MacNeal Family Medicine Residency Program

Welcome to MacNeal Family Medicine!

Thanks for visiting and learning more about our program. 

We are proud to be one of the oldest Family Medicine programs in the country and the first in Illinois. We are an 11-12-11 residency and we have fellowships in sports medicine and faculty development. 

We offer comprehensive family medicine training at MacNeal Hospital, a 374-bed community hospital affiliated with Loyola Medicine. MacNeal Hospital has earned Magnet Recognition with Distinction, a prestigious mark of excellence in nursing care. In 2025, MacNeal Hospital was also named on Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of 100 great community hospitals. 

We developed our resident-centered curriculum to give you the best learning experience, including hands-on procedure training, didactics, and exposure to specialists while you practice full-spectrum family medicine. 

We are located in the suburbs of Chicago, close to downtown Chicago and all the amenities of a world class city. The Metro train station is conveniently across the street from the hospital.

Our practice in the Family Medicine Center (FMC) is located across the street from MacNeal Hospital and is the largest single practice in the Loyola Medicine network. Our practice is in a diverse community and includes patients of all ages.

We have a high core faculty to resident ratio, and our faculty practice alongside our residents in the FMC. So, your faculty preceptors are also your practice partners. We work closely with our residents and enjoy personally getting to know them well.

I am a graduate of the MacNeal residency program. I have been at MacNeal since 2010, including my time as a resident, fellow, faculty member, and now program director. I also grew up in the Berwyn community, graduated from the local high school, and bought my first home in Berwyn. While I have changed my residence, my extended family continues to live locally, and I continue to be proud to practice in the community I grew up in. I would love to tell you more about the program, the community, and the wonderful residents and faculty at MacNeal. 

I look forward to hearing from you!

Nereida Esparza, MD
Program Director

Welcome to our website and thank you so much for taking an interest in our MacNeal family!
 

MacNeal is a well-established family medicine program that genuinely feels like a large family. Our residency is special because of the quality of people who work here, including our friendly staff, highly approachable faculty, and terrific residents. We pride ourselves on our well-rounded training experience, and draw residents from across the country for many reasons. The true heart of the program is an emphasis on continuity of care for the Berwyn/Cicero area!

A little more about us: Jake is from the Chicago suburbs and after graduating from medical school in Florida, decided to reembrace the cold and return home to serve the Chicagoland community. Jake spends most of his free time playing video games or watching any Chicago sports (minus the White Sox). Sam is from the northwest Chicago suburbs and decided to stay at Loyola for college (go Ramblers) and nearby for medical school. Sam’s hobbies include hot yoga, hiking, gardening, and watching Chicago sports. Unfortunately for her, she is a Bears and Bulls fan, but hopefully they can turn it around this year! 

We have really enjoyed our time here at MacNeal and find it to be both a unique and rewarding place to train. On the inpatient side, we love that our services offer the opportunity to learn from Family Medicine faculty, knowledgeable specialists, and community doctors. In these teams, we quickly become bonded with our co-residents, which cultivates a sense of true belonging. In the clinic, you’ll find us talking and laughing with our colleagues in our resident offices as we prepare for a busy day of clinic ahead. If we have a question for faculty, we know there is always a friendly face in the precepting room right around the corner! This closeness has allowed us to build long-lasting relationships with our co-residents, faculty, and staff. It makes coming to work every day a real joy.

MacNeal is located just outside of Chicago, with more than half of our residents living in the city and the rest in the surrounding suburbs. Chicago is an incredible place to live and with many fun things to do. We spend much of our time off grabbing dinner and drinks, relaxing on the beach, attending sporting or comedy events, and celebrating birthdays, weddings, and baby showers! And with nearly 35 residents, someone is always available - we have a call schedule that allows us to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
We remember how stressful the interview process can be, so please do not hesitate to contact us with ANY questions you may have (our emails are Samantha.Benigni@luhs.org and Jake.Debosschere@luhs.org) We have both loved our time here, and hope you find MacNeal to be as special as we do. 

We look forward to meeting you!
Best wishes, Sam and Jake