September 12, 2025 • 38 mins
Can you believe we are starting the 5th season?! I am honored to host the first ever podcast for the CAA community, thanks for being! If you want more, listen to my 3 original PROCESS episodes to hear all the nitty gritty details of my journey.
- [PROCESS] Part 1/3. My Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Journey from Full-Time to Part-Time
- [PROCESS] Pt 2/3. My Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Journey from Full-Time to Part-Time
- [PROCESS] That time I got fired. Pt. 3/3 My Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Full-Time to Part-Time Journey
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Awakened Anesthetist podcast,
the first podcast to highlightthe CAA experience.
I'm your host, mary Jean, andI've been a certified
anesthesiologist assistant forclose to two decades.
Throughout my journey andstruggles, I've searched for
guidance that includes my uniqueperspective as a CAA.
(00:25):
At one of my lowest points, Idecided to turn my passion for
storytelling and my belief thatthe CAA profession is uniquely
able to create a life by designinto a podcast.
If you are a practicing CAA,current AA student or someone
who hopes to be one, I encourageyou to stick around and
(00:45):
experience the power of being ina community filled with voices
who sound like yours, sharingexperiences you never believed
possible.
I know you will find yourselfhere at the Awakened Anesthetist
Podcast.
Welcome in, hello AwakenedAnesthetist community.
Welcome to season five ofAwakened Anesthetist podcast.
(01:09):
I'm so happy you're here.
Whether you are a prospectiveCAA, a certified
anesthesiologist assistant who'sworking, or a student, or
perhaps a retired CAA, thispodcast was made for you.
This is the first podcastcreated for our CAA community
(01:30):
and I'm really excited to besharing the fifth season and I
thought I would use this firstepisode to reintroduce myself.
The podcast community haschanged quite a bit since the
podcast started in 2021.
And if you are wanting to knowwho the hell I am and why I'm on
(01:51):
this microphone, I thought itmight be good to kind of wind it
all the way back to thebeginning and then give you an
update, since I had last sharedone of these life updates truly
in 2023.
I figured it was probably timeto tell you everything that's
happened since then and kind ofwhere I am now, because, yes, so
(02:12):
much has changed and also a lotis still the same, so I wanted
to get into that.
But first I wanted to makemention that there is a new
Awakened Anesthetist website.
It's AwakenedAnesthetistcom.
I worked really hard on thisthree times.
Actually, the first two timesfailed.
(02:32):
I had other first one I triedto do completely by myself and
that just started but neverreally went anywhere.
The second time, I had a webdesigner help me and they kind
of abandoned the project halfwayand that was like two years ago
and I just sort of abandoned itmyself.
And then, this third time, Ipartnered with Visible, which
(02:55):
was a company I found throughSquarespace, which is my website
host, and I loved them, I lovedthe work they did and I I'm
really, really proud to sharethe final result, the final
website atAwakenedAnesthetistcom.
You can go there to find all myofferings, all the podcast back
episodes.
You can also connect with me.
(03:17):
You can book a free AMA, a freeAsk Me Anything for 10 minutes
or a longer consultation if youwanted to do some more, like
one-on-one coaching or questionasking about your particular,
maybe pre-AA, situation or maybeyour career transitioner, like
I am.
And there's also a section formy trusted CAA partners.
(03:40):
So these are other CAA creatorswho have businesses or online
presences that I find reallyvaluable myself and I wanted to
share with our community as well.
As you'll see, the season fivepodcast sponsor Harmony Locums
Staffing.
Harmony is a company that isfounded and owned by CAAs.
(04:03):
They have made it possible tobring all the process episodes
to you all this season.
Also, they are making itpossible for my family to have
health insurance because, asyou'll hear in this episode, I
left my employed position thatwas giving me health insurance.
So thank you, harmonyAnesthesia, from many levels,
(04:26):
but I'm just really excited tohave just this one place,
awakenedanesthetistcom, that Ican send everyone to find all
things Awakened Anesthetist, caaMatters, the podcast.
Of course, I'm still on socialmedia.
I've actually sort of got moreinto posting on Instagram, so
(04:46):
that's a great place for behindthe scenes, for some
motivational content, for moreCAA wellness related content as
well, and then you can also findme on LinkedIn, so I look
forward to connecting with youall.
Okay, so when I was planningthis very first episode, I
hadn't really remembered where Ileft you all off.
(05:09):
So if you are a longtimelistener, you know that I have
episodes called Process Episodes.
This is really the heart ofAwakendAnestes podcast.
These are the conversationswith other CAAs.
So I'm in conversation withother CAAs and they are serving
as sort of expanders as towhat's possible as a CAA.
(05:32):
The main reason really I startedthis podcast was because I was
at a point of my career where Iwanted to work part-time and
there was no one in my immediateCAA community who was working
part-time that I knew well orfelt related to in a way that it
was like, okay, if they can doit, I can do it.
And so I had to go outside theCAA community to have that
(05:54):
inspiration, to find theblueprint, to figure out what
steps to take, and luckily therewere CRNAs and
anesthesiologists and PAs thatwere kind of close enough to me
that I kind of got sort of foundmy way, but really I just
stumbled into it and I realizedthrough that process that or
maybe I planted a seed in mymind, because I certainly did
(06:16):
not start the podcast right awayin 2018 when I was going
through that career transition,but I think it planted the seed
that this community deservesmedia and content and voices
from inside the communitysharing what it's like, what's
possible, where you can go as aCAA.
And so I filed that away.
(06:37):
And so I think where I want tostart this story, if you're
totally new, is to tell you thatthere are three process
episodes laying out my journeyinto becoming a CAA.
So, like all the way from, Iguess, probably high school,
undergrad, that whole mindset,and how I found out about being
(06:58):
a CAA and how I decided tobecome a CAA and which school I
decided to go to, on throughworking my first full-time job.
I was there for 11 years.
I was blissfully happy,basically until I wasn't, and
then in 2019, I made a bigcareer transition to work
part-time and then in 2021, Iwas fired from that dream
(07:24):
part-time job, which I outlinein the third process episode,
and basically by the end of thatthird process episode.
I share with you that I had anew job.
I was working at the samesurgery center.
I was now working two daysinstead of three days and I was
working for a larger corporationlike a larger hospital.
I had previously been employedby a private anesthesia group
(07:47):
and that's where I left thestory off.
So I really suggest as opposedto me saying that all again that
you go back and listen.
I give a lot of details.
I talk about the money, likethe actual dollars and financial
transparency.
