‘MUSCATINE, Iowa – Dr. Cory Christiansen of Muscatine loves his job.

“It is an honor and a privilege,” Christiansen said of his recent move back to eastern Iowa from a residency in New Zealand. “I couldn’t ask for a better job.”

Christiansen recently returned to the area as the new orthopedic surgeon at Steindler Orthopedic Clinic in Iowa City, where he serves Iowa City and Muscatine residents.

He’s always liked science and particularly biology, he said, so in high school he       decided to go the route of a  physician.

“College brought it with a host of opportunities for volunteer work and employment that I was fortunate enough to get involved with,” he said. “This exposed me to multiple areas of medicine and hospital life, further affirming my pursuit of a medical career.”

— Erin Tiesman                                              for the Muscatine Journal

Personal

Name: Cory G. Christiansen

Age: 32

Family: Wife, Erin Payne-Christiansen

Hometown: Muscatine

Profession: Orthopedic surgeon at the Steindler Orthopedic Clinic in Iowa City.

Q&A

How has the study of medicine affected your life? Has it made lasting impressions?

There is no doubt that being a physician changes you, for better or worse. As an orthopedic surgeon, I have helped many accident victims so I am much less of a risk-taker these days. The motorcycles have been sold, there are fewer speeding tickets and I didn’t even bungee jump in a world of bungee jumping, New Zealand.

Not only has medicine changed the way I live, but it also has changed the way I think. I used to be very anxious. When you see patients’ problems firsthand and then work with them to get through it, your perspective on life changes dramatically.

You spent time in New Zealand on a fellowship. What was that experience like, and what did you gain from it?

I had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of incredible, skilled surgeons in an entirely different health care system. Their approaches to problems were different from those I had learned but were equally effective, thus diversifying my management of orthopedic problems.

In addition to medicine, we tried to immerse ourselves in the local culture. We took language classes in Maori, the native language; explored native flora and fauna; visited many historic and 

                                                                            sacred sites about the islands and befriended a host of New Zealanders (or Kiwis) who will remain lifelong friends. It was an experience of a lifetime.

What made you return to the area:

My wife and I grew up in Muscatine and have spent a majority of our lives in Iowa. Our family and friends are here who we dearly love. Additionally, we have grown to love the things that living in Iowa brings —spring time walks in the woods, summer canoe trips with family and friends, picking orchard apples in the fall and wading through knee-high snow to cut that perfect Christmas tree. The list of things we’d miss if we were anywhere else is endless.

Do you have any long-term goals or places you’d like to practice someday?

My long-term goals include building a practice in eastern Iowa and staying here a long time to watch it grow. I would like to get involved with orthopedic missions to under-served parts of the world.