Rob Burnett, M.D. Joins Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush

Robert A. Burnett, M.D., a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in primary and revision hip and knee replacement, has joined Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Chicago.

Dr. Burnett is a graduate of the Rush orthopedic residency program and specializes in routine and complex primary and revision hip and knee reconstructions and partial knee replacement. He has also been trained in minimally invasive techniques and direct anterior total hip arthroplasty.

Dr. Burnett, who earned his undergraduate program at St. Louis’s Washington University, was a member of the varsity basketball team for four years. He received his medical degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and was selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

While in residency at Rush, Dr. Burnett was named “Best Chief Resident.” He completed an additional year of fellowship training at the University of Utah, specializing in hip and knee replacement surgery.

Now an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center, Dr. Burnett enjoys training residents and fellows in adult reconstruction. On the research front, his interests include the biomechanics of hip and knee replacements, revision joint replacement techniques, patient outcomes, perioperative care optimization, and health policy. He is completing a health policy fellowship with the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.

OTW asked Dr. Burnett about his philosophy of training/education. “I think that training and educating residents and fellows within orthopedics and joint replacement improves my own skills and ability to care for patients.”

“An important aspect of education is staying up to date on the most modern techniques and trends to strive to deliver a better outcome for patients.”

OTW also asked Dr. Burnett about his health policy fellowship. “The Health Policy Fellowship is completed outside of regular work hours. I attend regular meetings with an advocacy group whose mission is to understand the problems that patients and surgeons face from a health policy standpoint,” he said.

“Some of these issues include improving access to surgeons for patients around the country as well as working with legislators to make sure policies don’t get approved that would compromise health care delivery.”

Dr. Burnett pushes the field of hip and knee arthroplasty forward by performing cutting edge research that is frequently presented at national meetings. His most recent research has focused on allergic reactions to a specific dressing type that patients may receive after surgery and how surgeons can avoid this complication in the future.