That I think is important whenyou're talking about a big
career shift or talking aboutleaving a job or going to a
different job or any of thattype of conversation.
(08:10):
I just think so many peopledon't talk about the money
because it's a little bitawkward, but I just leaned in
and laid it all out there.
So I suggest you go back andlisten.
But a brief high-level overviewis that in 2017, I had my third
child I have right now I have an11-year-old, a 10-year-old and
(08:32):
a 7-year-old but in 2017, that7-year-old was just born, I
realized my full-time job andthat schedule was not
sustainable for the life.
That was really going to besomething I wanted to continue
forever.
I realized that somethingneeded to change.
I wanted more time to be withmy kids, with myself.
(08:53):
I wanted to move more slowly.
I wanted to regain some partsof me that I felt had gotten
lost when everything becameabout going to work and working
as a CAA and then really nothingelse, and so I started this big
sort of self-discovery processthat led me oh so many ways and
(09:13):
places, but one of them is thatI ended up starting a podcast.
In 2020, really in the thick ofthe pandemic my husband and I
were thrown together at home forthe first time a lot and we
were not in a great place and wewere looking for ways to heal
(09:36):
the like fractures between us aswell as become more connected
in this environment the pandemicenvironment, as well as having
three small kids at home all day, every day environment that was
really pulling us apart.
And so I got this intuition,this hit to start a podcast, and
(09:56):
I asked my husband if he wantedto start one.
He said absolutely.
Well, he didn't really sayabsolutely.
He said like sure that that'sfine, and so I kind of got
everything going.
We recorded our first podcast,called Growth Minded Marriage.
We recorded it in our basement,like under a blanket, I had a
horrible cold.
That's not the episode.
That is the first, if you cango and want to search for it,
(10:19):
because it was so bad I couldnot like, truly it could not be
shown.
But that was the start of itand I just fell in love with
podcasting.
I have always been a storyteller.
I've always loved hearingstories, talking to people,
asking questions.
That's always been who I am andpodcasting became a way at that
(10:41):
point for me to learn moreabout myself.
Definitely I was someone whonow I would describe it would
say they're like numb from thenose down, like I just didn't
know myself very well and I wasall in my head.
It was all about, you know,like that type A perfectionism,
achievement, brain sort ofscience, minded.
(11:03):
Everything that sort of workedwell for me as a CAA and I
really went on a very soulfulspiritual journey of discovering
myself, reconnecting with myhusband, reconnecting with who I
am.
And when my husband and Idecided that our podcast was
coming to a natural end, I didnot want to stop podcasting and
(11:25):
I decided to continue podcastingbut to create a podcast for my
beloved CAA community.
I have always loved being a CAA.
I still love being a CAA.
I still work clinically, Istill give anesthesia.
It brings me joy.
It just it honestly is aprofession that makes me feel
(11:46):
more like me when I do it.
I just didn't want to do itevery single day.
I wanted to do the other thingsthat make me feel like me, and
so I started podcastingspecifically for this profession
.
I called it Awaken AnesthetistPodcast and sort of started that
all in 2021.
In the background of all of that, I was transitioning from
(12:10):
full-time career to part-timecareer in 2019.
I was working three days a weekat a surgery center, as I
briefly mentioned.
I was then fired.
A week at a surgery center, asI briefly mentioned.
I was then fired.
So the private anesthesia groupthat employed me left, pulled
out of that contract at thesurgery center and went back
basically to their main regionalhospital and left all of the
(12:30):
anesthesia personnel, which wasmyself and two other CAAs at the
surgery center, without a jobwhen our contract ended in 90
days and what ended up happeningis that the large hospital in
that town that's sort of like anhour away from Kansas City
decided to buy up the surgerycenter contract the anesthesia
(12:52):
contract and that anesthesiadepartment absorbed the three
CAAs, they ended up hiringanother CRNA, so they're made
four of us, and then theyfloated their anesthesiologist
to the surgery center.
When I took that job, Inegotiated a new contract where
I was working two days a week,really about eight-hour shifts
(13:14):
two eight-hour shifts a week andI negotiated that I would be on
their group health care plans.
So I paid, of course, a premium, but I was allowed as a 20-ish
hour a week worker to well,that's not 20, I guess 16-hour a
week worker to be on theirhealth care plan, and I was
(13:36):
blissfully happy.
I signed a sign-on bonus.
They gave me a $12,500 sign-onbonus for three years and when I
signed I thought life couldpossibly not get better than
this.
I can't believe that I foundthis two-day-a-week job with
health insurance.
It was everything I thought Icouldn't have.
When I sat down in like 2018and first had the dream of one
(14:00):
day maybe working part-time andbeing able to explore the other
parts of me and be home more andsort of juggle all the parts of
me more seamlessly, and I justI was so, so happy, so, so
fulfilled, and that's reallywhere the last process episode
that I'll link all of this inthe show notes.
That's where it leaves you off.
(14:22):
And basically once I was abouttwo years into that three-year
contract with the new anesthesiagroup at my old surgery center,
I was really deeply intoteaching wellness at UMKC MSA
program.
I have been, or had been, anadjunct professor at UMKC MSA
(14:47):
program, their AA program herein Kansas City, since it opened
in 2008.
That was the reason I movedfrom Cleveland Ohio to Missouri
because Missouri had just openedto CAAs.
They just opened this master'sprogram and they needed CAAs to
come, move to Missouri to teachclinically, to work as CAAs and
(15:09):
then to help be part of theschool.
So I was one of the CAAs whosaid yes to that opportunity and
it was one of the bestdecisions of my life.
I was very, very happy.
I did many things, teaching theIV rotation, teaching sim labs,
and then kind of transitionedwhen I went part-time into this
wellness area of theircurriculum.
(15:32):
And once I got into the wellnesscurriculum I realized how
lacking it is, how lacking itstill is for AA programs, for
the larger CAA community.
I saw the stark differencebetween the resources that
anesthesiologists have and CRNAshave and PAs have and nurses
have and basically every otherprofession besides CAAs, down to
(15:55):
the fact that, you know, theQuad A website for us doesn't
even have a wellness resourcetab, we don't have a wellness
task force.
We just are still in that veryinfantile phase of this level of
support for our profession andthere's, I think, reasons for
that, and that's a whole otherpodcast, but certainly something
(16:17):
that I tuned into and I reallythe main emotion I felt was
pissed.
I was just really hurt andupset and angry that no one had
thought of us, that no one wastaking care of us, that there
was not some larger entity.
It was kind of like the COVIDthing that happened, where we
all realized collectively, likewho's running this ship?
