Rita Agarwal is a double board-certified pediatric anesthesiologist at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Her work focuses on pediatric pain management, neuroanesthesia, medical education, advocacy, mentorship, and sponsorship. She serves as chair of the California Society of Anesthesiologists' Women in Anesthesiology Committee, is active with the ASA and CSA communications committees, and is one of two hosts of the CSA podcast Vital Times.

Dr. Agarwal is an active member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia and the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine, where she contributes to educational and editorial initiatives. A representative sample of her publications includes work on pediatric sedation safety in Pediatrics, anesthesia for pediatric chest trauma in Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, airway management in laryngotracheal injuries in children in Paediatric Anaesthesia, opioid use in children during the perioperative period, perioperative management of pediatric patients using medicinal marijuana, dental anesthesia safety, outpatient opioid prescribing guidelines for children and adolescents, and safe and effective pain management in children in American Family Physician. She has also written on workforce trends in pediatric anesthesiology, adverse event disclosure, and perioperative considerations for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders.

She has completed training in evidence-based coaching and is passionate about advocacy for safer care for children undergoing dental anesthesia and appropriate pain management for pediatric patients, while also supporting physicians through mentorship and coaching. She shares updates through her Stanford profile, on X as @ritaagarwal6, on Instagram as @ragarwal62, and on Bluesky as @momdoc3.bsky.social.