Episodes

This podcast discusses deliberate practice, a concept developed by renowned cognitive psychologist Anders Ericsson, PhD. Deliberate practice is the kind of practice that top performers employ in order to reach the very highest levels of excellence across domains. Ericsson studied countless musicians, athletes, dancers, chess players, medical professionals and others to uncover the secrets and power of deliberate practice. Malcolm Gladwell popularized some of Ericsson’s work in his 2008 book, Ou...

This episode originally released on From the Head of the Bed in February of 2017. Denham Ward, MD, PhD joined me to talk about expertise in anesthesia. At the time of this recording, Dr Ward was the director of the Academy at Maine Medical Center Institute for Teaching Excellence and professor of anesthesiology at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is Emeritus Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology and Emeritus Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester. This podcas...

In this episode Dr Cynthia Farina and I talk about the mid-to-late phase of your career as a CRNA. Every stage of your career has unique challenges & opportunities. There’s so much attention focused on getting into CRNA school, the SRNA/resident/training phase and becoming a new CRNA… this conversation is for the part of your career farther down the road. Dr Farina is a CRNA from Michigan whom, at the time of this recording (December 2019), served as the chair of the American Association of Nur...

I caught back up with Eric Carlson, CRNA to discuss his recent retirement and advice he has for anesthesia providers still in the thick of it. Eric was interviewed by Kristin Lowrance, MSN, CRNA way back in 2015 for our podcast “From the Head of the Bed.” We just re-released that podcast as #28 – Can’t Intubate, Can’t Oxygenate (CICO) during stat C-section: a case study with Eric Carlson, CRNA on Anesthesia Guidebook. If you haven’t listened to it, it’s a harrowing story of how he managed this i...

This podcast was originally published on March 1, 2015. In this episode Kristin Lowrance, MSN, CRNA talks with Eric Carlson, CRNA about a case where he was called for a stat Cesarean section and after a rapid sequence induction, he could not intubate or oxygenate the patient. The case was at 2AM and Eric was the only anesthesia provider in house. The other on-call anesthesia provider was at least 20-minutes away. Eric walks us through what happened next and how they proceeded with the decision ...

This episode outlines the overnight transition to same-day surgery & discharge for total knee patients at Maine Medical Center. Surgeon Adam Rana, MD was informed on a Tuesday afternoon in December 2020 that elective cases requiring overnight hospital stays were being canceled effective immediately. He reached out to physician anesthesiologist Ryan Mountjoy, MD, along with others, and the very next day they implemented a new anesthesia plan that got patients discharged safely the same-day of sur...

Paul Samuels, MD is a pediatric physician anesthesiologist who works with SmileMD to provide mobile anesthesia for dental offices. We talk about the unique characteristics of working in a mobile anesthesia setting for pediatric dental cases. Topics include: skills required to excel as an anesthesia provider in a mobile, pediatric setting preoperative screening of patients patient safety during anesthesia in dental offices prevention and management of emergencies in mobile anesthesia who mak...

My guest today is Dr Brian McGrory. His is an orthopedic joint replacement surgeon at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry biology at Cornell, attended medical school at Columbia, followed by residency in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School where he also earned a Master’s degree in orthopedic research. Dr McGrory then completed a fellowship through Harvard University at Massachusetts General Hospital in adult hip & knee reconstr...

Dr. Jason Bolt, DNP, CRNA is a YouTuber and social media influencer in the anesthesia community. He graduated from Union University with his doctorate in anesthesia in 2019 and now practices in a collaborative group in the Bay Area. He offers mentorship through his YouTube channel memberships and enjoys helping others reach their goals in nursing and in anesthesia. He volunteers as a member of the AANA Communications Committee and is active in advocating for CRNAs on a legislative level. He is b...

Today my guests are Trent and Katie Bishop, a CRNA couple who practice independently and live in Durango, Colorado. We’re going to talk about serotonin syndrome and cases that both Trent and Katie have recently experienced as providers in their practice. Trent & Katie Bishop are CRNAs practicing independently in Durango, Colorado. Trent has a background in biology and EMS prior to pursuing a career as a critical care Registered Nurse and now as a CRNA. He has prior work experience at level 1 & ...

“Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Let me do and I will understand.” – Confucius Demo-do teaching is all about “show me and I will remember.” Demo-do is a simple process where educators outline what will be demonstrated, then demonstrate the process as it should be performed, then coach the learner through immediately practicing the technique. Demonstration may seem like a silly thing for clinical preceptors to do with anesthesia learners. Too often, CRNAs & physician an...

Please follow the link below to complete the survey associated with this podcast for Obi’s research with the University of Saint Francis: Effectiveness of a Nurse Anesthetist Preceptor Training Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9M7VG92 Obinna Odumodu, BSN, SRNA is currently completing his doctorate in anesthesia at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana as of February 2021, when this podcast was published. This podcast will review best practices in precepting and is being uti...

