Internal Medicine
The Division of General Internal Medicine Loyola University Chicago Medical Center was established over 40 years ago soon after the opening of the Maywood campus and was restructured in the mid 1990’s when primary care formed its own department. Since then it has remained committed to compassionate high quality patient-centered care, medical education, and innovative scholarship. Major clinical programs include the inpatient teaching services, co-management of surgical patients, general internal medicine consultative services, and palliative care.
Its primary goals include:
- Offering a comprehensive patient care system specializing in the diagnosis and management of medically complex adult patients
- Managing care in a team-oriented patient-centered fashion
- Developing mastery in graduate and undergraduate education
- Maintaining commitment to scientific and intellectual rigor and life-long learning
- Maintaining commitment to quality improvement by active leadership in quality improvement initiatives
- Role modeling all aspects of professionalism in the educational and patient-care settings.
- Offering expertise in perioperative evaluation and management
- Offering expertise in consultative medicine
- Developing a mastery of technical communication
FACULTY INFORMATION
The Division of Internal Medicine of Loyola University Chicago Medical Center is composed seven full-time faculty at Foster G. McGaw hospital. Since 2009 the Division coordinates its clinical activities with the Division of Hospital Medicine which is led by Dr. Elizabeth Schulwolf.
There are 50 full and part-time physicians at the Edward Hines VA under the leadership of Dr. Scott Pawlikowski.
FACULTY EDUCATIONAL/SCHOLARSHIP ACTIVITIES
Medical education is paramount to the mission of the Division of General Internal Medicine. Since its inception the division’s physicians have been educational leaders at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Its major programs include:
- To enhance the experience of residents and students rotating through the inpatient general medicine services, a daily morning report was initiated in 2000 and continues to be led by the division. The quality of teaching on the inpatient medicine services and at the general medicine morning report as assessed through resident and student feedback surveys has consistently been rated at “above average” to “outstanding” levels.
- In collaboration with Loyola Center for Home Care and Hospice, in 2002 a “Hospice Experience” was developed to expand end of life care training for internal medicine residents. The experience gives residents the opportunity to attend a hospice interdisciplinary team meeting and accompany nurses on home visits. This now includes experience in palliative care consultation.
- The development and implementation of a teaching skills workshop for incoming first year house staff to promote residents as teachers. The focus of these workshops was learning how to provide effective feedback.
- The incorporation of clinical pharmacists into the daily clinical and educational activities of the inpatient services.
- The development and implementation of a comprehensive plan for the clinical competency evaluation for first year residents in the Department of Medicine. Division members regularly serve on the Residency Review Committee.
- The development and implementation of a comprehensive assessment of the teaching qualities of division faculty with the goals of improving the educational experience on the teaching services and develop a more robust faculty development program.
The Division provides critical leadership to medical education at the Stritch School of Medicine.
Leadership roles of Division members within the medical school include:
- Assistant Dean for Clinical Education (Dr. Hering)
- Curriculum Director, Year Three & Four (Dr. Hering)
- Course Director, Mechanisms of Disease (Dr. Kristopaitis)
- Competency Director (Dr. Kristopaitis)
- Curriculum Director, Year One (Dr. Kristopaitis)
- Director, End of Life Curriculum (Dr. Kristopaitis)
- Associate Medical Director, Loyola Hospice (Dr. Kristopaitis)
- Clerkship/Sub internship director (Dr. Fitz)
- Director, Teaching elective (Dr. Fitz)
- Assistant Dean, Educational Affairs (Dr. Muccino)
Stritch School of Medicine identified the development of a comprehensive end of life curriculum as a priority. Division members have developed comprehensive end of life curricular goals and objectives and the subsequent implementation of a comprehensive curriculum that spans the basic science course and clinical clerkships.
The comprehensive competency assessment plan for the four year medical school curriculum as well as for some GME programs was developed and implemented by faculty. Performance evaluation standards for all levels of education are being developed and implemented.
FACULTY AWARDS AND HONORS
- Three members of the Division have been elected as Master Teachers by their faculty peers.
- Members of the Division are regular recipients of teaching awards from house staff and physicians-in-training.
