Overview of the Hand Surgery Fellowship Program
The Hand Surgery Fellowship program, part of Loyola Medicine's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, is a one-year ACGME-accredited program.
Our mission is to provide a year-long comprehensive training program and a life-long mentorship to help the fellow enter into independent practice with a focus on hand and upper extremity surgery.
The fellow is expected to successfully complete the examination leading to a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Hand Surgery and become an active member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.
Our Approach to Fellow Education:
With a close-knit faculty and orthopaedic residency program, the hand fellow has the opportunity to easily integrate into the Hand Surgery team. The educational approach is tailored towards the individual fellow with the first six months spent learning the principles of hand surgery and developing their skill set.
Fellows are given the opportunity to attend a one-week microsurgery training course during this period of time. In the second half of the fellowship, the fellow has increasing independence to design their schedule to compliment areas in which they would like to focus specifically to benefit their future career in hand surgery.
On Wednesday mornings, hand conference is held with hand faculty from Loyola University Medical Center, MacNeal Hospital and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. The curriculum consists of a rotating schedule of case-based learning and journal club as well as hand M&M. The educational curriculum includes a 1:1 session with a faculty member on a weekly basis during which time a specific topic is reviewed, following a yearly syllabus.
Additionally, there are hand based lectures intermittently on Thursday mornings throughout the year, including cadaveric dissections of the hand and upper extremity. The fellow will be encouraged to contribute to the advancement of hand surgery through clinical or laboratory research and will have access to the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Institute- a fully equipped laboratory housed at the Hines VA Hospital.
The fellows are exposed to a wide breadth of pathology through time spent at Loyola's Level 1 Trauma Center, the Hines VA Medical Center and Shriners Children's Chicago. The division of hand surgery is fully integrated, with both plastic and orthopaedic surgeons participating in the education of the hand fellow through didactics, clinical practice and call coverage.
Hand call for the fellow is typically one in three or four at Loyola University Medical Center with a resident covering the emergency department and the fellow available for operative cases. Through this unique exposure and consistent case volume, we feel that our fellows graduate well prepared for their future careers in hand surgery.
Training Sites
The program is designed to provide exposure to hand patients of all ages at four different sites: the Level 1 Trauma Center at Loyola University Medical Center, MacNeal Hospital, Edward Hines Jr., VA Hospital and Shriners Children's Chicago. The fellow is supervised by various Loyola faculty at all sites.
Loyola University Medical Center
At Loyola University Medical Center and it's Level 1 Trauma Center, the fellow is exposed to management of complex upper limb trauma and replantation surgery in addition to reconstructive surgery and peripheral nerve repair.
MacNeal Hospital
MacNeal Hospital is a 374 bed hospital located in Berwyn, IL approximately 20 minutes from the main LUMC campus. At MacNeal, the fellow has the opportunity to rotate with two hand-fellowship trained surgeons, Alex Soneru, MD and Matthew Hall, MD.
Edward Hines Jr., VA Hospital
At the Hines VA Hospital, additional rotations with Loyola's faculty will provide experience in reconstructive hand and wrist surgery.
Shriners Children's Chicago
At Shriners Children's Chicago, the fellow will provide care of complex pediatric patients, with Michael Bednar, MD, and Felicity Fishman, MD. Shriners is located six miles away from Loyola University Medical Center.
