Pediatric Orthopedic Training Opportunities at Lurie Children’s: One Fellow’s Experience

When he was applying for fellowships, Dr. Soroush Baghdadi immediately recognized the value of the ACGME-accredited one-year opportunity at Lurie Children’s. Its orthopedic surgery and sports medicine division sees more than 49,000 patients each year, with attending physicians who are active in both patient care and research.

What he discovered when he interviewed at Chicago’s largest and most experienced children’s hospital impressed him even more: diverse and young faculty, and a program with the flexibility to focus on cases and subspecialties that interested him the most.  

Since he began his fellowship in August, Dr. Baghdadi said his experience at Lurie Children’s has matched his lofty expectations. 

Lurie Children’s orthopedic surgeons perform more than 2,000 cases each year. Dr. Baghdadi said this volume and the breadth of cases, and being the division’s only surgery fellow, means already in the first few months of his fellowship he has participated in the types of cases he is most interested in – those related to neuromuscular pathologies, trauma and hip.  

“There is such a wide variety of cases and subspecialties, and being able to build your own schedule makes this fellowship experience a dynamic one,” Dr. Baghdadi said, adding that the engaged and caring faculty, and the nearby presence of the No. 1-ranked rehabilitation hospital, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, has helped round out his fellowship experience. 

Furthermore, Dr. Baghdadi is participating in several research projects alongside NIH grant awardees. He is also being exposed to and trained in essential nonclinical activities, like billing and administrative tasks, that have been insightful, he said. 

The fellowship program, part of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, takes place on the hospital’s main campus in downtown Chicago, and at several satellite locations in suburban Chicago. Living in a world-class city during his fellowship, Dr. Baghdadi said, is an extra benefit. 

Learn more about Lurie Children’s fellowship program, led by Dr. Vineeta Swaroop, an expert in the orthopedic treatment of neuromuscular diseases, by watching this video. 

Other Education Opportunities 

Lurie Children’s orthopedic fellowship program is one just one training opportunity with the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine. Lurie Children’s also partners with the top residency programs in Chicago to train orthopedic residents in pediatric orthopedic surgery. Led by Dr. Jill E. Larson, the combined Lurie Children's pediatric orthopedic program includes residents from Northwestern University, Rush University Orthopedics and Franciscan Health. 

The division also supports undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in learning more about clinical research in orthopedics and sports medicine. Coordinated by the research staff and under the supervision of faculty, the Summer Research Intern Program at Lurie Children’s helps students gain practical experience through exposure to research projects within the division, attendance at weekly research meetings and participation in research seminars and training.