Program Review
Staff / Faculty / Chairman
Dr. Light is the chairman and he is a nationally known hand guy. He's very nice and approachable. The trauma guys knew their stuff and made sure the residents did as well during fracture rounds in the AM. Dr. Pinzur is their foot/ankle surgeon and he is probably the best out of the entire group. He gives residents great autonomy and really knows his stuff. Hopkinson is the PD who's also a military guy and is wonderful to work with. He gives the residents great autonomy and is really nice.
Didactics / Teaching
Both faculty and residents are involved. These are probably average. The residents are frequently put on the spot, which I think forces them to learn the material beforehand. Personally, I like that, but others probably will not.
Operating Experience
Excellent on Hand, Foot/ankle, and joints. Sports is probably average to slightly below average. Trauma varies with the attending you're with. Summers is a Harborview trained surgeon who gives great autonomy while Stover does not. Stover, however, does more complex hip cases and gets referrals from other Ortho programs in Chicago. Overall, the operative experience is probably average.
Clinic Experience
They did a few days of clinic per week. Residents saw patients and presented to the attendings so the autonomy was excellent. I think it was an appropriate amount of clinic.
Research Opportunities
Research is limited to spine per one of the faculty I interviewed with at the end of the month.
Residents
They are a wonderful group of guys and gals. It is a female friendly program. They get along really well both inside and outside the hospital.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is probably about average. They work harder than Rush/NW/U of C, but I'm not sure about UIC. They have a nightfloat system which makes it easier on the residents overall. When on call, they also have to cover the VA which is within walking distance of the main hospital.
Location / Housing
The hospital is in Maywood which isn't the safest place to live. Most of the residents commute from other suburbs that are more family friendly. The hospital is nice and it is only about 20 minutes from downtown with minimal traffic. It's a level 1 trauma center so residents get a good experience of blunt and penetrating trauma.
Limitations
They need to add more faculty in a few of their sub-specialties--namely spine and foot/ankle. Also, although Loyola is a level 1 trauma center, the residents did not get much autonomy in the OR while on this service. I met another medical student on the interview trail who agreed with my assessment of their trauma service. They can also expand their research opportunities.
Overall Rotation Experience / Conclusion
Loyola is an average Orthopedic program that is not very academic in nature. If you feel that you want a program with great residents, minimal research requirements, and excellent training in hand and foot/ankle, look at this program. They have good fellowship placement too.
