Dr. Anette Piork on her choice of career: 'Surgery is very demanding, but very rewarding!'

Laurence Dietze, Cooperation Coordinator, medical student,
RSU International Department

Dr. Anette Piork is an attending physician in the trauma and orthopaedics department at Elbe Klinikum Stade (EKS). In addition to her clinical work, she contributes to the teaching of Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) students, delivering several classes in the orthopaedics course for 7th-semester students and the non-clinical orthopaedics B-course for 10th-semester students.

Could you share a bit about your professional journey and how you arrived at your current role in trauma and orthopaedics?

As I said, I always wanted to work as a trauma surgeon. During my studies I spent time learning and experiencing other fields as well, which were interesting too, but couldn’t sway me from my decision. At first, I worked in another hospital for a few years but they did not have the qualifications to let me complete my education as a specialist in that field. Therefore, I needed to change my place of employment to become a specialist. This was possible at the hospital in Stade where I am still working.

Surgery, and especially trauma and orthopaedics surgery, is often seen as male-dominated specialty. Did you encounter any particular challenges as a woman in this field, and if so, how did you overcome them?

The first problem I encountered as a woman was actually at university. Everyone looks at you weirdly when you tell them that you’d like to work in trauma and orthopaedic surgery. This felt quite discouraging at times, especially when female doctors would ask if you were crazy for working in the profession. I was frequently told ‘You can’t do surgery as a woman!’ Obviously, there are surgical procedures that are more physically challenging for women, like prosthetic surgery for example, but as the field is so diverse it is possible to do the job without performing these procedures, although they are manageable for female doctors too.

For students aspiring to become surgeons, what key advice would you offer to help them succeed in such a demanding field?

Just do it! It is a demanding job, but it’s also very rewarding and if you really want to do it; it is very achievable.

Arthroscopy is a procedure in which you have considerable expertise. Could you explain the basic principles of this technique to those unfamiliar with it?

It’s a keyhole procedure for surgery on joints. It is a less intrusive form of surgery than opening up the whole joint, while still depicting the whole joint via the inserted camera. Therefore, it has less complications and often allows for faster recovery. Most procedures are able to be performed via arthroscopy, be it meniscal repair or tendons refixation. 

What key skills are essential for mastering arthroscopy, and how can students begin to develop them?

A decent grasp of spatial awareness is helpful, but honestly it all comes down to practice. Don’t be discouraged by the first 20 surgeries not going according to plan, it’s pretty normal. Keep going.

Dr. Piork teaching using a knee arthroscopy simulator. Photo: Laurence Dietze

In your experience, what is the best approach to teaching these skills to students during their training?

As I mentioned, it’s important to train these skills. Training on dummies is a good way to practise and I’d encourage everyone to try it should they have the opportunity. 

Finally, as you look to the future, how do you see the field of trauma and orthopaedics evolving, and what excites you most about these developments?

An interesting aspect is certainly the development of new materials as well as instruments and implant designs. More detailed radiological imaging gives the operating doctor better support, which can make surgery easier and ends in better results for the patient. But even if all these improvements are helpful, we always need to keep the biomechanical basics of the human body in mind as there is no technology that can do that for us.

Thank you, Dr. Piork, for sharing your valuable insights and experiences with us —it’s been a pleasure speaking to and working with you.