Consultant PD Dr Annelie Weinberg is one of the first women who has found her way into the male-dominated specialist field of trauma surgery. She researches better surgical techniques and implants for children and is a vocal supporter of the dignity of young patients in hospital.

“Surgery is a craft, similar to sculpture”, says Annelie Weinberg. What you need is three-dimensional imagination, a sense of touch and aesthetics. At times also a lot of physical strength – with regard to this, Annelie Weinberg can count on the help of her male colleagues. Women in trauma surgery are still the exception. In the entire German-speaking world only a handful of highly-qualified female experts have succeeded in finding their way into this prestigious male domain. That makes Weinberg a pioneer in more than one sense: not only is she Germany’s first female trauma surgeon qualified as a university lecturer but as yet also the only woman to have written textbooks pointing the way in the field of trauma surgery. At congresses she is usually the only woman to give lectures. A representative position that has its assets and drawbacks: “I am either revered or arouse animosity.”

The top-class physician, who always bluntly says what she thinks, was raised in Constance on Lake Constance and studied in Italy, Cologne and Hanover. As far as her professional career is concerned, the situation has always been extreme for Annelie Weinberg. On the one hand, she received extraordinary support: “From my professor in Hanover, for example, under whom I was the first woman ever to qualify as a university lecturer.” But she also had unpleasant experiences. Annelie Weinberg talks about slander and conspiracies which she was particularly exposed to: “Being all on my tod as the only woman I inadvertently become a projection screen for male desires and aggressions”, she comments soberly. But elderly patients also had to get used to her position. “During my period of training I kept getting asked: ‘When is the doctor coming?’ – ‘Tomorrow’, I used to answer without hesitation. I never let these things get to me.” Annelie Weinberg grew a “thick skin” and was able to recognise opportunities and take them at the right moment. “I specialised in the unpopular outsider field of pediatric trauma surgery. I wasn’t challenged that position by any man”, she summarises her tactics.

Even when Annelie Weinberg had a child and went on maternity leave, she remained active in the medical profession and established a rehabilitation centre adjoining the clinic so as to shorten the children’s in-patient times. She made a lot of money but preferred the more creative work as a surgeon after her maternity leave. The “strong man at my side” was the greatest help in coping with everyday chores: Annelie Weinberg’s partner, a graduate engineer in a managerial position, took responsibility for raising the child and went on half-time paternity leave for one and a half years. While this was still highly unusual in the early 1990s, he met with general approval at his job. He later came to Austria to be with his wife. Since he has been promoted to managing director of his German company, they travel to and fro a lot.

In addition to her everyday work as a surgeon at the Graz University Clinic, Annelie Weinberg devotes herself to basic research in the fields of experimental biomechanics, molecular biology of fracture healing in children and the research focus of resorbable implants, which she will be concentrating on in her Laura Bassi Centre. Children are her favourite patients: “They are honest, listen to their body and are always nice to look at. There are no unaesthetic children.” Over the years, Annelie Weinberg has picked up basic rules for communicating with children. It’s important to use images, and to always ask for permission before you touch a child. Honesty is a prerequisite, because children easily lose trust: “When a treatment is painful, you have to clearly say so beforehand.” Annelie Weinberg has achieved a lot, taking into account the difficult circumstances she has been faced with in the course of her career so far. Her success strategy in a field dominated by men: “Carry on and prove your competence – perseverance pays in the end. Doing excellent research that is honest and ethical will take you furthest. But I’m afraid that it will take another decade for the male-dominated world of medicine to get accustomed to women in leading positions.”

Portrait: Teresa Arrieta