Loyola University Medical Center

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

MacNeal Hospital

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Clinical Rotations & Training

Clinical Rotations

"4+2" System

Rotations are scheduled into cyclic six-week chunks, four weeks of which are spent on a service. One of the remaining two weeks is a week dedicated to the outpatient experience (continuity clinic and elective subspecialty clinics). The final week becomes either vacation, night float week at Loyola, or an elective week.

This system has afforded several advantages: It has helped provide a more consistent inpatient and elective experience, allows for more dedicated time in the continuity clinic (weeks aren't interrupted by continuity clinic time), helps residents to remain "fresh" by avoiding uninterupted months-after-months of inpatient service, and allows one to experience a broader range of Neurology in the PGY2 year.

PGY2 year is spent mostly on inpatient services at Loyola or at Hines VA. PGY3 and PGY4 years come with increased autonomy, increased elective time, more leadership opportunities, and relatively less call.

Two Clinical Rotation Sites

Loyola University Medical Center and Hines VA Hospital

Loyola University Medical Center has 547 beds, over 20,000 admissions annually, and nearly 50,000 emergency department visits annually.

Hines Veterans Hospital is among the largest veterans medical centers in the nation, with 485 beds and an expansive campus. It has nearly 10,000 admissions annually and over 25,000 emergency department visits annually.

The two large campuses are adjacent to one another. In the above photo, the Loyola campus can be seen in the foreground and the Hines VA campus in the background. All areas are within walking distance of each other.

Our Services Managed by Our Residents

  • Loyola Stroke (Vascular) Service
  • Loyola General Neurology Service
  • Loyola Neuro-ICU Service
  • Loyola Pediatric Neurology Service
  • Loyola EEG/EMG Service
  • Hines VAH Neurology Inpatient Service
  • Hines VAH Neurology Consultation Service

Continuity Clinic

The "4+2" scheduling system allows us to dedicate every sixth week to the outpatient setting. Every PGY2-PGY4 resident has his or her own continuity clinic at both Loyola and Hines VA. There are several half-days during clinic week that are spent in elective subspecialty clinics and at "Friday school."

Elective Opportunities

Elective rotations include: Cerebrovascular Disease, Endovascular Neurology, Neuromuscular/EMG, Epilepsy/EEG, Headache, Multiple Sclerosis, Sleep Medicine, Neurocritical Care, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery for the Neurologist, Movement Disorders, Neuropsychiatry, Neuropathology and Neuroradiology.

On Call

We use a night float system at Loyola - a resident covers the hospital from 5pm-6am in weeklong chunks (with Friday nights off). At Hines VA we have a traditional call structure with a frequency that varies depending on what rotation a given resident is on. There is typically no call at either hospital during a resident's clinic week. We strictly adhere to duty hour restrictions. All PGY2-PGY4 residents take their share of call, though the system is graduated so that more-senior residents take relatively less.

Sample Resident Schedule

See a sample schedule