Portrait of Ruchik  Patel, MD

Ruchik Patel, MD

ACTA Fellow (2024)

Medical School: New York Medical College

Residency: WashU Medicine — Anesthesiology

Portrait of Ruchik Patel, MD

Ruchik Patel, MD

Resident Physician, Class of 2023

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2020

Ruchik is a current CA-1 resident and was born in Chicago and grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He studied genetics, healthcare management, and American Culture here at Washington University. He received his MD from New York Medical College, where he concentrated in patient safety and quality improvement. In addition to joining a diverse and supportive academic department, he moved back from midtown Manhattan to St. Louis for residency knowing that he still had access to his favorite things: a large park, Whole Foods, and live music. In his free time he loves to eat pastries… and then run them off.

Portrait of Shaan Patel, MD, MPH

Shaan Patel, MD, MPH

Medical School: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine

Portrait of Calvin Patten, MD

Calvin Patten, MD

Dual CCM/EM Fellow (2024)

Medical School: SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse

Residency: University of Rochester — Emergency Medicine

not-pictured

Lynn Pauls, MD

Dual CCM (2021)/ACTA Fellow (2022)

Medical School:  The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Residency: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Portrait of Andrew  Pauszek, MD

Andrew Pauszek, MD

Medical School: Indiana University

Portrait of Whitney Payne

Whitney Payne

Grant Specialist I

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2022

Whitney started at WashU in the Department of Anesthesiology pre-pandemic in 2020 as an Administrative Coordinator in the Division of Clinical and Translational Research. With the transition to working remotely, she began helping out in other parts of the department, finding a home with the research administration team, and she now has a shared role as a Grant Specialist I.

Whitney has worn many hats, from bartending to dog grooming to teaching. Most interestingly, she is, what she calls, a recovering archaeologist, and has her masters in bio-archaeology from Ole Miss. She spent this time excavating prehistoric and historic sites in the southeastern United States and doing stress-fueled rewrites of her thesis over and over.

Outside of work, Whitney enjoys hanging out with her husband, their one-year-old son, and their mutt, Baloo. When life is less chaotic, she likes to get outdoors for a hike with her hiking group, the Ladies of the Wilderness, and she is looking forward to her annual fall hiking trip.

Whitney Payne

Whitney Payne

Research Wellness Champion

Whitney joined the department right before COVID-19 hit St. Louis in the winter of 2020. With the switch to work from home, she joined the group of wellness champions to try to find creative ways to connect with co-workers virtually and to encourage them to prioritize their own self-care.

"Personally, I love a good hike to see something beautiful in the natural world," says Whitney. "I think it's important to support each other, to remind each other that wellness is more than exercising and fad diets, and to remind one another that it's not about being perfect. Just try!"

Portrait of Bethany Pennington, PharmD, BCPS

Bethany Pennington, PharmD, BCPS

Associate Vice Chair of Quality & Safety; Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Portrait of Tiffany Peppers-Boster

Tiffany Peppers-Boster

Senior Administrator of Department/Division Operations

Department of Anesthesiology FAS Employee of the Quarter: March 2024

Tiffany started working at WashU in 2009 at the Barnes-Jewish West County Pain Management office and in 2012 transferred to Pediatric Anesthesiology where she is currently the Senior Administrator of Department/Division Operations. Some highlights of her job include creating the faculty call schedules, onboarding new faculty, helping with daily scheduling, and making sure the office is running smoothly. Her favorite part of her job is working with her “Peds Family” and helping facilitate all the moving parts in the division.

She is married to her husband Tom and they have 3 children, Kennedy, Kayla, and James. She has two very spoiled fur babies (Gnocchi & Penne). She loves to travel, try new restaurants, go to Battlehawk games, read, and spend time with family and friends.

Tiffany hopes to continue growing in her role and to continue advancing her leadership skills.  She is honored to work for such a supportive department!