Alumni stories

Marla Ferschl, MD

I came to UCSF as an anesthesia resident in 2005. Having spent my entire life in the Midwest, I was shocked by the July weather in San Francisco. But the Bay Area grew on me, and now I cannot think of a better place to live. When I started my anesthesia residency, I was not sure about pursuing a fellowship, but once I took care of an infant at the former ASC, I realized my future was in pediatric anesthesia. I found the cases to be physiologically interesting and I felt like I made a meaningful difference in each patient’s life. Plus, everyone was nicer on the pediatric side—surgeons, nurses, and techs—and the anesthesiologists in the pediatric group were incredible role models. They knew how to move rooms—they were the most efficient group I had ever seen. They were never afraid to speak up to do the right thing for their patients. They also treated each other like family—at the end of the day, they always took care of each other and jumped in to help one another out. 

I knew I wanted to leave UCSF for fellowship so I could gain a different perspective, but I also knew that my dream job was to come back after fellowship and join the pediatric team. Before I left for my fellowship year, I negotiated my return as a faculty member with Ron Miller and Atsuko Baba, who was the pediatric division chief at the time.  

When I returned to UCSF in 2010, I felt so lucky to be back. My pediatric group was as wonderful as I thought they would be, and working with some true giants in pediatric anesthesia, like George Gregory, Claire Brett, and Chico Caldwell, helped me hone my practice and grow as an anesthesiologist. I also was fortunate to get involved in opportunities outside the OR—from teaching students, residents, and fellows to ultimately becoming the pediatric anesthesia fellowship program director and having the opportunity to expand the program to match our clinical growth. I have been most grateful for faculty development opportunities provided at UCSF, including the Teaching Scholars Program—which I highly recommend to anyone interested in education, the CORO leadership development program, and the Academy of Medical Educators. Each opportunity helped increase my engagement not only with the department but also with UCSF as a whole.  

When I reflect on my time at UCSF, I am amazed by how much our pediatric services have grown. We have gone from a couple of ORs in the main ORs and a couple of floors of the Moffitt-Long hospital, to a hospital of our own at Mission Bay, with 8 ORs, 3 procedure rooms, and multiple non-OR anesthesia locations. With the addition of Oakland Children’s Hospital as well as a dedicated pediatric outpatient surgical center in Walnut Creek in 2023, our division is poised to become the largest in the department. We have over 36 faculty and are still growing. Combined across all 3 sites, our group does over 15,000 anesthetics per year!  

It is a great privilege to now lead this division. I still learn things from my colleagues and our trainees regularly, and I strive to promote a growth mindset in our practice. I hope that when our trainees rotate through pediatric anesthesia, they feel the same spark that I felt nearly 20 years ago and will consider joining our group in the future! 

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