Conferences & Visiting Professors

Conferences
Visiting Professors

Orthopaedic Surgery Conferences

A series of formal educational experiences have been developed to ensure appropriate education for attendings, residents and students. This program uses a wide range of educational formats. Your active participation in these formal education opportunities should be paramount.

It is expected that each resident staff will actively participate in these educational experiences. Senior residents may be asked to present pertinent cases to the department conferences. Each PGY-5 & PGY-4 resident is expected to give one formal grand rounds presentation to their peers each academic year. Many of these sessions are interactive and their success is highly dependent upon active participation by the resident and attending staff.

Resident attendance at conferences is expected. It is expected that clinical responsibilities will be addressed in anticipation of meeting attendance. Emergency patient care needs may on rare occasion necessitate one resident missing a portion of that day’s educational program. Routine patient care, elective surgery or ambulatory care activities are not to be carried out while conferences are in session.

A number of conferences take place on a regular basis:

Fracture Conference

This conference takes place each second, fourth and fifth Wednesday morning. Attendings on the Orthopaedic Trauma Service, lead the Fracture Conference. The specific topic is scheduled and articles should be distributed to residents for review in advance of the conference. All residents should be prepared to discuss cases. Resident attendance is mandatory for those on Loyola Orthopaedic or Hines rotations.

Orthopaedic Sub-Specialty Conference

This conference takes place each third Wednesday morning. Attendings on the designated faculty will lead the Sub-Specialty Forum. The specific topic is scheduled and articles should be distributed to residents for review in advance of the conference. All residents should be prepared to discuss cases.

Spine Conference

On the first Wednesday of every other month (July/Aug, Oct/Nov, Jan/Feb, and April/May only), the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation holds an hour long Spine Conference. Attendings and residents participate in this conference. A presentation by an attending or resident is followed by general discussion of clinical cases.

Sports Conference

On the first Wednesday of every other month (Sept, Dec, March and June only), the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation holds an hour long Sports Conference. Attendings and residents participate in this conference. A presentation by an attending or resident is followed by general discussion of clinical cases.

Hand Journal Club Conference

From 6:30 to 7:30 am Wednesday mornings, Hand Journal Club includes participation by attendings from Orthopaedic Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery residents on the Hand Service and occupational therapists discuss three to five articles from a recent journal. Current clinical cases are also presented. There is a rotating schedule of responsibilities for the conferences between residents, attendings and therapists. This conference is usually attended by between eight and 12 individuals.

Foot and Ankle Conference

From 6:30 to 7:15 am on Thursday mornings, the foot and ankle service meets for a discussion of common foot and ankle conditions. This conference includes an indications review for the upcoming surgical cases, review of foot and ankle pathology and treatment and review of in-training and board-exam style questions. This conference is required for the foot and ankle service, but is open for all of the residents.

Adult Reconstruction Templating Conference

Each week, the adult reconstruction and Hines teams gather at 6:30 am on Friday mornings to review the upcoming week’s adult reconstruction surgical cases. The surgical plan and medical conditions for each patient are presented to the staff and residents. This conference is required for the adult reconstruction service and the VA service. Several industry representatives are in attendance to ensure the desired equipment and implants are available for the surgical cases.

Orthopaedic Grand Rounds

Orthopaedic Grand Rounds are held each Thursday morning from 7:30 to 8:30 am. Each PGY-4 and PGY-5 resident is required to present one curriculum topic each year. This provides a scheduled opportunity for the resident to participate in scholarly activity by performing and presenting a structured literature review. Each full-time faculty member also presents one conference each year. All residents and full-time faculty members attend Grand Rounds sessions.

VA Indications Conference

Twice a rotation the senior resident on the Hines VA service and once during the rotation the senior resident on the Hand Service will present selected cases in a mock Oral Board Examination format. The resident will highlight three cases that they are prepared to present in detail with history, imaging studies, lab results, etc. These highlighted cases are to be presented in the format of an oral boards presentation. As time allows, other cases will be reviewed as well.

Science Core Knowledge

Science Core Knowledge Conferences are held the second Thursday of the month from 9:30 to 10:30 am. The curriculum for these conferences is based upon the AAOS Orthopaedic Basic Science text.

Anatomy/Surgical Skills

Eight anatomy sessions are held each year. These Thursday morning sessions from 9:30 to 11:30 am typically begin with a didactic presentation followed by presentation of cadaveric prosections and cadaveric dissection in the medical school anatomy laboratories. A junior and senior resident prepare prosections for each session.

Research Conference

This one hour monthly conference, held on Thursday morning, focuses on the progress of research projects by the residents currently on the their research rotations. Each of the research residents gives a presentation on the current status and future timeline of their projects. All other residents are expected to give a brief update on their on-going research projects. Residents and faculty are present to offer constructive criticism, advice and guidance.

Orthopaedic Journal Club

This one hour monthly conference, held on Thursday morning, focuses discussion on six or seven recent journal articles. The attending responsible for the month's Journal Club selects articles from a recent Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and from a recent specialty journal of their choice. Residents are assigned articles for discussion. The conference is attended by all residents and by the majority of attendings.

Core Knowledge

This conference is an hour sub-specialty group discussion led by the faculty. This interactive discussion takes place November through June, several times a month. Attendance includes all faculty on service, all residents, students on orthopaedic services and the department chairman.

Morning Trauma Review (Check-Out Rounds)

Each morning all on-call and trauma cases evaluated in the emergency department and for inpatient consultation during the previous 24 hours/weekend are presented and reviewed. This conference will begin at 7:00 am on Mondays and 7:15 am on Thursdays and Fridays.

Quality Improvement Conference

This one-hour monthly conference held on Thursday morning provides a forum for discussion of clinical cases treated at Loyola or Hines in which adverse outcomes occurred. All in hospital and perioperative deaths are reviewed. Ongoing quality improvement activities are discussed. All residents and full-time faculty members are expected to attend this meeting. IHI open school modules with the option to obtain certification in quality and safety is available to all residents online. Certain core modules will be the basis for formal teaching and discussion during designated QI conferences throughout the year.

Chairman's Hour

This one-hour meeting, held on one Thursday morning per month, is an interactive discussion of ethical and practice issues. Attendance includes all residents, the department chairman the program director and the program coordinator. Among recent topics discussed are "The Impaired Surgeon" and "Medico-legal Considerations." This conference also provides a regular forum for resident input regarding educational and clinical issues.