Episodes

In this podcast, Matt Zinder, MS, CRNA, CH walks us through a fifteen-minute guided relaxation session that is sure to leave you feeling refreshed and renewed. You should try this at home, on your lunch break or to help you go to sleep at night. Get to a place where you can close your eyes and tune out distractions. Hopefully, you’ll find yourself relaxed and refreshed, ready to move forward with renewed energy or simply fast asleep. Matthew Zinder, MS, CRNA, CH has worked in some level of heal...

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, by Robert Sapolsky is a book explaining the physiology of chronic stress and techniques for managing it. Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University. Matt Zinder recommends this book, saying, “It’s the seminal text on stress. This author describes to minute detail what stress is, what stress does to the body and ends with some techniques for managing stress.” Image retrieved from https://animals.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/2068315/. This po...

This episode speaks to why anesthesia school/residency is hard and what we as SRNAs, residents, program faculty, preceptors, CRNAs and physician anesthesiologists can do about it. Anesthesia training is hard because life is hard and doesn’t stop just because you enroll in an incredibly difficult program. Anesthesia school is also hard because anesthesia school is just really hard. Whether you’re a physician resident or SRNA, you have to learn to take an incredible degree of ownership for your...

I originally released this podcast on April 4, 2020 to offer advice & encouragement to SRNAs who had been furloughed from clinical due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While elements of this show speak specifically to that context, the themes ring true for overcoming any set back during anesthesia school. At the time, our level 1 trauma center, along with hospitals across the nation, clamped down on all non-essential staff, removing medical students, nursing students, SRNAs and others from the clinica...

This podcast was originally posted on April 13, 2020, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of this podcast both Kelly Gallant and Adrienne Chavez were SRNAs completing their anesthesia training. They have both completed their training and passed boards as CRNAs. This show continues to have value for SRNAs & anesthesia residents as the themes we discuss around wellness & resiliency remain as relevant as ever. At the time of this recording, Kelly and Adrienne were the immedia...

This is one of my favorite podcasts that I’v recorded. If you’ve had the privilege of working with or getting to know Dr Christine Hein, MD, – or once you listen to this podcast – you’ll know why! Christine Hein, MD is an emergency medicine physician and the Chief Wellness Officer at Maine Medical Center, Maine’s only level 1 trauma center and academic teaching hospital. We recorded this episode in August of 2017 when Dr Hein was developing the Provider Well-being and Peer Support program at M...

I’m joined today by Nate & Lien Woodin who are married and the parents of two boys – aged 6 & 9 as this show comes out on the first of October 2021. If you’re a critical care nurse, medical student, resident or SRNA – or a spouse or partner to one of these folks – and you’re wondering how to hold it together as a parent & partner during anesthesia training or even if it’s possible for you to go back to anesthesia school – this podcast is for you! We don’t hit a list of bullet points on this on...

This episode was originally published in April 2019 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community. In this podcast, Skyler provides a thorough overview of local anesthetics including relevant anatomy and physiology (i.e. nerve fibers, sodium channels, pKa, etc), types of local anesthetics and factors that effect onset, potency, duration of action and absorption. We touch on methemoglobinemia, Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity (LAST) and common dosing and max dosing for loc...

This episode was originally published in April 2019 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community. In this podcast, Ashley walks us through an overview of the most common IV anesthesia induction agents. We cover propofol, ketamine, etomidate, barbiturates (e.g. methohexital), dexmedetomidine and benzodiazepines (e.g. midazolam). A run down of the mechanism of action, dosing, onset, metabolism and physiologic effects are provided. This is an excellent introduction to these c...

This episode was originally released in April 2019 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community. In this podcast, Skyler walks us through the pharmacodynamics of volatile anesthetics. We talk extensively about the concepts related to minimum alveolar concentration (MAC), the mechanism of action of volatile anesthetics and the physiologic response to volatiles. You don’t want to miss this excellent overview of core anesthesia concepts! At the time of this recording, Skyler...

This episode was originally released in April 2019 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community. In this podcast, Skyler gives a succinct run down on the pharmacokinetics of volatile anesthetics. We talk about uptake, distribution, elimination and metabolism and unpack concepts such as blood gas solubility, oil gas solubility, Fa/Fi curves and more. You don’t want to miss this excellent overview of core anesthesia concepts! At the time of this recording, Skyler Rouhselang...

In this episode, which was originally released in April of 2019 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community, Ashley provides an incredibly detailed run down of the anesthesia machine: the flow of gas through the machine, high, intermediate and low pressure system components in the machine, variable bypass vaporizer structure & function, relevant gas laws, safety systems & features and more! If you’re an anesthesia learner just hitting the ORs, this show will give you a de...