SELECTED FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
“Integrating learning of basic science concepts and physical examination skills in Combined Clinical Skills/basic science sessions for first year medical students” (IAMSE 7/02)
“Pilot study for a valid comprehensive standardized clinical skills assessment program for core clinical clinical competencies across all required clerkships (AAMC-RIME 11/02)
First Year Medical Students As Competent Interviewers: Standardized Patient Encounters Measuring Clinical and Interpersonal Skills in Preparation for Clerkships. Presented at the AAMC Annual Session, San Francisco, Ca, November, 1996
A 360-degree Feedback Approach To Develop and Assess First Year Medical Student’s Clinical Skills. Presented at the International Association of Medical Science Educators’ Annual Session, Rochester, MN, July, 2000
Innovative Approaches to Incorporating and Assessing Clinical Competencies During the Internal Medicine Subinternship – A Multi-Institutional Experience – Workshop Presentation - 2006 Course Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) National Meeting - New Orleans, October 2006
“Medical Students as Members of a Discharge Planning Team” – Poster Presentation – American Academy on Communication in Healthcare Research and Teaching Forum –Atlanta, October 2006
Use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination in the Surgery Clerkship to Assess Critical Thinking. 2004 (abstract)
Process of Implementing Competencies into Undergraduate Medical Education: Successes and Challenges. CGEA (AAMC), Madison, Wis April, 2005
Clinical
Gurza, E. Chapter "Thyroiditis," Saunders Manual of Medical Practice. W.B.Saunders, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (in press) 2006
Kristopaitis, T. Chapter “Falls in the Elderly”, Essential Evidence Plus. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.2008
Gurza, E. Chapter “Deep Vein Thrombosis”, Essential Evidence Plus. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.2008
Gurza, E. Chapter “Pulmonary Embolism”, Essential Evidence Plus. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.2008
Gurza, E. Chapter “Superficial Thrombophlebitis”, Essential Evidence Plus. 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pinzur M, Gurza E, Kristopaitis T et al. Hospitalist-Orthopedic Co-management of High-risk Patients Undergoing Lower Extremity Reconstruction Surgery. Orthopedics 2009; 32:1-7
Josephine Dlugopolski-Gach, MD, FAAP
Division Director and Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Women's Health
- Pediatric Asthma
- Primary Care and Preventive Medicine
- Skin Checks and Mole Biopsies
- Newborn Exam
- Sports Physicals
- School Physicals
- Children's Health
- Adult Preventive Medicine
- Preventive Medicine
- Routine Gynecologic Care
Sonika Anand, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Women's Health
- Adult Medicine
William Barron, MD, FACP
Professor
William E. Boblick, Jr., MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- General Medicine
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Hypertension
- Lipid Management
Bradley Clifford, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Specialties
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Hypertension
- Preventive Medicine
- Internal Medicine
Carrie Cox, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Adult Medicine
- General Pediatrics
- Adolescent Medicine
- International Medicine
Asima Doriwala, MD
Assistant Professor
Monica Edwards, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Women's Health
- Preventive Medicine
- Weight Management
- Adult Medicine
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Hypertension
- General Internal Medicine
- Lipid Management
Kevin Embach, SJ, MD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor
Joshua Evans, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Adult Medicine
- Women's Health
- Preventive Medicine
- Preoperative Consultation
Linda Fisher, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Preventive Medicine
- General Pediatrics
- Adult Medicine
Matthew Fitz, MD
Associate Professor
Milton Legrand, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Specialties
- Preventive Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- Preoperative Consultation
Robert Lichtenberg, MD
Associate Professor
Specialties
- Heart Disease
- Cardiac Catheterization
- Exercise Physiology
Tony Pangan, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Adult Medicine
- Adult Preventive Medicine
- General Pediatrics
- Diabetes
- Primary Care and Preventive Medicine
- School Physicals
- Hypertension
Rani Rao, MD, FACP
Clinical Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Geriatrics
- Internal Medicine
- Memory Problems
Jason Rice, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Primary Care and Preventive Medicine
- Hypertension
- Lipid Management
- Diabetes
- Preventive Medicine
Brent Rieger, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- General Pediatrics
- General Medicine
- Adolescent Medicine
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Darien
James Rupp, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Diabetes
- Adult Medicine
- Lipid Management
- Preventive Medicine
Laura Saelinger-Shafer, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Preventive Medicine
- Geriatrics
- Women's Health
Edward C. Sankary, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- General Medicine
- Adult Medicine
- Preventive Medicine
- Allergies
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Hypertension
- Lipid Management
- Endocrinology
Daniel Sisbarro, MD
Associate Professor
Specialties
- General Medicine
- Preventive Medicine
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
Locations
Loyola Outpatient Center
Robert Sulo, MD
Associate Professor
Specialties
- Internal Medicine
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Orland Park
Linda Tayeh, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Family Health Care
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Oakbrook Terrace
Emily Tuerk, MD
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Children with Disabilities
- Preventive Medicine
- Adolescent Medicine
- Women's Health
- Breastfeeding
- Family Health Care
- Newborn Exam
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Adult Medicine
- Diabetes Mellitus
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Homer Glen
Anita Varkey, MD, FACP
Clinical Associate Professor
Specialties
- Primary Care and Preventive Medicine
- Women's Health
Locations
Loyola Outpatient Center
Timothy Vavra, DO, FACP, FACP
Associate Professor
Specialties
- General Medicine
- Preventive Medicine
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Oakbrook Terrace
Nila Vora, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Specialties
- Endocrinology
- Occupational Medicine
- FAA Physicals
- Diabetes
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Burr Ridge
Lee-Ann Yang, MD, FACP
Assistant Professor
Specialties
- General Medicine
- Preventive Medicine
- Adult Medicine
- Primary Care
Locations
Loyola Center for Health at Hickory Hills