Russell Groener, MD

Russell is an Assistant Program Director for Residency Education and an Associate Professor in the division of pediatric anesthesiology. He grew up in South Africa, graduating with a medical degree from the University of Cape Town. Before beginning his anesthesiology residency training in Johannesburg, he worked as a general practitioner in Manitoba, Canada, backpacked through South America for 6 months, and spent time at a rural hospital in South Africa, training nurses to practice primary health care in villages where there were no doctors.

After residency, he came to Washington University for fellowship training in pediatric anesthesia. He joined the faculty in 2002, after being in private practice in Cape Town. He especially enjoys working with residents and helping them develop from anxious tutorial newbies into skilled clinicians.

Outside of work, he enjoys gardening with his wife, running with his dog, and playing squash as often as he can.

Fun fact: “I was 33 years old before I was able to vote for the very first time. I stood in line for more than 6 hours with people like me without a single complaint – we were just so excited and overjoyed to be able to vote for Nelson Mandela to be president!”