01/20/2026
🎙️ Member Q&A: Dr. Marie Sankaran
Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Health
🔹 What drew you to anesthesiology?
My parents were both pediatricians. I loved medicine and wanted to be like them. I did a medical mission to Romania my first year in college — Operation Smile. And I loved the relationship between the anesthesiologist and the child. I thought, that’s something I want in my life. I graduated my residency at Boston Medical Center in 2008, and then I went on to Boston Children’s Hospital for a pediatric fellowship.
🔹 What appealed to you about the pediatric side of your specialty?
Seeing the interaction between the kids and the anesthesiologists. It was the one person they liked the most. I realized that the anesthesiologist was the patient advocate in the room, and and they saw them not just as a physician, but as a friend. I also liked doing procedures. And pediatric anesthesia is a mix of that and patient interaction.
🔹 Why did you join VSA?
I joined VSA because I felt, with the bigger changes I wanted to make, the only way to help more people was to join the organization. It was moving my advocacy from a small scale to a larger scale. I could effect more change. I wish I would have spent more time in the ASA [American Society of Anesthesiologists] as a resident. I wish I had been a part of it early on, because it opens your life to more experiences.
🔹 What kinds of advice do you offer medical students about deciding on a specialty?
I always tell them: As you rotate through the specialties, it’s easier to rule out than rule in. When I did cardiac anesthesia, I knew that was not for me. I knew I liked pediatric anesthesia. ICU was amazing, and I never envisioned that I would have enjoyed working in the critical care unit. Then I did more rotations in the things I loved to figure out what I could do for the rest of my life. Don’t close yourself off to things, and spend more time engaged.
