Christopher Pastrana, MD

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Undergraduate School: Johns Hopkins University

Medical School: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine

Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy wine/beer tasting, trying to learn Korean, and shooting clays.

Favorite things about/to do/to eat in Charlottesville: Top 5 Restaurants: Smyrna, Tavola, Bulpan, Con Mole, Public Oyster. Honorable mentions: Birdhouse, Alley Light, Doma, Stock Provisions. I love that Charlottesville has everything I could want to do with my limited time outside of residency, and everything it doesn’t have is a few hours away (DC, Richmond, NYC).

Why did you choose UVA? The vibes, greenery with four seasons, and the program strength were the reasons I chose UVA.

Anesthesiology Interests: Generalist – I will think of a specialty after I pay back my Air Force commitment.

Favorite Rotation: Family Med because I got to go off-site and I was given a lot of autonomy.

What’s the best piece of career advice you ever got?: Seek feedback, take advantage of all opportunities, find a niche.