(16:38):
Oh, no one.
Like no one's really watchingout for us.
That means we have to watch outfor ourselves.
It was that same epiphany, butin this CAA Wellness Avenue, and
I just dove headfirst in toteaching this curriculum at UMKC
.
I expanded it.
I also was starting to put thepieces together of just the
(17:01):
culture of anesthesia and beinga CAA that I had heard whispers
of and seen around me, butbecause I wasn't seeing the
whole picture from an outsiderperspective, I just thought, oh
well, oh yeah, that person, youknow, was struggling with
substance abuse or like hadtaken drugs from the hospital.
Well, that's like a one-offthing.
(17:22):
Or, yeah, okay, one of ourstudents did overdose in the
bathroom, but like, oh well,they had this or that going on
too.
And you know, yes, we had astudent who lost their life to
propofol whether it was, youknow, a suicide or an accidental
death, but you know that was anisolated circumstance.
(17:42):
And then, once I kind of got in,I was like, oh, these are all
related, these are all becauseno one's talking about this and
there's nowhere to go for helpand no resources.
And our other anesthesiacounterparts, anesthesiologists
and CRNAs all have these sameproblems.
Like this is systemic withinthe world of anesthesia as well
as in healthcare in general, ofcourse.
(18:04):
Then COVID brought to light allthe burnout statistics and all
of the like.
Frontline workers are walking arazor thin edge between you
know, being able to work andtotally incapacitated in in bed,
and so I just couldn't turnaway from it.
And then, in 2022, I had one ofmy closest mentors suffer from a
(18:27):
substance use disorder and gointo treatment, and this person
was a CAA and just it deeply,deeply affected me in a way
where I just said absolutely nomore.
I refuse to tolerate this everat all, like I am now shifting
my focus to create wellnessresources, to move the needle
(18:48):
forward.
I didn't know what that exactlymeant.
There were so many things Icould do and that was, you know,
2022, 2023, figuring out what Ican uniquely do, which meant
trying a whole bunch of thingsGot a mindfulness meditation
teacher training.
I took a mindfulness-basedstress reduction eight-week
(19:09):
course.
I got a certification inmindful practice and medicine.
I took a whole bunch of onlinecourses and classes.
You know, did my own researchbecause I was creating this
curriculum for UMKC AA programs.
I started networking withinthis community and I just didn't
(19:29):
let go of this.
I wasn't sure where I was going,but I kept stepping forward
because I was so motivated bythis.
I think, being pissed and beingangry and being hurt and, you
know, I think that can be areally great motivator.
Also, it's not sustainable LikeI can't stay angry, I can't
(19:51):
stay pissed and I would saythat's not really the motivation
I have now, but it is whatfueled me for the first couple
years.
For sure, because I wasjuggling, you know, all my other
responsibilities and thentrying to start this wellness
initiative in the CAA professionas well.
And then I realized, as mythree-year contract was coming
(20:12):
up, I was going to be a wellnesscoach, and I was going to be a
wellness coach and I was goingto up that I was not going to be
able to stay working at thesurgery center job, even at two
days a week, and pour my timeand energy into creating CAA
wellness initiatives and live atthe pace of life that I have
(20:34):
had.
At that point realized was whereI really wanted to live, which
is a much slower pace of life.
I don't want to be booked 100%of the time.
I want to live in a way where Ican wake up in the morning,
sort of feel out what my energyis, choose how my energy aligns
with whatever projects I havegoing on that I can pick from.
There's no one breathing downmy neck, there's no one saying
(20:57):
you have to be at work at 5 amtoday because we're doing a
cardiac case.
I can, you know, get more sleepand just.
I just wanted a life that Icould control in a way that is
hard to control if I was goingto the operating room, and so I
took some time to realize that Iwould be leaving my dream
(21:18):
part-time, two-day-a-week jobwith health insurance, and I had
to really figure out what thatwould look like.
Because let's talk about money,money we don't want to.
I don't want to, like tell youthis whole story and not tell
you the reality of I neededmoney to survive.
I, at that point, was still theprimary breadwinner.
My husband is an amazingantiques dealer.
(21:41):
He has been since he's 11.
He works part-time as well nowand at that point was kind of
reprioritizing his time as wellto try to see how much he could
get done and how little time interms for, like, how much money
he could make, or if he couldmake his, his needed salary in
less time if he, like reworkedhis working habits.
(22:04):
Anyways, yes, he works parttime as well.
I'm not married to someone who,like, is a gazillionaire and
doing all this.
But I realized that I neededmore control and more freedom
and I also realized I did notwant to not give anesthesia.
And what did that mean?
How did I now take the nextstep?
(22:26):
And of course, I thought, ohwell, I'll work locums.
But what had happened is thatwhen I moved from that
three-day-a-week position with aprivate group to the
two-day-a-week position with alarger organization.
I decided to have another backupplan and I took a PRN position
at the large academic hospitalin Kansas City.
(22:47):
They need people fairlyregularly just because they're
such a large institution and Ihad already at one point thought
I might work their PRN.
So I basically just revisitedthat in my mind, said yes to it,
applied and was able to startworking PRN about a once a
month-ish rate while I wasworking my two-day-a-week job
(23:08):
and I did that for about a yearand during that time they always
needed me.
They never called me off.
I had such a wonderfulexperience working PRN there
that I thought, you know, maybeI can bet on them and on me that
if I were to just work theirPRN and maybe work one day a
week, I could, you know, bank onthem always needing me PRN
(23:30):
which is a risk and I could makeenough money because the PRN
rates have gone up and up and upsince COVID.
I'm now getting $200 an hour PRNfor this hospital and maybe I
could make enough money that Icould afford to buy my health
insurance off the marketplace,which is what we're doing.
I currently pay almost $1,700 amonth for family health
(23:52):
insurance for myself, my husband, my three kids and I kind of
ran all the numbers, figuredthis all out and said, okay, and
I kind of ran all the numbers,figured this all out and said,
okay, I am going to quit mydream part-time, two-day-a-week
job, I am going to work one daya week at this large academic
facility, prn, and I am going touse the next year, two years,
(24:13):
to pour into the CAA WellnessInitiative, to pour into where I
can uniquely make impact, pourinto the podcast and figure out
if there is a way that I can doboth, that I can make some money
from teaching and the podcastand make money from, of course,
(24:35):
working as a CAA, and have thosetwo things meet in the middle
so that I can live my dream life, which is doing lots of things
from many different bucketshaving impact, telling stories,
working anesthesia, givinganesthesia, making enough money
to support the lifestyle we want.
