Dr. Derek Klaus spoke to Wadsworth High School students about his career in orthopedic surgery on Thursday, October 12.
His visit was part of the Career Speaker Series, which was started by the Guidance Department to introduce students to different careers. Klaus is one of several professionals who have been invited to come to WHS and talk to students about their jobs.
Klaus graduated from WHS in 2001. As a high school student, he did not know what career he wanted to pursue. Klaus was introduced to orthopedic surgery after having several surgeries himself.
“I met my orthopedic surgeon through that process,” Klaus said. “I thought, ‘This is kind of cool,’ so I asked if I could shadow him. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but it was that one interaction that kick-started the interest.”
After high school, Klaus attended Ashland University and majored in biology. He then went to medical school at the University of Toledo. After medical school, Klaus completed five years of residency for orthopedic surgery.
“It sounds kind of crazy because it is,” Klaus said. “It’s a lot of school, a lot of training.”
Klaus currently works at Summa Health in Akron. He specializes in surgeries involving the hand, wrist, and shoulder. Klaus has had to perform a wide variety of surgeries throughout his time as an orthopedic surgeon.
“The most complex surgery I did was I put a thumb back on someone,” Klaus said. “It was a young, Amish guy who was working and had a table saw go through the base of his thumb. Putting the thumb back on—because I had to do it twice—took eighteen hours. That was the longest and probably the toughest case I’ve ever done.”
Klaus was accompanied by Alex Schmuker, who is in his fifth and final year of residency for orthopedic surgery. Schmuker assists with surgeries in preparation for doing them himself once he completes his residency.
The first surgery Schmuker performed as a resident was for a hip fracture.
“As we get older, our bones get to be not as strong,” Schmuker said. “Basically, to fix [the hip] we put it back in place. We put a rod down the canal of the bone, and then so that the rod doesn’t spin, we put screws through the rod up into the hip to hold things in place.”
Although surgeons perform certain surgeries many times, a case may be different from one patient to another. Much of a surgeon’s job revolves around their ability to problem-solve.
“We’re kind of like technicians,” Klaus said. “We like to have a problem and fix it.”
Klaus relies on his knowledge and experiences to guide him through the high-risk situations his job requires.
“Every time I operate I’m very aware of what I’m doing,” Klaus said. “I’m not scared anymore, because I’ve done it all, and I’ve done it all several times. It takes a long time to get to that point.”
The next career speaker will be at WHS on October 26.
