Episodes

  • PROPOFOL REPLACEMENT? CIPEPOFOL AND THE FUTURE OF HIGH-RISK CARDIAC INDUCTION │ EP74
    Jan 9 2026

    Welcome to the Atomic Anesthesia podcast hosted by CRNA professor Dr. Rhea Temmermand and Co-Founder Sachi Lord. On this show, you'll hear clear, clinically grounded discussions designed for nurse anesthesia residents and CRNAs who want to feel more confident in complex pharmacology, physiology, and real-world anesthesia decision-making.

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    Topics included in this episode:

    1. Hemodynamic goals and risks during induction in severe aortic stenosis​
    2. Limitations and hypotensive effects of propofol in aortic stenosis patients​
    3. Pharmacology and potential advantages of cipepofol (ciprofol) as a propofol derivative​
    4. Key findings of the JAMA Surgery randomized trial comparing cipepofol vs propofol in severe AS​
    5. Practical induction strategies and future implications for managing severe AS patients under anesthesia

    ARTICLE: Hemodynamic Impact of Cipepofol vs Propofol During Anesthesia Induction in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis

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    15 mins
  • ANESTHESIA MACHINE CHECK: A STEP-BY-STEP WALKTHROUGH OF YOUR WORKSTATION │ EP73
    Jan 5 2026

    Welcome to the Atomic Anesthesia podcast hosted by CRNA professor Dr. Rhea Temmermand and Co-Founder Sachi Lord. On this show, you'll hear clear, clinically grounded discussions designed for nurse anesthesia residents and CRNAs who want to feel more confident in complex pharmacology, physiology, and real-world anesthesia decision-making.

    ⚠️ SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: [NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP]

    Topics included in this episode:

    1. Why a full anesthesia machine check matters​
    2. How to perform a systematic pre-use machine checkout​
    3. Understanding and testing safety features and failure modes​
    4. Checking ventilation, leak integrity, and waste gas handling​
    5. Using structured tools to build a fast, reliable habit

    💜 LIVE WEBINAR: Save your seat on our monthly, free webinars. Replays are sent to your inbox and you get access to all of our previous webinars.

    [WEBINAR SIGN UP]

    💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets.

    [SEE/NCE STUDY PLAN]

    [RN ICU DRUG CHART]

    💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter.

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    19 mins
  • NEW YEAR, NEW PROVIDER: ANESTHESIA RESOLUTIONS FOR 2026 │ EP72
    Jan 2 2026

    Welcome to the Atomic Anesthesia podcast hosted by CRNA professor Dr. Rhea Temmermand and Co-Founder Sachi Lord. On this show, you'll hear clear, clinically grounded discussions designed for nurse anesthesia residents and CRNAs who want to feel more confident in complex pharmacology, physiology, and real-world anesthesia decision-making.

    Topics included in this episode:

    1. Academic anchor habits for SRNAs and new CRNAs
    2. Deliberate clinical practice, including “one skill per shift” and quick weekly case debriefs.​
    3. Mindset strategies like a “wins log” to fight imposter syndrome.​
    4. Professional growth through scary-but-safe opportunities, CRNA business basics, and exploring fellowship prerequisites.​
    5. Personal boundaries around sleep, non‑anesthesia hobbies, and phone/social media use to prevent burnout.​
    6. Early burnout recognition and proactive check-ins with mentors or a therapist.

    💜 LIVE WEBINAR 💜 Save your seat on our monthly, free webinars. Replays are sent to your inbox and you get access to all of our previous webinars.

    [WEBINAR SIGN UP]

    💜 FREE DOWNLOADS 💜 Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets.

    [SEE/NCE STUDY PLAN]

    [GPCR WORKSHEET]

    [NON-OPIOID ANALGESICS WORKSHEET]

    [RN ICU DRUG CHART]

    💜 CONNECT 💜 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our launch newsletter.

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    26 mins
  • KETAMINE UNLOCKED: MECHANISMS, DOSING & CLINICAL PEARLS │ EP71
    Dec 22 2025

    Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that provides powerful analgesia while preserving spontaneous ventilation, airway reflexes, and sympathetic tone, which makes it especially valuable in trauma, bronchospasm, difficult airways, and in patients with high opioid tolerance. As a phencyclidine derivative with a chiral center, it exists as two enantiomers, with S-ketamine roughly twice as potent as R-ketamine and associated with fewer unpleasant emergence reactions, while its pKa and balanced water–lipid solubility allow rapid CNS penetration and redistribution-limited offset. Its multimodal mechanism centers on noncompetitive NMDA antagonism but also includes opioid receptor modulation, catecholamine reuptake inhibition, AMPA receptor effects, ion channel blockade, muscarinic antagonism, and anti-inflammatory actions, all of which underpin clinical dosing strategies for induction, maintenance, procedural sedation, and analgesic infusions as well as key considerations around emergence delirium, secretions, cardiovascular status, and ICP.