Which is another thing thatI've done is figure out exactly
(24:58):
what type of lifestyle we needto be happy, and I'm talking
like how many times do we wantto go out to dinner?
What types of vacations do wewant to take?
Do we want to take Europeanvacations or do we want to take
camping trips in Missouri.
You know very, very specificand I decided to take the risk.
I turned in my notice.
I stayed all the way up tothree years because I not have
(25:20):
the ability to give back the$12,500.
I had used that money alreadyand I wasn't unhappy.
So I just kind of made that myend date and so I ended up
quitting August of 2024 andimmediately went into working
one day a week PRN.
I actually worked two days aweek for some of that because I
(25:40):
wanted.
I was nervous that you know, Iwouldn't have enough money or
they wouldn't need me or Ineeded a, you know, larger sort
of FU fund, and that's what I'vebeen doing since August of 2024
.
It is now August of 2025.
And I am still working nowreally one day a week at that
(26:01):
PRN academic hospital.
I am listening, you arelistening to season five of the
Wakeness's podcast, so you knowI'm still doing that.
I have moved forward on CAAMatters, which was born from the
UMKC MSA wellness initiativesthat I had made and started the
curriculum development that Ihad started with the support of
UMKC MSA wellness initiativesthat I had made and started the
(26:22):
curriculum development that Ihad started with the support of
UMKC and with their blessing, in2023, I actually quit my
adjunct professor appointment totake that time and energy that
I was giving to UMKC's 15students to see if I could
develop a larger, broaderprogram that any AA program
could implement, and that hasbecome CAA Matters, which is the
(26:44):
first comprehensive wellnessand professionalism curriculum
for SAAs, for the CAA community,that I've currently been
piloting this summer summer of2025, with several NSU schools,
and in two weeks, I'm actuallyabout to leave for VCOM Carolina
, which is one of the newest AAprograms that has decided to
(27:06):
implement the pilot program, andso things are moving along.
The other interesting thingthat's happened is that I now
have support.
I have a team of three CAAMatters interns Adri, tiffany
and Victoria shout out to you.
They are all pre-AAs themselves, who answered my call on
(27:27):
Instagram when I said hey, I'mlooking to hire three interns.
This is what I need you for,and I had over 100 applications
from the pre-AA community.
I selected these three womenand it's been the best decision
ever.
Of course, they very quicklyproved to me that they were so
much more valuable than I couldhave ever imagined.
(27:48):
They've really elevated CAAMatters as well as helped me
create the PreAA Matters versionof this wellness curriculum
that we are currently teachingto two cohorts of Pre-A's.
Right now we're in the middleof it and I just am so deeply
fulfilled and appreciative ofthese women that I wanted to
(28:10):
give them a little shout outhere.
And the season five of AwakenAnestis podcast is again just
going to be a celebration of ourCAA community.
It is going to be a sharing ofstories of amazing CAAs who are
expanders for me, for you, inthe process episodes.
(28:32):
We have the premier processepisode coming soon.
I'm so excited to share theprocess CAAs this season.
I've also created a newWellness Wednesday sort of mini
series where I'm so excited toshare the process CAAs.
This season I've also created anew Wellness Wednesday sort of
mini series where I'm going tobe funneling all of my wellness
teachings.
These are going to be thingslike micro practices and nervous
system regulation and then somebigger concept ideas that I've
(28:55):
found along my own journey thatI've taken from and kind of
helped shape my best life withmore information.
So these are things likemanifestation work and the
Enneagram and human design, andwe'll see how far we get,
because I do know that I want totake things slowly with this
community.
I could not dive into a lot ofthis sort of maybe higher level
(29:22):
self-care wellness inner workright away.
I needed to start with somemore really grounding practices
and even the word grounding Idon't know that I completely
understood when I first started,but I really needed to learn
more about myself, and so I amgoing to progress these wellness
episodes in the way that Ilearned about my own journey
(29:45):
into wellness, which was reallyreclaiming of who I am kind of
an inner journey of healing oldwounds and figuring out what I
really wanted.
Figuring out where I was sayingyes to other people and saying
no to myself and switching thataround and just figuring out
what life I truly wanted to liveand putting my time and energy
(30:08):
into doing what I needed to doin order to live that life.
And I will also say that thatlife has changed.
Like that life isn't the same,which is why I wanted to do this
update Because, again in 2018,I thought absolutely my best
lived life is working three daysa week, and I couldn't imagine
ever finding a job that wouldpay me enough that I could work
(30:30):
three days a week and then, assoon as I had that and loved it.
You know the dream changed.
I thought, ok, well, if I canhave this, maybe I can have this
other two day a week job withinsurance.
And I could have never imaginedmaking enough money to, you
know, sustain when I firststarted at 24, I made more money
then but I am working onprojects and initiatives that
(31:09):
fill me up so fully andcompletely that I don't need to
spend money on sort of some ofthe things that just like filled
up my cup quickly or like werethose fast hits, because I move
about my days in such a contentsatisfied way and I always have
something to look forward tothat.
You know my family can surviveon the type of lifestyle that
(31:33):
working one day a week as a CAAcan provide, and so I'm really
excited to allow you into alittle bit more of my real self
this season.
When the first CAA WellnessWednesday episode comes out on
Wednesdays, you will see thatyou're going to see a different
version of me.
(31:54):
You're going to see a littlebit more into my real self.
It's part of how I want to showup this season on Awaken
Anesthetist podcast.
It is also the type of wellnessthat I want to talk about.
I don't want to talk aboutperfect wellness.
I want to talk about wellnessthat takes time and is small,
habit changes and is, you know,because one person talked to
(32:14):
another person, you had a goodconversation and you pulled this
thing that you maybe want totry and oh, if she it, maybe I
can do it.
Like that's the type ofwellness that moved the needle
for me, and so that's what Iwant to bring to this community.
Have I said I'm happy you'rehere, I'm so happy to be
restarting Awaken and Assistpodcast.
(32:35):
I just love, love, love beingon mic connecting with you.
It feels like I'm talking toyou, know my community, my
friends.
I can imagine who's on theother side of this mic.
It feels super comfortable.
So I'm just so grateful to havethe opportunity.
If you love this episode, Iwould be honored if you would
(32:55):
share it with another CAA, saaor pre-AA in your life another
CAA, saa or pre-AA in your life.
That's how the community grows.