In this episode, Ashley and I talk through how to set up an operating room anesthesia workstation, perform a preoperative patient assessment and progress through an IV induction and intubation. You’ll hear Ashley walk you through everything from how to do a quick machine set up, where to put your tape, how to introduce yourself to patients & work through a preop assessment and how to proceed from getting in the door of the OR through getting the tube where you want it to go after induction. Thi...

Ben Levin, MD This podcast was the last episode I published on From the Head of the Bed and originally came out on July 4, 2020. In August of that year, I launched Anesthesia Guidebook and this episode is being re-released on September 16, 2021. In this episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Ben Levin, MD on the perioperative management of patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) for non-cardiac surgery. This is your podcast if you’re looking for a refresher or quick overvi...

This episode was originally released on From the Head of the Bed on March 3, 2019 and recorded in Scottsdale, Arizona. Tom Baribeault, DNP, CRNA and Jayme Reuter, MS, CRNA talk with me about opioid free anesthesia. We discuss the progression to opioid free anesthesia (OFA), where OFA fits into enhanced recovery programs and the specific techniques of how to provide a comfortable, opioid-free perioperative experience for our patients. Find out more about the Society for Opioid Free Anesthesia, ...

This episode was originally released in April of 2020 on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community and is being re-released on 5 September 2021 on Anesthesia Guidebook. In this episode, I speak with Shane Garner, MS, CRNA, NSPM-C about an introduction & overview of regional anesthesia. We discuss: opioid-free anesthesia how to gain experience in regional anesthesia as a SRNA or CRNA fellowships in pain management available to CRNAs the Non-Surgical Pain Management (NSP...

Study Link: http://depaul.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Y32tyhtj6i8GZU Nicole Kellogg, BSN, SRNA and Elizabeth Fullford, BSN, SRNA join me to discuss the anesthetic considerations for cannabis users. This podcast is part of a study they’re conducting on the efficacy of an educational podcast for SRNAs and CRNAs. PLEASE COMPLETE THE PRE-SURVEY AND POST-SURVEY HERE. The study will be live through the end of October 2021. At the time of this episode’s publication (1 September 2021) Elizabeth Fulford ...

In this episode you’re going to hear from Shane Garner, MS, CRNA, NSPM-C on the 5 Keys for Achieving Financial Independence. This show was originally released in April of 2020 on From the Head of the Bed and I’m pulling it forward to Anesthesia Guidebook on August 30, 2021. I’m pumped Shane brought this intel to the podcast… anesthesia providers are high income earners but it’s rare to see any formal training on financial literacy as part of core medical & nursing education or during anesthesia...

Dr Matthew Willis is the CRNA who created and produces the educational app Master Anesthesia, which is available from the App Store and Google Play Store. I’ve been using this app for the last several months and I’m super impressed at a few things: it’s packed with real-world information that’s evidence based from case tips to pharmacology the calculator is amazing… it’s so easy to use and gives you all the information you really need super fast.. more on that in just a sec Matthew has made ...

This episode is coming out on August 21, 2021 but it FIRST came out way back on September 19, 2015. The show is on emotional intelligence of SRNAs with Dr Shawn Collins, DNP, PhD, CRNA. At the time of the interview, Dr Shawn Collins was the nurse anesthesia program director and the interim dean of the College of Health & Human Sciences at Western Carolina University (WCU). I was super early in developing the podcast From the Head of the Bed and was actually still a SRNA at WCU even though the ...

This episode originally appeared on the podcast From the Head of the Bed on August 6, 2015. It’s re-released here on August 17, 2021. Dr Shawn Collins, DNP, PhD, CRNA and I discuss the transition from Master’s level training for CRNAs to practice doctorates, most commonly the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree or DNP. Every CRNA program must transition to the doctorate level for new classes by January 1, 2022, with every SRNA graduating from doctorate level training by 2025. Most of the 124 CRNA...

This podcast follows up on the previous show which discussed free open access medical education (FOAM) and the use of social media in anesthesia education. Here, I discuss the power of asynchronous learning to shape the future of anesthesia education. The power of asynchronous learning comes from the ability of content experts to produce something truly informative and engaging once and then make that widely available to learners over a prolonged span of time. The opportunity, the chance, the ...

Free open access medical education – or FOAM – is any medical educational content that’s shared freely on open access platforms, meaning the public can consume it without having to be a member of an organization or pay a subscription fee. The reason it’s significant is that it brings evolving science & literature – and discussions around the art & science of medicine – into the hands of providers without the traditional paywalls that trade associations or peer-reviewed journals put up between yo...

In this episode, I tell you a story about whitewater paddling and unpack the concept of flow described by psychologist and author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD. I also present the Can-O-Calm for the first time on the podcast. This secret, magical, weightless and even sterile (when you need it to be) tool will help get you through the most dire of circumstances with your head right, your vision clear and yes, your voice calm. The concepts of flow help us understand how to prepare for emergencies, ...