Ritu Sahni ’85: Finding balance as an EMS physician
The Alumni Office recently caught up with Dr. Ritu Sahni ’85, who will be celebrating his 40th reunion this June. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Sahni shares how he met his wife on the first day at the University of Michigan, fits in co-hosting an EMS podcast, and still follows Greenhills soccer.
Tell us about your time at Greenhills.
I can’t speak for my siblings—Neal ’89 and Sarah ’97—but I was pretty intimidated moving to Greenhills in the 10th grade. I had to work a lot harder than before, which served me well in preparing for college. I have such great memories of spending time with my teachers, whether in the classroom or during free periods. Athletics was also a huge component of my experience in high school. I played soccer and ran track and was the PA announcer for the basketball team for one season. I still keep up with the soccer team and get really excited when they’re at regionals.
How did you end up in emergency medicine?
At the University of Michigan I majored in biology. Fun fact: On my first day on campus, I met my future wife, who was part of a welcome committee of sophomores at Mary Markley, my dorm. We’ve been married for 33 years, and have two grown children. We moved to New Orleans for my medical school training at Tulane, and eventually ended up in the Portland, Oregon area.
Originally I wanted to specialize as an orthopedic surgeon. But after about 15 minutes I realized that meant having to get up early! Today my clinical practice centers around work at a busy community hospital and as an EMS medical director—overseeing ambulance response, EMT training, quality improvement, and data evaluation—for two counties. Clinical work in the emergency department can be pretty taxing mentally and emotionally, so I’m grateful to be able to pivot to my other gig, which is more focused on people skills and management.
What do you do when you’re not working?
We’re mini foodies—we’re headed to Spain soon with a restaurant owner for a culinary tour. I also get back to Ann Arbor once or twice a year, since I have season football tickets. And I co-host a podcast focused on EMS issues and protocols, which has been growing in popularity with the EMS community. Professional service, leadership growth, and mentorship is a big focus for me in my time off, including political advocacy for emergency medicine and serving as president of the National Association of EMS Physicians.
