my family. We try to have a family dinner every night and prepare the kids for bed together. It is very important that with my busy schedule, that I continue to make time for family.

What do you love about your job?

I have patients that come into my office who are crying because of the intense pain they are suffering from, once my treatments start and after a couple of days or weeks, I see them improving. Their pain is finally controlled, and their quality of life improves. That makes me very happy and is such a high level of satisfaction with my job. I feel very fulfilled to see that they are finally pain free and it probably what I love most about my job.

What would you consider to be the greatest accomplishment in your career?

During my 9 years at Mount Sinai Hospital, I worked as an assistant professor for nine years and got to experience those years with medical students and residents. Being able to pass on my knowledge and watch them grow was a very satisfying moment in my career.

Another accomplishment that will never get old is receiving thank you letters from my patients. I have seen letters sent to the CEO of the hospital talking about the work that I have done and how I have made a difference in someone’s life.

Tell our readers about some of your volunteer activities.

I do some work with an organization called Oasis, established by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, where I do counseling in the Bronx. I counsel patients who are smokers and drug abusers, and we come up with a plan to help them. I go once a week for four hours. I’ve been seeing good results, especially with those that have a lot of problems with substance abuse. That’s one of the things I love doing.

I’m also involved with Feeding America, where we donate money for kids and people who cannot afford basic food. I am also a member of the Central Park Conservatory and the New York Medical Society for the past two years. I also volunteer at the church.

What do you do in order to mentally separate yourself from your job?

Most importantly I like to stay active, I try for every morning, if not, in the afternoon. I may be stressed out when I go in to the gym, but things are better when I’m done. I spend a lot of time with my sons, reading a lot of books, which separates me from my adult life. One thing I love most about it is the opportunity to feel like a kid when I do that. I also read articles about pain management every night before I go to sleep. I look online for any new information or articles in the field. That helps me separate from my work, believe it or not.

I love to play soccer and have done so for many years. In New York we do have to wait for when the weather permits, but once we are able to my friends and my bother always make sure we can fit a game into our schedule. I like to play tennis and help within my community such a New York Cares, City Harvest and Reading Partners NYC.

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