Loyola Medicine, anchored by Loyola University Medical Center and partnered with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, trains more than 750 physicians across its graduate medical education programs while supporting the education of more than 600 medical students annually. Graduate medical education learners regularly use the Stritch School of Medicine Simulation Lab for high-fidelity, scenario-based training across disciplines, reinforced by clinical exposure at a level 1 trauma Center and Illinois’s largest burn center. The system includes nearly 2,000 physicians and multiple centers of excellence, including transplant, stroke, burn and neuro-spine, creating a high-acuity training environment for emergency, critical care and specialty simulation. Loyola and Stritch have established multiple clinical “firsts” in Illinois and the Midwest, including the first successful lung transplant, first double-lung transplant and first simultaneous double-lung and kidney transplant, expanding the range of advanced-care experiences available to trainees. In 2025, Loyola performed Illinois’s first robotically assisted kidney transplant and a minimally invasive combined lung transplant and heart bypass surgery, strengthening exposure to complex, evolving procedural care. The system was designated an Optum center of excellence for transplant programs and became one of only five national Islet Distribution Centers for diabetes research, supporting hands-on education in endocrinology and cellular therapy. Education also spans interdisciplinary pathways, including accredited residency programs in physical therapy and urogynecology.
