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Jashan Saini: Listening, Learning, and Leading Change in Critical Care

For Jashan Saini, growing up in Fort McMurray instilled a sense of resilience—and it’s a quality that’s carried him through graduate school and a deeply personal research journey into one of Canada’s most urgent health-care crises: the opioid epidemic.

As he convocates this June from the ß÷ßäÉçÇø, Jashan’s thesis sheds light on a vulnerable and often overlooked group: critically ill patients struggling with opioid use disorders. His research, conducted at the Royal Alexandra Hospital ICU, found that patients with opioid use issues were often younger, faced more severe health outcomes, and had higher mortality rates than their peers. His work offers a clear call to action: these patients need more nuanced, compassionate, and community-focused care.

“I came into this project from a basic science background, expecting structure and straight answers,” Jashan admits. “But clinical research is rarely linear. I quickly learned that clarity takes time, and that the process matters as much as the outcome.”

Jashan presented his preliminary findings at the 2022 Critical Care Canada Forum in Toronto, contributing to national conversations on how we support patients facing addiction in critical care settings. And while his research was rigorous, the journey was also deeply human. “What kept us going was knowing this work could help make care more equitable and responsive for people who are often forgotten once they enter an ICU.”

His academic path hasn’t been without challenges, but Jashan says graduate school taught him one lasting truth: “Resilience comes from quiet persistence. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

Jashan’s advice for future students is rich with hard-won wisdom: hold onto your values, seek discomfort, and don’t confuse kindness for weakness. “Graduate school will test your character as much as your intellect,” he says. “It’s about growing into the kind of person who can face complexity with courage.”

As for what keeps him grounded? “Music. I can’t live without it.”

With humility, intellect, and a deep sense of purpose, Jashan Saini is ready for what’s next: studying Medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He believes his graduate training played a significant role in preparing him for this next step in his journey. And whether he’s in the ICU, the classroom, or somewhere entirely unexpected, one thing is certain: he’ll be listening closely, thinking critically, and quietly changing the world around him.