Podcast

Ep 250: Strengthening Advocacy Efforts with the AANA’s New Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Ingrida Lusis

We had a chance to spend some time with the new AANA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Ingrida Lusis during our time at the mid-year assembly to learn more about her background in government affairs and how she plans to strengthen advocacy by bringing state and federal affairs all under one umbrella. Join Sharon and guest host Tracy Castleman, CRNA, as we go on the offensive with our newest advocacy leader.

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Ep 248: Hear from the Candidates for 2023-24 AANA Board of Directors

Voting started this week for the next round of AANA Board of Directors elections, and we want to help you get to know your candidates a little better. Thanks to our friends at the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, we will share the opening statements from the Board of Director Candidates’ Forum during the Mid-Year Assembly so you can hear first-hand from each of the talented CRNAs running for office.

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Ep 244: Military CRNAs – Lessons Learned & Lives Well Lived

Janet Setnor, MSN, CRNA is a retired Colonel with the US Air Force Reserve Nurse Corps and someone we talked to last year about how she helped bring full practice authority to that branch of the military. Today she joins us to tell us more about her time in the military, how it helped prepare her for civilian life, and what she thinks will happen with the VA issue still being debated.

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Ep 243: A Crisis of Malignant Proportions

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is a rare and dreaded complication specific to anesthesia. It’s a systemic hypermetabolic syndrome that can result in severe disability or even death. In this episode Jeremy and Sass review the pathophysiology, preoperative considerations, signs and symptoms, complications, and management of this uncommon, but significant critical event.

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Ep 238: Having a Plan B – Why CRNAs Should Consider a Side Hustle

The CRNA profession continues to be a strong career path that allows you to comfortably save for retirement, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t always have a backup plan just in case. As we’ve seen over the last few years, crazy things can happen that shake up our day-to-day routines at a moment’s notice. In this episode, we’ll talk with Plan B CRNA Podcast host Bobby Jones, MSN about how anyone can start a side hustle, and maybe more importantly, how and why they should consider it.

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Ep 237: To DNP or Not To DNP

Many CRNAs are returning to school to earn their Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice but is it worth it to spend the time and money to earn another degree? You can find plenty of information and discussion about DNP project topics and people that have earned their DNP, but it’s not as easy to find a thorough explanation of how to go through that process and the actual value it provides. Devin Miller, CRNA, DNP joins the show today to get into the details of a DNP and tell us why he feels it can empower nurses after completing the program.

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Ep 236: 3 Updated Guidelines for Neuromuscular Blocking Agents

Even in 2023, residual paralysis from neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) is still a problem. Recently a task force developed by the ASA released guidelines for the reversal of NMBA. Jeremy and Sass examine these guidelines and talk about what they mean for current anesthesia practice.

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Ep 235: 2023 AANA Update with CEO, Bill Bruce

Bill Bruce, MBA, CAE, took over as the CEO of the AANA last summer so we caught up with him to get an update on how the organization has progressed over his first eight months. It’s already been a busy term already with staffing changes and the AANA moving into a new building, but there are many policy issues to be managed and addressed as well. Join us as we find out what’s happening inside the AANA and how the organization is tackling key issues.

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Ep 234: The State of Nursing Today with Becky Patton

We focus quite a bit on specific people or issues in nursing, but it’s always great to take a few steps back and take a high-level view of the profession. Today we’re excited to welcome someone who has been incredibly influential and has used that position to give back through service and endowment. Becky Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN joins the show to give us a thorough assessment of the state of nursing today and address some of the industry’s key questions and challenges.

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Ep 232: If You’re Not At The Table, You’re On The Menu with Wisconsin Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez

Every year it seems like more and more nurses are taking an active interest in politics, both local and regional, and today’s guest is someone who’s been on the rise as a public official. Sara Rodriguez, a nurse and community leader, won her campaign in Wisconsin to become the state’s next Lieutenant Governor and joins us today to talk about her shift from public health to policymaker.

