Franciscan Health Olympia Fields resident named Resident of the Year

Recent Franciscan Health Olympia Fields resident Samantha Peterson, DO, has been named Midwestern University Resident of the Year.

Dr. Peterson was nominated and selected by students at Midwestern University. The award was presented in June during the annual hooding and awards ceremony earlier on the Downers Grove, Ill. campus.

“To me, it’s one of the highest honors because it really embodies what I try to achieve at work, to lead by example by teaching students,” Dr. Peterson said. “I’m thankful Franciscan gave me the freedom to grow and become who I want to be.”

Dr. Peterson is a native of Racine, Wisc. and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She completed her first rotation at Franciscan Health Chicago Heights in anesthesia in 2015 and started her family medicine residency at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields in 2018.

“In 2020, when the pandemic hit, I was inspired to go into infectious disease,” she said.

Dr. Peterson requested a change in her residency rotation in order to be able to treat COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic. She cared for more than 2,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a span of three months.

After graduating from her family medicine residency in 2021, she started her training in internal medicine residency, extending her education by another two years.

“Dr. Peterson is truly deserving of this prestigious award,” said Shanaz Azad, MD, an independent infectious disease and internal medicine physician choosing to practice at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields. “In the last several years that she trained at Franciscan, she consistently demonstrated the highest level of integrity, clinical acumen and professionalism. We wish her all the best with her future endeavors.”