Be Around the Game
Learn how Ravi Grandhi, MD, MBA, rose from being a hospital transporter to practicing anesthesiologist, all while striving for a healthy work/life balance. Meet Ravi and physicians like him in the private Lucens Community for ambitious doctors.
May 7, 2025
Are You Like Ravi?
Ravi didn’t take the linear path of medical education. Instead, he started working at a hospital as an undergrad in one of the lowest-paid positions. However, his humble beginnings in medicine helped him see the whole industry differently—healthcare as a business.
We asked Ravi how he built a career in medicine that aligns with his lifestyle, stories from his diverse experiences in healthcare, and his advice for physicians looking to forge a path in leadership.
When was the first concept of practicing medicine a part of your life?
In middle school, I wanted to be like Michael Jordan and become a basketball player. I remember practicing that iconic shot he made in the late '90s against the Utah Jazz to win the NBA Finals.
But then I stopped growing—and realized I needed a new plan. The truth is, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.
I started college as a biology major at the University of Cincinnati, about an hour from where I grew up. I worked at a hospital early on—first as a transporter, then as a nurse’s aide.
I didn’t know exactly how far I’d go, but I always thought, “I should be a doctor. That looks cool.”
I loved helping people, and I loved science. I volunteered, shadowed, and had some powerful encounters in the hospital that showed me just how much healthcare can change lives.
Medicine fascinated me. So did science. And the idea that you could help someone in a dramatic way, sometimes in just minutes—that stuck with me.
I volunteered, shadowed, and had some powerful encounters in the hospital that showed me just how much healthcare can change lives.
So, you were working in a hospital before getting your MD?
Yes. I worked in hospitals for years, doing a number of different things before ever becoming a doctor. I did research, helped fundraise for the med school and hospital, and worked as a transporter.
I saw all the things that make the healthcare system run—without wearing a white coat.
That’s pretty unique—not the usual path.
Exactly. I was on the same level as the janitors and mail couriers. I think I was the 3rd lowest paid "level" employee. I still remember making $5.15 an hour and getting 25-cent vouchers from nurses for doing a good job.
And I swear, I’m not that old.
I was on the same level as the janitors and mail couriers. I think I was the 3rd lowest paid "level" employee.
What encouraged you to choose anesthesiology?
I always thought of the OR like running a business. In anesthesia, you often supervise CRNAs or AAs, and that leadership element made it feel like running my own business within the OR.
What I love most is that in anesthesia, when you do something, you see a result—A plus B equals C.
There’s no long lag time like in primary care, where you adjust meds and wait months to see a difference.
And in terms of work-life balance, anesthesia made the most sense. When you're on, you're on. When you're off, you're off.
Ask yourself:
Biography
Name
Ravi Grandhi, MD
Residency
Speciality
Anaesthesiology
Sub-specialities
Practicing since
2016
Location
Atlanta
Current Role
Board Certified Anesthesiologist
Is there a story from your early days that still sticks with you?
I was a resident in 2020 when COVID hit—my final year of residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.
In 24 hours, everything changed. I still remember the Sunday when Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency, and New York shut down.
Funny enough, years earlier, I was working in early-stage venture capital during a gap year. I met a guy who made vaccines and worked in immunology. He talked to us about the possibility of a pandemic and the need for an mRNA-based vaccine because the existing tech was too slow.
We ended up passing on that investment.
Looking back, I sometimes wonder—what if we had invested? Could we have retired early? Could we have prevented more deaths?
At the time, I was just a 25-year-old analyst. But it showed me that decisions matter. That experience still echoes.
And then COVID hit. I watched people die. It changed how I think about medicine, leadership, work-life balance—and how quickly everything can shift.
Was it difficult being in those moments where you weren’t in control?
In medicine, you’re used to people knowing the right answer. The best treatment. The best protocol.
During COVID, no one knew the answer. Not the doctors. Not the scientists. Not the administrators.
What mattered was how you treated people—especially during uncertainty and fear.
We’d go home thinking about patients. We’d try things, sometimes with no clear evidence. It was the first time I felt part of experimental medicine.
I finished med school in 2016, so I missed the HIV epidemic and the early '90s wave of drug development. By the time I trained, healthcare felt established.
But COVID? We didn’t know what to do. People were holding our hands, crying, dying.
I had to have conversations about goals of care. We ran out of ventilators. I never thought that would happen in the U.S.—arguably the most resource-rich country in the world.
That experience shaped how I lead. It shaped how I think. It made me appreciate life more deeply.
After residency, you quickly moved into leadership roles. What was that like?
I became assistant chief of anesthesia within six months of graduating, mostly because of my business degree and interest in things like enhanced recovery and OR efficiency.
Twenty months later, I became chief of anesthesia. Then, I took on a role at a small hospital in Philadelphia before stepping up to lead a larger one.
Leading people is hard. How do you motivate them? How do you connect?
It takes a soft touch—and no amount of training fully prepares you for that. I got it right sometimes, and I got it wrong a lot. I took it personally at first.
I still remember my first hire. And my first firing—someone stealing narcotics from the med boxes.
Leadership in medicine is intense. But I loved building new initiatives and improving processes. But breaking bad news? That’s tough.
What advice do you have for someone stepping into leadership?