Today my guest is Chuck Frisch, DNP, CRNA, FAAPM, CH, a CRNA with over 35 years of experience in anesthesia who serves as the director of anesthesia at Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance, Nebraska. He’s here to talk about rural, independent CRNA practice. Chuck initially studied molecular, cellular & developmental biology in college before switching gears to nursing school in effort to get out of the solitude of research labs. He completed his associates degree in biology in 1978 and a seco...

The Top Drawer Run Down is a 3-part series covering the 39 most commonly administered intravenous medications in anesthesia. These medications are often found in the top drawer of anesthesia carts in the United States. The Top Drawer Run Down was originally posted on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community in September of 2019. Michael Mielniczek, MSN, CRNA joins me to deliver the run down on these medications. Michael has a deep interest in pharmacology and completed h...

The Top Drawer Run Down is a 3-part series covering the 39 most commonly administered intravenous medications in anesthesia. These medications are often found in the top drawer of anesthesia carts in the United States. The Top Drawer Run Down was originally posted on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community in September of 2019. Michael Mielniczek, MSN, CRNA joins me to deliver the run down on these medications. Michael has a deep interest in pharmacology and completed h...

The Top Drawer Run Down is a 3-part series covering the 39 most commonly administered intravenous medications in anesthesia. These medications are often found in the top drawer of anesthesia carts in the United States. The Top Drawer Run Down was originally posted on From the Head of the Bed… a podcast for the anesthesia community in September of 2019. Michael Mielniczek, MSN, CRNA joins me to deliver the run down on these medications. Michael has a deep interest in pharmacology and completed h...

In this episode, I talk with Jenny Li, BSN, SRNA about using pre-procedural ondansetron to prevent spinal-induced hypotension in elective cesarean-sections. Ms Li is completing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University at Buffalo and structured her doctoral work around this topic. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of California, Davis in 2013 and went back to school for a second Bachelor’s in Nursing at the University of Rochester. She worked in the...

Today I’m joined by Jennifer & Robert Montague to talk about the experience of significant others in anesthesia school. Rob is currently a second-year SRNA at the University of New England and Jen, his wife, is a Master’s-prepared Registered Dietitian who has taken on the lioness’ share of providing child care and homeschooling responsibilities for their two children while Rob attends anesthesia school. Jen and Rob moved across the country from Montana to Maine for Rob to pursue a mid-life caree...

Lieutenant Colonel Peter D. Strube is a CRNA who graduated from St. Mary’s University school of anesthesia in 2006 with a master’s degree. His undergraduate degree is from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He was awarded the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia (DNAP) in June of 2017 and is currently enrolled in his MBA. Lieutenant Colonel Strube is soon to be retired from the United States Army Nurse Corps. Dr Strube has mobilized and deployed four times during current military operations which includes s...

Aurora Quaye, MD is an anesthesiologist who specializes in regional anesthesia and pain medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in Regional Anesthesia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Quaye’s clinical interests include decreasing the use of opioids for pain management, in improving provider education on non-opioid analgesic strategies, and in identifying analgesic techniques that decrease the potentia...

The following ten ideas have the power to change your attitude towards and even the trajectory of your professional career and life. There’s three core domains to developing as an anesthesia provider: your knowledge base, skill set and attitude. Each are unique and require different kinds of effort or deliberate practice to grow & improve. This guide is predominately about tweaking & improving the attitude you approach your career with. If you’re gonna show up in your life, why not show up with ...

This episode is a continuation of the series on Leadership in Emergencies… the art & science of resuscitation. Be sure to go check out episode 7 of the podcast where I give a quick run down of leadership in emergencies and how we can work towards improving our individual & team performance in anesthesia crises. Ryan Mountjoy, MD is a board-certified physician anesthesiologist with Spectrum Healthcare Partners in Portland, Maine. He is the Co-Director of Orthopedic Trauma and Total Joint Anesthe...

This is a distillation of 10 key tips to help folks who are learning airway management improve their skills. This show gets straight to the point: 10 tips for airway management in 10 minutes. 10 Tips for Airway Management 1. Develop a growth mindset and practice deliberately 2. Do a good airway assessment 3. Develop and follow a plan 4. Control your environment 5. Position the patient and yourself for success 6. Preoxygenate adequately 7. Communicate effectively 8. Choose meds appropriat...

The NBCRNA CPC Program allows for CRNAs to earn Class B Credits by listening to podcasts; this episode tells you how. The National Board of Certification & Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) recognizes anesthesia-related podcasts, like Anesthesia Guidebook, as valid sources of Class B credit in their Continued Professional Certification (CPC) Program that all CRNAs participate in. Class B credits are designed to encourage professional development and CRNAs must obtain 40 hours of C...