You can also go to AwakenedAnesthetist podcast to get on my
mailing list, to get on theMindful Connections mailing list
, which is starting up again inSeptember, and all things.
Awakened Anesthetist can befound there or on Instagram at
(33:18):
Awakened Anesthetist.
All right, thanks for beinghere.
Let's talk soon, y'all.
Welcome to the Awakened Anesthetist podcast,
the first podcast to highlightthe CAA experience.
I'm your host, mary Jean, andI've been a certified
anesthesiologist assistant forclose to two decades.
Throughout my journey andstruggles, I've searched for
guidance that includes my uniqueperspective as a CAA.
(00:25):
At one of my lowest points, Idecided to turn my passion for
storytelling and my belief thatthe CAA profession is uniquely
able to create a life by designinto a podcast.
If you are a practicing CAA,current AA student or someone
who hopes to be one, I encourageyou to stick around and
(00:45):
experience the power of being ina community filled with voices
who sound like yours, sharingexperiences you never believed
possible.
I know you will find yourselfhere at the Awakened Anesthetist
Podcast.
Welcome in, hello AwakenedAnesthetist community.
Welcome to season five ofAwakened Anesthetist podcast.
(01:09):
I'm so happy you're here.
Whether you are a prospectiveCAA, a certified
anesthesiologist assistant who'sworking, or a student, or
perhaps a retired CAA, thispodcast was made for you.
This is the first podcastcreated for our CAA community
(01:30):
and I'm really excited to besharing the fifth season and I
thought I would use this firstepisode to reintroduce myself.
The podcast community haschanged quite a bit since the
podcast started in 2021.
And if you are wanting to knowwho the hell I am and why I'm on
(01:51):
this microphone, I thought itmight be good to kind of wind it
all the way back to thebeginning and then give you an
update, since I had last sharedone of these life updates truly
in 2023.
I figured it was probably timeto tell you everything that's
happened since then and kind ofwhere I am now, because, yes, so
(02:12):
much has changed and also a lotis still the same, so I wanted
to get into that.
But first I wanted to makemention that there is a new
Awakened Anesthetist website.
It's AwakenedAnesthetistcom.
I worked really hard on thisthree times.
Actually, the first two timesfailed.
(02:32):
I had other first one I triedto do completely by myself and
that just started but neverreally went anywhere.
The second time, I had a webdesigner help me and they kind
of abandoned the project halfwayand that was like two years ago
and I just sort of abandoned itmyself.
And then, this third time, Ipartnered with Visible, which
(02:55):
was a company I found throughSquarespace, which is my website
host, and I loved them, I lovedthe work they did and I I'm
really, really proud to sharethe final result, the final
website atAwakenedAnesthetistcom.
You can go there to find all myofferings, all the podcast back
episodes.
You can also connect with me.
(03:17):
You can book a free AMA, a freeAsk Me Anything for 10 minutes
or a longer consultation if youwanted to do some more, like
one-on-one coaching or questionasking about your particular,
maybe pre-AA, situation or maybeyour career transitioner, like
I am.
And there's also a section formy trusted CAA partners.
(03:40):
So these are other CAA creatorswho have businesses or online
presences that I find reallyvaluable myself and I wanted to
share with our community as well.
As you'll see, the season fivepodcast sponsor Harmony Locums
Staffing.
Harmony is a company that isfounded and owned by CAAs.
(04:03):
They have made it possible tobring all the process episodes
to you all this season.
Also, they are making itpossible for my family to have
health insurance because, asyou'll hear in this episode, I
left my employed position thatwas giving me health insurance.
So thank you, harmonyAnesthesia, from many levels,
(04:26):
but I'm just really excited tohave just this one place,
awakenedanesthetistcom, that Ican send everyone to find all
things Awakened Anesthetist, caaMatters, the podcast.
Of course, I'm still on socialmedia.
I've actually sort of got moreinto posting on Instagram, so
(04:46):
that's a great place for behindthe scenes, for some
motivational content, for moreCAA wellness related content as
well, and then you can also findme on LinkedIn, so I look
forward to connecting with youall.
Okay, so when I was planningthis very first episode, I
hadn't really remembered where Ileft you all off.
(05:09):
So if you are a longtimelistener, you know that I have
episodes called Process Episodes.
This is really the heart ofAwakendAnestes podcast.
These are the conversationswith other CAAs.
So I'm in conversation withother CAAs and they are serving
as sort of expanders as towhat's possible as a CAA.
(05:32):
The main reason really I startedthis podcast was because I was
at a point of my career where Iwanted to work part-time and
there was no one in my immediateCAA community who was working
part-time that I knew well orfelt related to in a way that it
was like, okay, if they can doit, I can do it.
And so I had to go outside theCAA community to have that
(05:54):
inspiration, to find theblueprint, to figure out what
steps to take, and luckily therewere CRNAs and
anesthesiologists and PAs thatwere kind of close enough to me
that I kind of got sort of foundmy way, but really I just
stumbled into it and I realizedthrough that process that or
maybe I planted a seed in mymind, because I certainly did
(06:16):
not start the podcast right awayin 2018 when I was going
through that career transition,but I think it planted the seed
that this community deservesmedia and content and voices
from inside the communitysharing what it's like, what's
possible, where you can go as aCAA.
And so I filed that away.
(06:37):
And so I think where I want tostart this story, if you're
totally new, is to tell you thatthere are three process
episodes laying out my journeyinto becoming a CAA.
So, like all the way from, Iguess, probably high school,
undergrad, that whole mindset,and how I found out about being
(06:58):
a CAA and how I decided tobecome a CAA and which school I
decided to go to, on throughworking my first full-time job.
I was there for 11 years.
I was blissfully happy,basically until I wasn't, and
then in 2019, I made a bigcareer transition to work
part-time and then in 2021, Iwas fired from that dream
(07:24):
part-time job, which I outlinein the third process episode,
and basically by the end of thatthird process episode.
I share with you that I had anew job.
I was working at the samesurgery center.
I was now working two daysinstead of three days and I was
working for a larger corporationlike a larger hospital.
I had previously been employedby a private anesthesia group
(07:47):
and that's where I left thestory off.
So I really suggest as opposedto me saying that all again that
you go back and listen.
I give a lot of details.
I talk about the money, likethe actual dollars and financial
transparency.
That I think is important whenyou're talking about a big
career shift or talking aboutleaving a job or going to a
different job or any of thattype of conversation.
(08:10):
I just think so many peopledon't talk about the money
because it's a little bitawkward, but I just leaned in
and laid it all out there.
So I suggest you go back andlisten.
