Program Training, Rotations and Research
Resident Surgical Training
The Residency Program in Orthopaedic Surgery at Loyola Medical Center follows the standards established by the ACGME for Orthopaedic surgical training. Surgical logs of all operative experience PGY-2 – PGY-5 must report operative procedures and manipulations for which they were resident surgeons or assistants. Procedures which residents observe should not be reported.
Your user ID is the same as your e-mail and network sign-on. The password is your SSN. Please sign on and change your password. A Resident’s Manual for the ACGME software is included at the end of this document.
The quarterly reports are printed remotely and maintained by the department in your file. All operative experience is monitored and reviewed by the Program Director for substance, volume and other essentials.
It is the responsibility of each resident to enter a log of all surgical cases at the conclusion of each rotation.
Successful completion of each clinical rotation requires:
- Acceptable log for that period
- Resident evaluation of faculty member
- Faculty evaluation of resident’s achievements of rotation goals and objectives
Typical PGY-1 Rotation
Scheduled by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
- Six months of Orthopaedic Surgery:
- Hines VA Service (two months)
- Sports Ortho (one month)
- Ortho Trauma/Consults (two months)
- Peds/Sports (one month)
- ER (one month)
- Surgical Skills/Research (one month)
- Radiology, Rehab & Rheumatology (one month)
Scheduled by the Department of Surgery:
- Plastic Surgery (one month)
- General Surgery (two months)
Resident Research Experience
Ongoing research is medicine's guarantee of continuing improvement of care and teaching residents to appreciate and deal successfully with the implications of research should be a prime objective of the residency program. It is difficult, yet extraordinarily important for residents to learn to set aside time to develop interest and skill in evaluating new information and in the process, broaden their understanding of the biological basis of the practice of medicine.
The department’s commitment to research for residents/faculty is demonstrated by the residency’s required six-month research rotation. The resident research activity during PGY-3 is a program requirement and is supported through Research and Education funds of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. The extramural funding base of each lab and the faculty principal investigators also funds most, if not all, resident research. Residents are also encouraged to write extramural grant proposals for additional funding, particularly for continuation of an existing project. Each research lab also has technical support personnel who become involved in support of the resident’s research efforts under the guidance of the lab Director.
Research Facilities
The Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory offers a unique environment where clinicians can interact with biomechanical engineers to address interesting research problems related to musculoskeletal disorders. The laboratory is directed by Avinash G. Patwardhan, Ph.D., and employs two full-time engineers (Robert Havey, B.S. and Mark Sartori, B.S.) with training and experience in the biomechanics area. In addition, faculty and students from the engineering schools in the Chicago area actively participate in collaborative research projects in the Biomechanics Laboratory.
The Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory occupies an area of over 1,000 square feet, and includes the following equipment:
- seven deep freezers with a total storage capacity of over 150 cubic feet for specimen storage
- Instron Model 1122 material testing machine (500 Kg capacity) with attachments for stress and strain measurements
- MTS mini-bionix biaxial testing machine, a low-speed bone saw (Isomet Model 11-1180, Buehler)
- test fixtures for conducting experimental studies on spinal segments
- two optoelectronic systems (Optotrak and Watsmart) with infrared cameras and infrared light emitting diodes to measure 3D motion
- AMTI six-component load cells
- strain gauges, precision LVDT's, and Kaman eddy current transducers for micromotion measurements
- Polycut E Microtome (Reichert-Jung) for histological specimen preparation
- JVC b/w high resolution video camera (model TK-N10) with a Unitron zoom lens (1:6.5 with 2x magnifier ring), an optical microscope (Nikon Optiphot), and an image processing system and software (VIDEO IMAGE 1000) for quantitative morphometric analysis
- IBM PCs, and 16-channel analog-to-digital converters (Data Translation and Keithley) and statistical software for data acquisition, storage and analysis.
Other support areas include a machine shop and an electronics laboratory. These support facilities are staffed and have the necessary equipment to fabricate components needed to carry out laboratory research. In addition, the Animal Research Facilities at VA Hines and LUSSM can be utilized for conducting IACUC approved experimental protocols.
Research Staff
Members of the faculty serve as mentors for the Resident’s research project. It is customary that both a basic science and a clinical faculty member together serve as the co-sponsors of each investigation. In addition, the non-faculty research staff members in the respective laboratories interact regularly with the residents and faculty throughout the course of the research project. The directors of the department’s research laboratories and their staff include:
Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory
- Avinash Patwardhan, PhD
Professor and Director
- Mark Sartori
Biomechanical Engineer
- Robert Havey
Biomedical Engineer
Molecular And Cellular Bone Biology Laboratory
- John Callaci, PhD
Assistant Professor and Director
Additional Members of the Department’s Research Committee who interact with the residents and supervise their progress during the research rotation are:
- Michael Bednar, MD
Hand Surgery
- Alexander Ghanayem, MD
Spine Surgery
- Michael Pinzur, MD
Adult Ortho and Rehab, Foot & Ankle Surgery