Alumni Testimonials
Your fellowship year is one of the most important years of your training as it is the final bridge to becoming a confident, proficient, and independent surgeon. It is important to find the right fellowship for you. Not only will the education and training during your fellowship year be crucial to your success but so will the lifelong relationships that you develop with your mentors and peers. I found Loyola to be the right fellowship for me as it provided a balance of didactics, clinical experience, operative experience, and family.
The fellowship has a very well-organized didactic curriculum. Weekly journal club includes classic articles which highlight the rich history of hand surgery as well as discussion of the most current articles by the attendings. Weekly one on one sessions with an attending provided a tailored learning experience for the fellow. In addition to attending a one week dedicated microvascular surgery course, as the fellow you also lead a mini microsurgery course for the residents which is very educational for both parties. Quarterly Chicago hand society meetings were also made available to the fellow which allowed me to meet hand fellows of neighboring programs as well as develop a professional network.
The operative experience was excellent. A good balance between trauma, microsurgery, elective surgeries, and pediatrics could be found between Loyola main, VA, and Shriners. Each attending has specific interests within hand surgery including tendon transfers, congenital hand, brachial plexus, peripheral nerve, and plastics which provides a well-rounded experience. Though the thought of being the only fellow can seem isolating, the attendings treat the fellow as colleagues and are always available. Also being the only fellow means you have your first choice in cases. Not only was the Hand Surgery team very welcoming, but I was also invited by the Trauma and Sports attendings to participate on cases I was interested in.
On the clinical side the fellows time is very valued. Rounding is typically performed by residents. In the majority of clinics the attendings dictate their own notes allowing for more face time with patients for the fellow. The VA provides a unique opportunity to run a fellows clinic with as much or as little supervision as the fellow is comfortable with. The Shrine exposes the fellow to pathology many hand physicians would never see in a lifetime of practice. Though the congenital pathologies are rare, the principles of treatment can be broadly applied to the field of hand surgery.
Most important of all was the culture at Loyola. I was welcomed with open arms by attendings, residents, and staff. I attended Chicago Blackhawk games with Dr. Light. I also had the opportunity to travel with Dr. Light to Vietnam to operate and present to the orthopaedic residents in Vietnam. Dr. Agnew and Fishman hosted a barbecue after a Spartan Race (Dr. Agnew and Dr. Schiffman represented the hand service). I attended resident/attending pickup basketball games as well as resident gatherings. Chicago is an amazing city with beautiful summers, amazing food, and endless things to do. I lived in the city and had ample free time to explore and enjoy the city.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Loyola and felt that the fellowship prepared me to become an attending physician. The attendings at Loyola were also instrumental in helping me find a job after fellowship as they have connections all over the country. Since graduating I still keep in touch with my mentors and constantly reach out to them for their thoughts and opinions. They continue to provide me insight and I am truly grateful for my Loyola family.
– Andy Zhu, MD – 2018-2019
Choosing a fellowship training program can be a challenging task but ultimately it is about finding the right fit. I found this fit with the hand surgery program at Loyola. During my initial interview, I appreciated a positive and welcoming attitude from every member of the team. They provided a thorough and honest description of their program and highlighted their desire to maximize learning opportunities and help the fellow make the most out of the year of training. I found that once I started my fellowship year, I was treated as a colleague and a valuable member of the team. Looking back, I can say with certainty that my fellowship year at Loyola provided me with excellent training in hand surgery and has given me the knowledge and confidence to enter practice as a hand surgeon.
During my fellowship year I was exposed to a diverse breadth of pathology that helped develop my knowledge base and surgical skills as a hand surgeon. There was an excellent volume of both elective and traumatic cases of various acuity and a great balance between clinic and surgical time. Being the only fellow allowed the freedom to seek out the cases and exposure I wanted and needed, and everyone on the hand service was flexible and understanding to that goal. There are opportunities to talk and work with the hand therapists as they are present in every clinic and often attended and contributed during conference. Following participation in a microvascular and nerve repair training course, I saw an appropriate, yet not overwhelming, amount of micro in both the emergent and elective setting. I also enjoyed the weekly exposure to pediatric hand at the Shriners hospital that helped me become comfortable with a wide variety of congenital hand pathology over the course of the whole year.
Although you will work hard during your fellowship, there will be plenty of time to enjoy yourself as well. Chicago offers just about any type of entertainment you can imagine. Live music, professional sports games, an incredible variety of restaurants and bars, and the Lake Michigan waterfront are some of the highlights. For those with children, there are an infinite number of community playgrounds and splash pads including the massive Maggie Daley park downtown. The Brookfield zoo is less than 2 miles from the Loyola Medical Center. My family and I chose to live in Oak Park which allowed me to drive to any of the Loyola hospitals and clinics or downtown Chicago within 15-20 minutes. I cannot say enough positive things about the surrounding community. It was a true pleasure to live there for a year and it was difficult to move away.
The group of surgeons that make up the hand service at Loyola are simply amazing. Collectively having dozens of years of experience as hand surgeons, each one is capable of providing mindful and skillful guidance while bringing unique perspectives to both common and complex problems in hand surgery. Some of the most valuable moments during fellowship were during hand conference as each one offered their insight, or at times, differing opinions or reasoning on a particular topic. Most importantly, they are unified by the desire to educate and improve the knowledge and skills of their trainees. My relationship with these individuals has carried on beyond fellowship and I am happy to be able to call them both mentors and friends.
– Tyler C. Miller, MD – 2019-2020
Applying and interviewing for fellowship is an exceedingly personal process. As obvious as it sounds, it bears saying that your first priority is to identify the factors that are most important to you. During my own interview season, I hoped to match at a program that primarily focused on problems of the hand, wrist, and forearm; provided a breadth of cases that included acute trauma and exposure to congenital hand disorders; and allowed for flexibility in the overall schedule. Most importantly, I wanted to be prepared to enter any type of post-fellowship practice, whether academic or private. Loyola’s hand fellowship was the perfect program for me.
Loyola is a prime place to learn the ins and outs of acute and long-term trauma care, including open fracture management, revascularization and replantation surgeries, and complex soft tissue coverage. The efficient, high-volume processes common in hand surgery practice are highlighted at the outpatient surgery center. The affiliation with Shriners Hospitals for Children provides an unparalleled congenital hand experience. Finally, the weekly VA hand clinic allows for diverse case exposure and autonomy in medical decision-making.
As the sole fellow in the entire orthopedic department, you are able to mold the fellowship to best suit your interests, even including opportunities outside of the hand department. For example, if you know you will be taking general orthopedic call in your future practice, you are welcome to scrub cases with the trauma service. You could choose to dedicate more time to research, or seek out cases at the Loyola-affiliated community hospitals – this is a fellowship that caters to you.
One aspect of the fellowship that far exceeded my expectations was the level of personal mentorship and support by the attendings. Dr. Light met with me weekly for one-on-one didactic sessions, where topics ranged from Green’s textbook chapters to the keys to a happy career. Even after I’d graduated, Dr. Agnew drove to Michigan at the end of a late Friday workday to attend my wedding reception. Dr. Bednar helped me with the arduous credentialing process for my job. Dr. Fishman insisted on covering my call one evening when I had a sudden personal emergency. They are incredibly approachable and always willing to give their advice, whether pertaining to the details of a specific case, or general help with practice management and life. The fellowship prepared me well to start working on my own in the community, and it is reassuring to know that I have lifelong mentors (whom I now also value as friends) to support me.
– Christine Bowman, MD – 2020-2021