But a brief high-level overviewis that in 2017, I had my third
child I have right now I have an11-year-old, a 10-year-old and
(08:32):
a 7-year-old but in 2017, that7-year-old was just born, I
realized my full-time job andthat schedule was not
sustainable for the life.
That was really going to besomething I wanted to continue
forever.
I realized that somethingneeded to change.
I wanted more time to be withmy kids, with myself.
(08:53):
I wanted to move more slowly.
I wanted to regain some partsof me that I felt had gotten
lost when everything becameabout going to work and working
as a CAA and then really nothingelse, and so I started this big
sort of self-discovery processthat led me oh so many ways and
(09:13):
places, but one of them is thatI ended up starting a podcast.
In 2020, really in the thick ofthe pandemic my husband and I
were thrown together at home forthe first time a lot and we
were not in a great place and wewere looking for ways to heal
(09:36):
the like fractures between us aswell as become more connected
in this environment the pandemicenvironment, as well as having
three small kids at home all day, every day environment that was
really pulling us apart.
And so I got this intuition,this hit to start a podcast, and
(09:56):
I asked my husband if he wantedto start one.
He said absolutely.
Well, he didn't really sayabsolutely.
He said like sure that that'sfine, and so I kind of got
everything going.
We recorded our first podcast,called Growth Minded Marriage.
We recorded it in our basement,like under a blanket, I had a
horrible cold.
That's not the episode.
That is the first, if you cango and want to search for it,
(10:19):
because it was so bad I couldnot like, truly it could not be
shown.
But that was the start of itand I just fell in love with
podcasting.
I have always been a storyteller.
I've always loved hearingstories, talking to people,
asking questions.
That's always been who I am andpodcasting became a way at that
(10:41):
point for me to learn moreabout myself.
Definitely I was someone whonow I would describe it would
say they're like numb from thenose down, like I just didn't
know myself very well and I wasall in my head.
It was all about, you know,like that type A perfectionism,
achievement, brain sort ofscience, minded.
(11:03):
Everything that sort of workedwell for me as a CAA and I
really went on a very soulfulspiritual journey of discovering
myself, reconnecting with myhusband, reconnecting with who I
am.
And when my husband and Idecided that our podcast was
coming to a natural end, I didnot want to stop podcasting and
(11:25):
I decided to continue podcastingbut to create a podcast for my
beloved CAA community.
I have always loved being a CAA.
I still love being a CAA.
I still work clinically, Istill give anesthesia.
It brings me joy.
It just it honestly is aprofession that makes me feel
(11:46):
more like me when I do it.
I just didn't want to do itevery single day.
I wanted to do the other thingsthat make me feel like me, and
so I started podcastingspecifically for this profession
.
I called it Awaken AnesthetistPodcast and sort of started that
all in 2021.
In the background of all of that, I was transitioning from
(12:10):
full-time career to part-timecareer in 2019.
I was working three days a weekat a surgery center, as I
briefly mentioned.
I was then fired.
A week at a surgery center, asI briefly mentioned.
I was then fired.
So the private anesthesia groupthat employed me left, pulled
out of that contract at thesurgery center and went back
basically to their main regionalhospital and left all of the
(12:30):
anesthesia personnel, which wasmyself and two other CAAs at the
surgery center, without a jobwhen our contract ended in 90
days and what ended up happeningis that the large hospital in
that town that's sort of like anhour away from Kansas City
decided to buy up the surgerycenter contract the anesthesia
(12:52):
contract and that anesthesiadepartment absorbed the three
CAAs, they ended up hiringanother CRNA, so they're made
four of us, and then theyfloated their anesthesiologist
to the surgery center.
When I took that job, Inegotiated a new contract where
I was working two days a week,really about eight-hour shifts
(13:14):
two eight-hour shifts a week andI negotiated that I would be on
their group health care plans.
So I paid, of course, a premium, but I was allowed as a 20-ish
hour a week worker to well,that's not 20, I guess 16-hour a
week worker to be on theirhealth care plan, and I was
(13:36):
blissfully happy.
I signed a sign-on bonus.
They gave me a $12,500 sign-onbonus for three years and when I
signed I thought life couldpossibly not get better than
this.
I can't believe that I foundthis two-day-a-week job with
health insurance.
It was everything I thought Icouldn't have.
When I sat down in like 2018and first had the dream of one
(14:00):
day maybe working part-time andbeing able to explore the other
parts of me and be home more andsort of juggle all the parts of
me more seamlessly, and I justI was so, so happy, so, so
fulfilled, and that's reallywhere the last process episode
that I'll link all of this inthe show notes.
That's where it leaves you off.
(14:22):
And basically once I was abouttwo years into that three-year
contract with the new anesthesiagroup at my old surgery center,
I was really deeply intoteaching wellness at UMKC MSA
program.
I have been, or had been, anadjunct professor at UMKC MSA
(14:47):
program, their AA program herein Kansas City, since it opened
in 2008.
That was the reason I movedfrom Cleveland Ohio to Missouri
because Missouri had just openedto CAAs.
They just opened this master'sprogram and they needed CAAs to
come, move to Missouri to teachclinically, to work as CAAs and
(15:09):
then to help be part of theschool.
So I was one of the CAAs whosaid yes to that opportunity and
it was one of the bestdecisions of my life.
I was very, very happy.
I did many things, teaching theIV rotation, teaching sim labs,
and then kind of transitionedwhen I went part-time into this
wellness area of theircurriculum.
(15:32):
And once I got into the wellnesscurriculum I realized how
lacking it is, how lacking itstill is for AA programs, for
the larger CAA community.
I saw the stark differencebetween the resources that
anesthesiologists have and CRNAshave and PAs have and nurses
have and basically every otherprofession besides CAAs, down to
(15:55):
the fact that, you know, theQuad A website for us doesn't
even have a wellness resourcetab, we don't have a wellness
task force.
We just are still in that veryinfantile phase of this level of
support for our profession andthere's, I think, reasons for
that, and that's a whole otherpodcast, but certainly something
(16:17):
that I tuned into and I reallythe main emotion I felt was
pissed.
I was just really hurt andupset and angry that no one had
thought of us, that no one wastaking care of us, that there
was not some larger entity.
It was kind of like the COVIDthing that happened, where we
all realized collectively, likewho's running this ship?
(16:38):
Oh, no one.
Like no one's really watchingout for us.
That means we have to watch outfor ourselves.
It was that same epiphany, butin this CAA Wellness Avenue, and
I just dove headfirst in toteaching this curriculum at UMKC
.