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Ep 231: How to Care for People with a Substance Use Disorder

Today’s guest has spent a lot of her time in recent years trying to help educate people in this area. Leigh Taylor, DNP, MS, CRNA, APRN, presented at the AANA Annual Congress, which is where we first saw her and knew it’s a topic we wanted to spend more time discussing on the podcast.

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Ep 230: The Best Options for Push-Dose Vasopressors

Jeremy and Sass talk about the various options and situations for blousing vasopressors, and perhaps most importantly which one to use. In fact, recently there was a Journal Course in the AANA Journal talking about the increased (and safe) use of push dose Norepinephrine which they review in this episode.

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Ep 229: $80 Billion Going to the IRS: What Does it Mean for CRNAs?

This will impact every taxpayer but what does it mean specifically for CRNAs and other nurses? Your work earns a nice paycheck every year so tax changes will have an impact on you. Plus, there’s a lot to pay attention to if you’re a business owner or a 1099 worker, which is a group that many CRNAs will fall into.

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Ep 226: The Need for More State Nurse Legislators

We talk all the time about the lack of nurse representation in policy-making positions, but that doesn’t make the data any less surprising. Today we’ll have a great discussion with Darlene Curley, EdD, RN, FAAN, about a study she recently completed on state nurse legislators. She’ll share some of the details with us in this episode and we’ll also have a wide-ranging discussion on how CRNAs and other nurses can continue increasing their involvement.  

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Ep 225: An Inside Look at Lobbying for Your State Association

During our visit to the NCANA meeting last fall, we had the opportunity to host a live podcast about lobbying for your state association and we had the pleasure of bringing NCANA lobbyists Patrick Ballantine and Tracy Kimbrell onto the panel with us. Both of them have been tremendous assets to our association because of their passion for lobbying. We explored that role to find out what skills it takes, how to utilize a lobbyist, and what you should expect from them.

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Ep 220: Financial Therapy for CRNAs

CRNAs face stressful situations every day but that doesn’t always prepare them to deal with the obstacles that life can throw your way, especially when those events put a strain on your finances. Oftentimes, your relationship with a financial advisor might feel more like a therapy session during emotional times, and that’s ok. Let’s discuss some scenarios where it’s almost inevitable that a talk with your advisor seems like a counseling session.

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Ep 219: The Future of Healthcare & Anesthesia with Scott Becker

As we put the finishing touches on another year, we didn’t want to use this time looking backward. Instead, we want to zoom out and get a better idea of where healthcare is headed. Who better to discuss this than Scott Becker, who is the founder of Becker’s Healthcare and someone who has his finger on the pulse of the industry.

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Ep 216: Identifying & Treating Imposter Phenomenon as a CRNA

It’s not something people openly talk about but feeling like you’re professionally inadequate happens to a lot of people. This is known as imposter phenomenon (IP) and it’s something that CRNAs deal with much more than you might realize. We’ve invited former CANA president Jeffrey Darna, PhD, DNP, CRNA, ACNP-BC onto the show to explain why high-achieving individuals have this self-perception of intellectual phoniness and what we can do to treat it.

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Ep 214: Where is VA CRNA Practice Headed?

The VA CRNA practice has been a topic of importance for a while because the VA hospital is the largest healthcare system in the country and currently employs more than 1,100 CRNAs. The worry is that if it fails, it will have a huge domino effect across the country. So what direction is the Association of Veterans Affairs Nurse Anesthetists (AVANA) headed?

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Ep 213: Moral Injury and Nurse Anesthesia

With the increased distress and rationing of care that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, the topic of Moral Injury (MI) has started to garner much more attention in the world of healthcare. This repeated conflict between an individual’s morality and the management of care causes a deep emotional wound that often drives workers out of the profession altogether. Jerry Hogan, DNSc, CRNA wrote an article about this subject, so we’ve asked him to explain the effects of MI and how CRNAs can resolve this conflict.

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