The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast

In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Sass and Jeremy talk about the most commonly used benzodiazepine in anesthesia practice…Midazolam. Without a doubt, this is one of the medications we use frequently to help relieve patient anxiety prior to an operation…it’s just like the Ramones sing…”(They) Wanna Be Sedated!”

You won’t want to miss the discussion between Jeremy and Sass as they review the mechanism of action, indicat...

This is the 7th round of Q&A with TNA, and in this round Jeremy and Sass ask some questions and give some answers on Inotropic medications including Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Milrinone, Dobutamine, Dopamine, and Isoproterenol. 

This is a perfect episode to brush up on your question and answer skills while learning or relearning these medications at the same time!

About The Nurse Anesthesia

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The Nurse Anesthesia Team gets together on this episode to talk all things cricothyrotomy in preparation for the AANA Annual Congress in Nashville! Jeremy, Sass, and Mark will be hosting and running the Advanced Airway Skills Workshop at the Annual Congress. Part of that workshop includes practicing several cricothyrotomy techniques. 

In this episode, they discuss the three cricothyrotomy techniques that include: (1) percutaneous ne...

This was a super fu episode where Jeremy invites Rhea Temmermand on the show! Dr. Rhea Temmermand PhD, MSN, CRNA, FAANA is a distinguished research scientist specializing in neuropharmacology within the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University. In addition to her full-time research endeavors, she serves as an Adjunct Professor in Drexel University’s Nurse Anesthesia program. She is also the co-founder of Atomi...

Episode Summary 

In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy reviews basic kidney function and focuses on the different types of Diuretic Medications. These include Osmotic agents, Loop Diuretics, Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors, Thiazide Diuretics, Aldosterone Antagonists, Potassium Sparing Diuretics, and Vasopressin Antagonists. Some diuretics we use during anesthesia management and some medications patients take to mana...

In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy discusses questions and answers from previous TNA podcast episodes 22 – BIS Monitoring During Anesthesia, 24–Perioperative Hypovolemia: The Tank is Empty, & 25–Albuterol & Epinephrine for the Treatment of Intraoperative Bronchospasm.

Here are several examples of questions he discusses in the episode. For a complete review of all the questions, check out the episode wher...

Episode Summary

In this episode of the nurse anesthesia podcast, Jeremy dives into some Airway Management Adventures! He discusses three airway cases from the Emergency Department to the Operating Room. Each case illustrates critical decision-making under challenging circumstances where key actions by the CRNA are essential. The cases include information on preoxygenation with nasal cannula and a non-rebreather mask, RSI, successful...

In Episode 26 we welcome a special guest…Rhea Temmermand from the Atomic Anesthesia Podcast! Jeremy talks with Rhea about cognitive aids—like crisis checklists—which are essential tools in anesthesia for guiding rapid decision-making during high-stakes medical emergencies. Originally inspired by aviation’s Crew Resource Management, these aids were adapted for anesthesia…giving rise to Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM). U...

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by hyperresponsiveness, variable airflow obstruction, and airway remodeling. In the OR, we’re less concerned about chronic control and more focused on acute airway events…namely, bronchospasm.

Bronchospasm during general anesthesia can be insidious. You may see rising peak airway pressures, decreased tidal volumes, wheezing if you’re lucky…and if you’re unlucky…d...

Episode 23 begins with Jeremy and Sass discussing the historical background of cannabis or “marijuana” use, and then dive into how this psychoactive drug affects each body system. They focus on what you need to know when providing anesthesia for an individual who is a chronic user or acutely intoxicated. Get ready…it’s go time! 

References

1. Horvath C, et al. “Marijuana Use in the Anesthetized Patient: History, Pharmacology, a...

Episode Summary

Monitoring the depth of anesthesia, as a CRNA, is important for any surgical or medical procedure. In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy and Sass review the bispectral index (BIS) monitor. They discuss the various electroencephalographic (EEG) waveforms the BIS monitor uses to determine depth of anesthesia, and identify the factors and medications that influence the BIS monitor. They finish the epis...

In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy discusses questions and answers from the previous TNA podcast episodes 14 - POCUS of the Cricothyroid Membrane, 15 - How Anesthesia uses Ketamine, 19 - Push-dose Vasopressors, and 20 - Vasoplegic Syndrome.

Here are several examples of questions he discusses in the episode. For a complete review of all the questions, check out the episode wherever you listen to podcasts!

1. Which...

In this episode of The Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy & Sass discuss what happens when the routine treatments for intraoperative hypotension don’t work, and focus on the interventions you can consider when refractory hypotension occurs. They talk about different causes of refractory hypotension with a focus on vasoplegic syndrome. They discuss the differences between refractory hypotension and vasoplegic syndrome, and then id...

Anesthesia induced hypotension is commonly treated with push dose vasopressors. Today Jeremy & Sass dive into what the evidence is showing us about the use of phenylephrine, ephedrine, and norepinephrine IV bolus doses. We talk about cerebral oxygen concentrations and cardiac output when administering these vasopressors, and ultimately ask ourselves…should we be less pushy?
References

1. Kee W, et al. Randomized double-blin...

Episode Summary 

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) assessments of the airway is simply awesome! By utilizing POCUS during our preoperative airway examination, we can now determine with a greater certitude the level of difficulty of a patient’s airway as well as locate anatomical structures (such as the cricothyroid membrane) and endotracheal tube positioning within the airway. 

In today’s episode Jeremy and Mark go over basic ultraso...

Episode Summary

Every fourth episode we will release a podcast where we ask and answer questions about an anesthesiology or pharmacological topic and we’ll call it ANESTHESIA Q&A. We do this to help our community solidify their learning! We also produce these episodes because nurse anesthesia students and practicing CRNAs are all engaged in answering questions whether it be on exams during anesthesia school or for CRNA recertifi...

We all experience acute stress. Sometimes on a daily basis. In this episode Jeremy breaks down acute stress and talks about the anatomy and physiology of stress. He reviews a theory on how highly stressful situations can both physiologically and psychologically affect our thinking and performance. He also points out how a certain amount of acute stress is actually helpful.

Then Jeremy discusses the meaning of BVM and how breathing, ...

In Episode 15 of the Nurse Anesthesia Podcast, Jeremy and Sass dive into the pharmacological world of ketamine. They talk about all the anesthesia situations where it can be useful. They discuss the pharmacology of ketamine, appropriate dosing, what the current evidence really shows about its use with increased intracranial pressure, and how it is frequently used for analgesia. It really is the Swiss army knife of anesthetic meds!<...