When I was interviewing for my first chief role, people told me, “Wait a year. Get some gray hair.”
Looking back, I’d tell others the same. Get to know yourself first.
Leadership demands that you understand yourself before trying to lead others.
I didn’t know myself yet. That made things harder.
The truth is that leadership cuts into your personal time. People often report the negative before the positive. If you mess up, you’ll hear about it nonstop.
Everyone wants more money. More time off. Less work. That’s just reality. And yes, leadership made me a little jaded, but I’m thankful for my experience in those roles.
Essentials
Favorites
- Top 3 things you love to do with your free time?
Play sports, spend time with family, travel
- What’s one ingredient you put in everything?
Hot sauce
- Favorite piece of clothing you own?
Gym shorts
- Three things you can’t live without?
Cell phone
Leisure & Culture
- If we were visiting your town/city for the weekend, what are your 3 top local tips?
Pick some peaches/apples etc., get a traditional breakfast, go to a University of Georgia football game
- Top 3 travel destinations (and why)?
Anywhere warm
- A book that everyone should read?
Outliers by malcolm gladwell
Rituals
- What’s your wakeup ritual?
Wake up...shower...coffee...get in the car
- What’s your go to bed ritual?
Watch tv
- What’s your favorite time of day?
Sunset
- Go-to snack to power through a long day at work?
Protein bars
- Best way to take a rest/decompress?
Massage or sleep
So far...
- Most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?
Fly an airplane
- Best piece of advice you’ve received (and from who)?
Keep your head down and keep grinding...hard work will overcome all adversity
- Advice you’d give your teenage / residency self?
It will all workout, stay positive, make friends, enjoy life
- What’s the kindest thing someone’s ever done for you?
Helped me when I was a medical student
Essentials
- How would you describe yourself in three words?
Easy Going, Compassionate, Reliable
- If your life were a song, what would the title be?
Livin on a prayer (very unsure)...could be started from the bottom
- If you made a documentary, what would it be about?
What medicine is actually like...
You’ve mentioned work-life balance. What does that mean to you?
To me, it means coming home and not thinking about work.
But leadership blurs that line. I was always on call—surgeons, administrators, someone always needed something.
In 2025 and beyond, options are opening up that weren’t available to previous generations.
I used to work nights, weekends, and extra shifts. Last year, I cut that out. No more nights. No more weekends. No more calls.
You have to figure out what works for you. Maybe that’s working nights to get more days off. Maybe it’s less money but more freedom.
It’s also about knowing how much money you actually need, which is harder than it sounds.
And most of all, find what brings you joy outside medicine. There’s a lot of fulfillment in our work, but it can’t be your only source.
What brings you joy?
I love sports like tennis and golf. I love to travel. I love being outdoors, in the mountains or by the beach.
Basically, the opposite of being stuck in a hospital at night.
And I’ve come to really value a good night’s sleep. That matters more than it used to.
What’s the biggest challenge facing physicians today?
Physicians have lost some control in the business of medicine. Working with administrators who don’t understand clinical care is tough—they see everything as a line item.
I grew up in Cincinnati, which is home to GE. That corporation preaches the methodology Six Sigma, where 99.7% variance is acceptable.
But in healthcare, it’s the 0.3% that consumes our resources. That’s where the anxiety is. Administrators often miss that.
Early in my leadership, I talked with an administrator from UPS. We had a patient whose heart had stopped. I explained why the whole enterprise paused for that emergency. She said, “At UPS, they just keep going.”
But this isn’t a packaging warehouse. It’s someone’s life.
Healthcare has to figure out how to care for the sickest of the sick while keeping the system running.
If you had a magic wand to fix healthcare, what would you change?
That’s the million-dollar question.
There’s been a huge rise in mid-levels—PAs, CRNAs, NPs—while reimbursements keep falling.
The real challenge is: How do you deliver high-quality care cost-effectively?
Some say AI will solve it, but I’m not sure. Healthcare is about the human touch. It’s a “feel” thing.
After COVID, we moved to online training and lost some of that touch.
In basketball, they say, “Just hang around the court.” It's the same with medicine. Just be around the game.
The question is: How do we teach and preserve that human touch throughout the system?
Quick Q&A
Summer or winter?
Give me Summer!
Morning rounds or night shift?
Bright and early
ER or Grey’s Anatomy?
Errr.. ER, obviously
Tea or coffee?
Coffee
Window or aisle seat?
A? No way!
Scrubs or white coat?
Scrubs. Simple
What’s the biggest misconception about anesthesiology?
People think we don’t do much. That we show up, put the patient to sleep, grab coffee, and scroll on our phones. And sure, on a good day, maybe that’s true.
But those days are fewer and fewer. There’s constant pressure to optimize the OR and put out fires across the hospital. It’s stressful.
Americans are aging. We’re doing more complex procedures at the end of life. That makes anesthesia even more critical.
What advice do you have for young physicians building their careers?
Don’t be afraid to walk away from a job. It’s scary, sure, but your mental and physical health come first.
Also, we don’t talk enough about substance abuse in medicine. The stress is real. We’re human. It's natural to feel like you owe everything to the job and keep pushing.
But if the job or the institution is unhealthy, step away. You’re not helping your patients, your team, or yourself by staying.
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