Through thick and thin

Roommates and School of Medicine graduates Panth Doshi and Faizaan Khan have been by each other's side since beginning medical school, and soon they will begin their anesthesiology training together.

Doshi and Khan met in their freshman dormitory hallway at VCU and shared many classes as biomedical engineering majors. They would say hello in passing, Doshi said, but it wasn’t until Doshi’s original housing plans for medical school fell through that sparked the idea of living with Khan.

“It worked out really well,” Doshi said. “Everything just kind of fell into place.”

The living arrangement proved to be successful. Khan and Doshi have lived together while working their way through the School of Medicine’s Competency-Based Graduation program, and this summer they’ll begin training in the same residency program.

The Competency-Based Graduation (CBG) program is an accelerated track in which medical students graduate in three years, instead of the standard four. Students are pre-enrolled during the first half of their M2 year and are accepted into the program when they pass Step 1 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) at the end of their M2 year. Accepted students then begin their M3 rotations a month earlier than traditional students and follow an alternate clinical clerkship routine, which replaces the traditional elective with an internship in their chosen specialty. CBG students take the USMLE Step 2 during their M3 year instead of their M4 year, and students who successfully remain on track are ranked to match into a VCU program.

Doshi and Khan both said they had an early interest in anesthesiology. For Khan, the procedural aspect of anesthesiology matched his biomedical engineering background.

“I knew I had to do something hands on, and it had to have a hard science base,” Khan said. 

Doshi said he found anesthesiology during his high school’s capstone mentorship program. Being paired with an anesthesiologist sparked a passion for medicine, and he was drawn to the specialty because of its procedural nature, as well as the blend of pathophysiology and pharmacology.

“I tried to keep my options open when I came to medical school, but I kept coming back to anesthesiology,” Doshi said. “It really has a blend of what I wanted, so I decided on it pretty early on.”

After confirming their interest in the specialty, both students said it made sense to pursue the CBG program. Khan was motivated by the temporal benefits of attending three years of medical school versus the typical four, and for Doshi, matching into VCU for residency meant staying near his family.

Doshi and Khan said their friendship only grew during their time in the CBG program. The roommates shared many classes, and having each other's backs over the years gave them both the confidence and motivation to excel in a demanding program.

“We pushed each other to be better during medical school," Khan said. "And we will continue to do so during residency” 

As resident training begins in the summer, Doshi and Khan said they are excited to apply the skills they learned during their time in the medical school. They also predicted that their bond will only grow stronger as time goes on.

"Residency is challenging, so having someone who understands my work and personal lives is very helpful," Doshi said.

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