I expanded it.
I also was starting to put thepieces together of just the
(17:01):
culture of anesthesia and beinga CAA that I had heard whispers
of and seen around me, butbecause I wasn't seeing the
whole picture from an outsiderperspective, I just thought, oh
well, oh yeah, that person, youknow, was struggling with
substance abuse or like hadtaken drugs from the hospital.
Well, that's like a one-offthing.
(17:22):
Or, yeah, okay, one of ourstudents did overdose in the
bathroom, but like, oh well,they had this or that going on
too.
And you know, yes, we had astudent who lost their life to
propofol whether it was, youknow, a suicide or an accidental
death, but you know that was anisolated circumstance.
(17:42):
And then, once I kind of got in,I was like, oh, these are all
related, these are all becauseno one's talking about this and
there's nowhere to go for helpand no resources.
And our other anesthesiacounterparts, anesthesiologists
and CRNAs all have these sameproblems.
Like this is systemic withinthe world of anesthesia as well
as in healthcare in general, ofcourse.
(18:04):
Then COVID brought to light allthe burnout statistics and all
of the like.
Frontline workers are walking arazor thin edge between you
know, being able to work andtotally incapacitated in in bed,
and so I just couldn't turnaway from it.
And then, in 2022, I had one ofmy closest mentors suffer from a
(18:27):
substance use disorder and gointo treatment, and this person
was a CAA and just it deeply,deeply affected me in a way
where I just said absolutely nomore.
I refuse to tolerate this everat all, like I am now shifting
my focus to create wellnessresources, to move the needle
(18:48):
forward.
I didn't know what that exactlymeant.
There were so many things Icould do and that was, you know,
2022, 2023, figuring out what Ican uniquely do, which meant
trying a whole bunch of thingsGot a mindfulness meditation
teacher training.
I took a mindfulness-basedstress reduction eight-week
(19:09):
course.
I got a certification inmindful practice and medicine.
I took a whole bunch of onlinecourses and classes.
You know, did my own researchbecause I was creating this
curriculum for UMKC AA programs.
I started networking withinthis community and I just didn't
(19:29):
let go of this.
I wasn't sure where I was going,but I kept stepping forward
because I was so motivated bythis.
I think, being pissed and beingangry and being hurt and, you
know, I think that can be areally great motivator.
Also, it's not sustainable LikeI can't stay angry, I can't
(19:51):
stay pissed and I would saythat's not really the motivation
I have now, but it is whatfueled me for the first couple
years.
For sure, because I wasjuggling, you know, all my other
responsibilities and thentrying to start this wellness
initiative in the CAA professionas well.
And then I realized, as mythree-year contract was coming
(20:12):
up, I was going to be a wellnesscoach, and I was going to be a
wellness coach and I was goingto up that I was not going to be
able to stay working at thesurgery center job, even at two
days a week, and pour my timeand energy into creating CAA
wellness initiatives and live atthe pace of life that I have
(20:34):
had.
At that point realized was whereI really wanted to live, which
is a much slower pace of life.
I don't want to be booked 100%of the time.
I want to live in a way where Ican wake up in the morning,
sort of feel out what my energyis, choose how my energy aligns
with whatever projects I havegoing on that I can pick from.
There's no one breathing downmy neck, there's no one saying
(20:57):
you have to be at work at 5 amtoday because we're doing a
cardiac case.
I can, you know, get more sleepand just.
I just wanted a life that Icould control in a way that is
hard to control if I was goingto the operating room, and so I
took some time to realize that Iwould be leaving my dream
(21:18):
part-time, two-day-a-week jobwith health insurance, and I had
to really figure out what thatwould look like.
Because let's talk about money,money we don't want to.
I don't want to, like tell youthis whole story and not tell
you the reality of I neededmoney to survive.
I, at that point, was still theprimary breadwinner.
My husband is an amazingantiques dealer.
(21:41):
He has been since he's 11.
He works part-time as well nowand at that point was kind of
reprioritizing his time as wellto try to see how much he could
get done and how little time interms for, like, how much money
he could make, or if he couldmake his, his needed salary in
less time if he, like reworkedhis working habits.
(22:04):
Anyways, yes, he works parttime as well.
I'm not married to someone who,like, is a gazillionaire and
doing all this.
But I realized that I neededmore control and more freedom
and I also realized I did notwant to not give anesthesia.
And what did that mean?
How did I now take the nextstep?
(22:26):
And of course, I thought, ohwell, I'll work locums.
But what had happened is thatwhen I moved from that
three-day-a-week position with aprivate group to the
two-day-a-week position with alarger organization.
I decided to have another backupplan and I took a PRN position
at the large academic hospitalin Kansas City.
(22:47):
They need people fairlyregularly just because they're
such a large institution and Ihad already at one point thought
I might work their PRN.
So I basically just revisitedthat in my mind, said yes to it,
applied and was able to startworking PRN about a once a
month-ish rate while I wasworking my two-day-a-week job
(23:08):
and I did that for about a yearand during that time they always
needed me.
They never called me off.
I had such a wonderfulexperience working PRN there
that I thought, you know, maybeI can bet on them and on me that
if I were to just work theirPRN and maybe work one day a
week, I could, you know, bank onthem always needing me PRN
(23:30):
which is a risk and I could makeenough money because the PRN
rates have gone up and up and upsince COVID.
I'm now getting $200 an hour PRNfor this hospital and maybe I
could make enough money that Icould afford to buy my health
insurance off the marketplace,which is what we're doing.
I currently pay almost $1,700 amonth for family health
(23:52):
insurance for myself, my husband, my three kids and I kind of
ran all the numbers, figuredthis all out and said, okay, and
I kind of ran all the numbers,figured this all out and said,
okay, I am going to quit mydream part-time, two-day-a-week
job, I am going to work one daya week at this large academic
facility, prn, and I am going touse the next year, two years,
(24:13):
to pour into the CAA WellnessInitiative, to pour into where I
can uniquely make impact, pourinto the podcast and figure out
if there is a way that I can doboth, that I can make some money
from teaching and the podcastand make money from, of course,
(24:35):
working as a CAA, and have thosetwo things meet in the middle
so that I can live my dream life, which is doing lots of things
from many different bucketshaving impact, telling stories,
working anesthesia, givinganesthesia, making enough money
to support the lifestyle we want.
Which is another thing thatI've done is figure out exactly
(24:58):
what type of lifestyle we needto be happy, and I'm talking
like how many times do we wantto go out to dinner?