    Want to learn more? Grab our Cardiac Pharm Course --> [HERE]

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    📥 Have a topic you want to hear? Email Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com

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    24 mins
  • IF I WENT BACK TO CRNA SCHOOL, I'D STUDY LIKE THIS INSTEAD │ EP70
    Dec 18 2025

    In this reflective episode of the Atomic Anesthesia Podcast, we explore how perspective shifts with experience and how nurse anesthesia residents can study more effectively not just for exams, but for lasting clinical mastery. The episode outlines twelve lessons the host would apply if starting grad school again—from focusing on physiology over perfectionism, to using memory maps instead of endless notes, to treating organization as a core learning strategy rather than an afterthought. Listeners will hear why prioritizing long-term understanding, questioning clinical conventions, and building strong professional networks early can transform both their education and their future practice. Practical, honest, and experience-driven, this episode reminds anesthesia trainees that true competence comes from depth, connection, and curiosity—not from chasing straight A’s.

    Want to learn more? Grab our Cardiac Pharm Course --> [HERE]

    ⚛️ CONNECT:

    🩷 Subscribe to our YouTube channel

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    📥 Have a topic you want to hear? Email Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com

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    28 mins
  • THE DEXMEDETOMIDINE PLAYBOOK: WHAT STRONG CRNAS NEED TO KNOW │ EP69
    Dec 15 2025

    This episode of the Atomic Anesthesia Podcast focuses on dexmedetomidine (Precedex), a highly selective α2-adrenergic agonist that provides cooperative, arousable sedation, analgesia, anxiolysis, and sympatholysis with minimal respiratory depression for perioperative and ICU care. Aimed at nurse anesthesia residents, it reviews dexmedetomidine’s α2-selective pharmacology, rapid distribution and hepatic metabolism, and its ability to mimic non-REM sleep via locus coeruleus inhibition while significantly reducing MAC and opioid requirements. Listeners learn practical dosing strategies for OR, ICU, and procedural sedation, common indications such as awake fiberoptic intubation, MAC cases, withdrawal management, and pediatric emergence delirium, and key safety considerations including bradycardia, hypotension, transient hypertension with rapid loading, and the ongoing need for vigilant airway and hemodynamic monitoring when incorporating dexmedetomidine into multimodal anesthetic plans.

    Want to learn more? Grab our Cardiac Pharm Course --> [HERE]

    ⚛️ CONNECT:

    🩷 Subscribe to our YouTube channel

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    📥 Have a topic you want to hear? Email Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com

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    19 mins
  • FROM TRAUMA BAYS TO BATTLEFIELDS: TRAINING PROVIDERS FOR AUSTERE ENVIRONMENTS │ EP68
    Dec 11 2025

    In this episode of the Atomic Anesthesia Podcast, host Dr. Rhea Temmermand speaks with Michael Hoess, CRNA and Lead CRNA for Education at Cooper University Hospital, about the crucial role of CRNAs in austere and tactical medical environments. Drawing on over a decade of trauma and resuscitation experience, Mike shares how CRNAs contribute to training military and government medical teams operating in resource-limited or remote conditions. The discussion explores how core anesthesia principles adapt when blood banks, ventilators, or full surgical teams aren’t available, emphasizing the importance of airway control, hemodynamic management, and damage control resuscitation in the field. Mike also discusses building resilience through high-stress simulations, developing adaptive leadership skills, and fostering mission readiness for both seasoned CRNAs and students. Listeners gain insight into how these lessons from austere medicine can strengthen everyday anesthesia practice and prepare clinicians for the challenges of modern conflict and disaster response.

    If you want to reach out to Michael, you can contact him at michael.p.hoess@gmail.com or hoess-michael@cooperhealth.edu

    Articles:

    • Austere Resuscitative and Surgical Care Teams: Supporting Far-Forward Trauma Care on the Future Battlefield
    • Military and Civilian Surgery Partner for Innovation, Effectiveness
    • A Western trainer says talk of 'golden hour' would be laughable to Ukrainian forces.

    Want to learn more? Grab our Cardiac Pharm Course --> [HERE]

    ⚛️ CONNECT:

    🩷 Subscribe to our YouTube channel

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    📥 Have a topic you want to hear? Email Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com

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    41 mins
  • YOU JUST GOT INTO CRNA SCHOOL...NOW WHAT? │ EP67
    Dec 8 2025

    In this episode of the Atomic Anesthesia Podcast, we’re talking to future nurse anesthetists who’ve just crushed the biggest milestone yet — getting accepted into CRNA school. Between acceptance and day one, there’s often a long waiting period, and this episode is your roadmap for using that time strategically. From tackling financial readiness and creating a solid academic foundation to preparing your family, refining your clinical skills in the ICU, and strengthening your mindset, we cover every step of the “Pre‑CRNA School Survival Checklist.” You’ll learn how to simplify your finances, refresh your physiology and pharmacology knowledge, set up realistic support systems, and mentally prepare for the demands ahead. Whether you start in a few months or next year, this episode gives you a clear, actionable plan to transition smoothly from RN to SRNA with confidence and focus.

    Want to learn more? Grab our Cardiac Pharm Course --> [HERE]

    ⚛️ CONNECT:

    🩷 Subscribe to our YouTube channel

    💜 Follow us on Instagram

    💙 Follow us on TikTok

    📥 Have a topic you want to hear? Email Dr. Temmermand at hello@atomicanesthesia.com

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    25 mins