The PGY-1 orthopedic residency year is divided into 13, four week blocks. Six months are spent on the orthopedic services at UIC and Lutheran, and one month is spent working with our PM&R doctors while also spending time mastering splint and cast applications in our cast room at University of Illinois Hospital. The remaining six are spent on the off-service rotations of Anesthesia, General Surgery Trauma, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Radiology, Plastic Surgery. One month is designated a vacation month.

The PGY-2 through PGY-5 years​ are divided in to seven, seven to eight week blocks spent entirely on orthopedic services between our five hospital sites. Approximately 30% of rotations are spent on a Trauma service, 15% on Adult Reconstruction, and the remainder split evenly between other subspecialties. An example schedule is on the right.

• Sample resident schedule PDF (179KB)

Our UIC Orthopedic Residency departmental conference is held every Wednesday from 6:00-10:00 am with a light breakfast that is provided. The time is protected for residents from clinical duties. The academic curriculum consists of lectures (50% attending/50% resident), workshops, and cadaver dissection. The curriculum is divided into a pre-OITE curriculum and post-OITE curriculum.

Pre-OITE Curriculum

With the beginning of each academic year, both high-yield OITE topics (taken from the top 50 list of most tested OITE subjects) and clinically relevant topics and anatomy are covered. High-yield clinical topics are covered to catch interns up to speed on pathology they will most likely encounter. Each conference has a subspecialty that is focused on. Integrated into the weekly conference is a weekly fracture conference and journal club. During fracture conference, residents present interesting/complex fractures from the various sites in conjunction with how it was managed in a systemic fashion while focusing on AO principles. Each week we present a journal club article relevant to a topic covered during conference.

• 6:00 am – Pediatric Elbow Fractures (Resident)
• 6:30 am – How To Series: Traction Pin Placement (Resident)
• 7:00 am – PCL/Multi-ligament knee injuries (Attending)
• 8:00 am – Ankle Fractures (Attending)

Post-OITE Curriculum

After the OITE, we switch to anatomic based modules. Each module is 4-5 weeks in length. At the start of each module, physical exam, anatomy, surgical approaches relevant to that anatomic region is covered. This is followed by a review of various radiographic modalities and cadaver dissection. The higher yield topics are covered on a yearly base and other are covered on an alternating year basis. Each module covers topics within the various subspecialty that pertain to anatomic region (Adult Reconstruction, Trauma, Pediatrics, etc). At the end of each module, we have journal club where we aim to answer a clinical question. We will also focus on a “How-To” series focusing on practical education and how to perform basic orthopedic procedures and the most common surgeries encountered. All necessary steps including equipment, retractors, positioning, etc. will be discussed.

In addition to our weekly residency department wide didactics on Wednesday mornings at UIC, each site has their own didactic schedule for the residents who are on those rotations

• University of Illinois Hospital
  • Monday 6:00 – 6:30 AM – Arthroplasty Journal Club
  • 6:30 – 7:00 AM – Indications Conference
  • 7:00 – 7:30 AM – Sports Medicine Journal Club
• ​Advocate Christ Hospital
  • Daily 6:00 – 6:30 AM – Intake Rounds
  • Friday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Fracture Conference
• ​Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
  • Monday 6:30 – 7:30 AM – Fracture Conference
  • Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Attending Lecture
• ​Shriners Hospital for Children
  • Monday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Indications Conference
  • Tuesday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Spine Conference
  • Wednesday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Attending Lectures
  • Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Attending Lectures
  • Friday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Grand Rounds
  • 8:00 – 8:30 AM – Gait Lab
• Northshore Hospital
  • Monday 6:30 – 7:30 AM – Hand Conference
  • 7:30 – 8:30 AM – Sports Skills Lab (q2 week)
  • Tuesday 6:30 – 7:30 AM – Grand Rounds
  • Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Pediatric Lectures
  • Friday 7:00 – 8:00 AM – Case Presentations
  • 8:00 – 9:00 AM – Knot Tying Lab (q2 week)
• ​Northshore Grand Rounds Schedule
  • 1st – Ortho/Neuro Spine Conference
  • 2nd – Sports Subspecialty Conference
  • 3rd – Foot-Ankle Subspecialty Conference
  • 4th – Morbidity/Mortality Conference
• Northshore Case Presentation Schedule
  • 1st – Fracture Conference vs. Trauma Skills Lab
  • 2nd – Fracture Conference vs. Trauma Skills Lab
  • 3rd – Fracture Conference vs. Trauma Skills Lab
  • 4th – Grand Rounds

Before intern year starts, all of our interns participate in multiple skills sessions to help prepare them for the challenges of orthopedic residency. This past year the sessions included a splint and cast session with our head cast tech at UIC (who was nearly 40 years of experience, was the director of the of the Orthopedic Technician Training program for over 20 years, has written the textbook on proper splint and application, and was inducted into the Honor Society of the National Association of Orthopaedic Technologists), suture technique and skills session, x-ray reading, and multiple physical examination sessions with our sports, hand, foot and ankle, and physiatry attendings.

Each year the department funds residents are funded to go to multiple courses (list below). Additionally, being in Chicago we are near the headquarters for multiple companies that put on sponsored courses that we can take advantage of. Some of the ones our residents attended this year included: Smith and Nephew Shoulder and Knee Arthroscopy Course, Stryker Mako Cadaver Course, Innotek Complex Spine Symposium, Acumed Shoulder Elbow Course, and a Synthes Trauma Lab.

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• PGY I
  • Chicago Orthopedic Symposium
• PGY-II
  • Chicago Orthopedic Symposium
  • AO Basic Course
• PGY-III
  • Chicago Orthopedic Symposium
  • UIH Microsurgery Course
  • AANA Basic Arthroscopy Course at Orthopedic Learning Center
• PGY-IV
  • Chicago Orthopedic Symposium
  • AO Advanced Course
• PGY-V
  • Chicago Orthopedic Symposium
  • AAOS Annual Meeting
  • Pathology & Oncology Course – Dr. Simon
  • Orthopedic Board Review Course

Interns participate in the ABOS first year skills modules. These provide dedicated and protected teaching sessions with the program director that emphasize foundational skills necessary for a successful career in orthopedics. Sessions focus on developing fundamental skills using simulation including but not limited to knot tying, microsurgery, dissection, sterile draping techniques, measuring compartment pressuresetc.