Gurkaran Johal, MD

I was born in Brampton, Ontario, but have been in Buffalo for almost 20 years now. I studied at Canisius College where I was a biochemistry major with a minor in Spanish.

I had the pleasure of being part of the first medical school class to start at the new campus downtown, and I believe that this played a large part in my decision to stay in Buffalo for residency.

Being able to walk from the medical school to three of the main hospitals we rotate at was a boon in terms of logistics and convenience to collaborate with colleagues who may be on different rotations nearby.

In addition, having worked with many of the faculty and staff at these hospitals as a medical student definitely helped ease the transition into residency. Having family nearby in Canada also helped immensely during busy rotations in medical school and residency.

I believe that my favorite aspect of our anesthesiology residency program is the variety of clinical settings, patient populations and cases. Anesthesia as a whole is a dynamic field with lots of changes in covered sites and cases in attendinghood, so I feel that this setup prepares you for the real world better than a residency that only operates at one site.

I believe that our anesthesiology residency program has made great strides in the past few years, particularly in terms of academics. There has been an increase in protected academic time and greater frequency of simulations. These simulations, which take place at the medical school, are in my opinion the most valuable method of learning.

Living in Buffalo has its challenges in the winter, but is balanced by a beautiful spring, summer, and fall. There is plenty to do between the professional sports teams, festivals, concerts and weekend trips to Toronto and New York City.

With my family living in Toronto, I feel that they are never too far away. The airport is an underrated feature in my opinion because it is one of the few places where you can show up just 30 minutes before boarding and still make your flight. 

I would say Nader D. Nader, MD, PhD, our program director, has been my most trusted mentor from medical school into residency. I had initially reached out to him as an MS3 for research and I really feel that he helped jump start my interest in research by helping me get the correct resources and network.