General Surgery Residency Program

Dean P. Schraufnagel is a Chicago native thoracic surgeon, who is passionate about surgical education. Before he came to Northwestern, he spent ten years training and working at the Cleveland Clinic. In Cleveland, he won the thoracic surgery staff teaching award, which was voted on by residents, three years in a row. At Northwestern he loves working collaboratively with all of the wonderful surgical educators in the department of general surgery. He is also the education director for the Canning Thoracic Institute, and program director for the lung transplantation fellowship program. His research interests include surgical simulation, incorporating videos into surgical education, user experience research, and artificial intelligence adoption for practical learning. He loves listening to music, going to concerts, and exploring Chicago with his wonderful wife and three lovely children in his free time.

Dr. Williams is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Northwestern University Division of Surgical Oncology, specializing in Endocrine Surgery. She is Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency. Dr. Williams’ passion for education is seen in her interactions with patients as well as medical students, residents and faculty members. Her research interests are focused on the surgical learning environment, specifically understanding the role of psychological safety in the medical student and resident experience. She is also interested in understanding how compassion and mindfulness practices can be used to enhance patient care and provider wellbeing. She has been involved in shaping medical education both locally and nationally. Dr. Williams has served on two committees for the American Board of Surgery (ABS), working to support the implementation of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in general surgery residency training. She has extensive involvement with the American College of Surgeons, including serving as current Vice-Chair of the American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society (ACS-RAS), and as a member of the ACS Committee on Resident Education, and the ACS Committee on Faculty Development. 

Dr. Williams graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She received a combined MD/PhD degree at Oregon Health & Science University, where her PhD work focused on basic science and translational research in neuroscience and immunology. She completed General Surgery at the University of New Mexico where she spent two years completing a Surgical Education Fellowship and completed a Masters in Educational Psychology. She completed her fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at the University of Wisconsin.