What types of vacations do wewant to take?
Do we want to take Europeanvacations or do we want to take
camping trips in Missouri.
You know very, very specificand I decided to take the risk.
I turned in my notice.
I stayed all the way up tothree years because I not have
(25:20):
the ability to give back the$12,500.
I had used that money alreadyand I wasn't unhappy.
So I just kind of made that myend date and so I ended up
quitting August of 2024 andimmediately went into working
one day a week PRN.
I actually worked two days aweek for some of that because I
(25:40):
wanted.
I was nervous that you know, Iwouldn't have enough money or
they wouldn't need me or Ineeded a, you know, larger sort
of FU fund, and that's what I'vebeen doing since August of 2024
.
It is now August of 2025.
And I am still working nowreally one day a week at that
(26:01):
PRN academic hospital.
I am listening, you arelistening to season five of the
Wakeness's podcast, so you knowI'm still doing that.
I have moved forward on CAAMatters, which was born from the
UMKC MSA wellness initiativesthat I had made and started the
curriculum development that Ihad started with the support of
UMKC MSA wellness initiativesthat I had made and started the
(26:22):
curriculum development that Ihad started with the support of
UMKC and with their blessing, in2023, I actually quit my
adjunct professor appointment totake that time and energy that
I was giving to UMKC's 15students to see if I could
develop a larger, broaderprogram that any AA program
could implement, and that hasbecome CAA Matters, which is the
(26:44):
first comprehensive wellnessand professionalism curriculum
for SAAs, for the CAA community,that I've currently been
piloting this summer summer of2025, with several NSU schools,
and in two weeks, I'm actuallyabout to leave for VCOM Carolina
, which is one of the newest AAprograms that has decided to
(27:06):
implement the pilot program, andso things are moving along.
The other interesting thingthat's happened is that I now
have support.
I have a team of three CAAMatters interns Adri, tiffany
and Victoria shout out to you.
They are all pre-AAs themselves, who answered my call on
(27:27):
Instagram when I said hey, I'mlooking to hire three interns.
This is what I need you for,and I had over 100 applications
from the pre-AA community.
I selected these three womenand it's been the best decision
ever.
Of course, they very quicklyproved to me that they were so
much more valuable than I couldhave ever imagined.
(27:48):
They've really elevated CAAMatters as well as helped me
create the PreAA Matters versionof this wellness curriculum
that we are currently teachingto two cohorts of Pre-A's.
Right now we're in the middleof it and I just am so deeply
fulfilled and appreciative ofthese women that I wanted to
(28:10):
give them a little shout outhere.
And the season five of AwakenAnestis podcast is again just
going to be a celebration of ourCAA community.
It is going to be a sharing ofstories of amazing CAAs who are
expanders for me, for you, inthe process episodes.
(28:32):
We have the premier processepisode coming soon.
I'm so excited to share theprocess CAAs this season.
I've also created a newWellness Wednesday sort of mini
series where I'm so excited toshare the process CAAs.
This season I've also created anew Wellness Wednesday sort of
mini series where I'm going tobe funneling all of my wellness
teachings.
These are going to be thingslike micro practices and nervous
system regulation and then somebigger concept ideas that I've
(28:55):
found along my own journey thatI've taken from and kind of
helped shape my best life withmore information.
So these are things likemanifestation work and the
Enneagram and human design, andwe'll see how far we get,
because I do know that I want totake things slowly with this
community.
I could not dive into a lot ofthis sort of maybe higher level
(29:22):
self-care wellness inner workright away.
I needed to start with somemore really grounding practices
and even the word grounding Idon't know that I completely
understood when I first started,but I really needed to learn
more about myself, and so I amgoing to progress these wellness
episodes in the way that Ilearned about my own journey
(29:45):
into wellness, which was reallyreclaiming of who I am kind of
an inner journey of healing oldwounds and figuring out what I
really wanted.
Figuring out where I was sayingyes to other people and saying
no to myself and switching thataround and just figuring out
what life I truly wanted to liveand putting my time and energy
(30:08):
into doing what I needed to doin order to live that life.
And I will also say that thatlife has changed.
Like that life isn't the same,which is why I wanted to do this
update Because, again in 2018,I thought absolutely my best
lived life is working three daysa week, and I couldn't imagine
ever finding a job that wouldpay me enough that I could work
(30:30):
three days a week and then, assoon as I had that and loved it.
You know the dream changed.
I thought, ok, well, if I canhave this, maybe I can have this
other two day a week job withinsurance.
And I could have never imaginedmaking enough money to, you
know, sustain when I firststarted at 24, I made more money
then but I am working onprojects and initiatives that
(31:09):
fill me up so fully andcompletely that I don't need to
spend money on sort of some ofthe things that just like filled
up my cup quickly or like werethose fast hits, because I move
about my days in such a contentsatisfied way and I always have
something to look forward tothat.
You know my family can surviveon the type of lifestyle that
(31:33):
working one day a week as a CAAcan provide, and so I'm really
excited to allow you into alittle bit more of my real self
this season.
When the first CAA WellnessWednesday episode comes out on
Wednesdays, you will see thatyou're going to see a different
version of me.
(31:54):
You're going to see a littlebit more into my real self.
It's part of how I want to showup this season on Awaken
Anesthetist podcast.
It is also the type of wellnessthat I want to talk about.
I don't want to talk aboutperfect wellness.
I want to talk about wellnessthat takes time and is small,
habit changes and is, you know,because one person talked to
(32:14):
another person, you had a goodconversation and you pulled this
thing that you maybe want totry and oh, if she it, maybe I
can do it.
Like that's the type ofwellness that moved the needle
for me, and so that's what Iwant to bring to this community.
Have I said I'm happy you'rehere, I'm so happy to be
restarting Awaken and Assistpodcast.
(32:35):
I just love, love, love beingon mic connecting with you.
It feels like I'm talking toyou, know my community, my
friends.
I can imagine who's on theother side of this mic.
It feels super comfortable.
So I'm just so grateful to havethe opportunity.
If you love this episode, Iwould be honored if you would
(32:55):
share it with another CAA, saaor pre-AA in your life another
CAA, saa or pre-AA in your life.
That's how the community grows.
You can also go to AwakenedAnesthetist podcast to get on my
mailing list, to get on theMindful Connections mailing list
, which is starting up again inSeptember, and all things.
Awakened Anesthetist can befound there or on Instagram at
(33:18):
Awakened Anesthetist.
All right, thanks for beinghere.
Let's talk soon, y'all.
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