Shows
Vital Times: The CSA PodcastCertified Anesthesiologist Assistants: Expanding the Care Team in Californiaif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!In this episode of the CSA Vital Times podcast, host Dr. Ludwig Lin explores the role of Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs). He speaks with anesthesiologists who have experience working alongside CAAs and navigating the legislative efforts to establish a CAA system in clinical practice. The episode also features a CAA who is a leader in education and practice management. This introductory conversation aims to familiarize California listeners with the CAA model, share key insights, and spark interest in this emerging aspect of anesthesiology care. 2025-06-1746 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastOrigin Stories: How Drs. Rita Agarwal and Ludwig Lin Came to Be!if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Catch this episode where *both* of the Vital Times podcast hosts, Drs. Rita Agarwal and Ludwig Lin, show up, and discuss how they fell in love with Anesthesiology, and podcasting.2025-04-2930 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastLow Back Pain and the Murder of an Insurance Company CEOif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!We were all shocked by the murder of Brian Thompson the United Health Care CEO in early December. What was just as surprising was the comments deny, delay and depose written on the bullets. Once the alleged shooter was arrested, information started to trickle out that he suffered from low back pain and spondylisthesis. Speculation ran rampant that the problems with his back, inadequate treatment, or repeated insurance denials were in some way the catalyst for this terrible crime. These are not questions we know...2025-03-1144 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastAn Interview with Dr. Marilyn Hill Harper, One of the First Black Woman Anesthesiologists at UCSFif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!For Black History Month, Dr. Ludwig Lin is honored to speak with someone who’s been through all of it. Dr. Marilyn Hill Harper, raised in the South, educated at a HBCU and then training in the Midwest, joined the prestigious UCSF faculty in the 1970s, at a time when both women and Black physicians were rare. Her story is ever relevant.To read the UCSF profile on Dr. Harper, click here. 2025-02-1831 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastRevolutionizing Pain Care: Suzetrigine and Other Innovations in Analgesiaif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Host: Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP, FASAGuests: Rakhi Dayal, MD, and Amber Borucki, MDWelcome to another episode of Vital Times, the California Society of Anesthesiologists’ Podcast with your host Dr. Rita Agarwal.Pain is the most common reason that people seek medical care and since the beginning of time, we have searched for better ways to treat pain. For many years opium and its derivatives were the mainstay of pain management, with local anesthetics making an appearance in th...2025-02-1123 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastPushing the Limits in the Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!There have been a lot of questions recently regarding the appropriateness of patients scheduled for care in an ambulatory surgical center (ASCs). It appears that sicker and more complex patients are being scheduled for care in an ASC, and many anesthesiologists are increasingly concerned about the safety of anesthetizing these patients in locations that may lack resources to escalate care if needed. In today’s episode we are going to discuss some of these issues with two experts in ambulatory to help navigate this quandary. We...2025-01-141h 03Vital Times: The CSA PodcastBuilding Collegiality: An Inter-Disciplinary and Institutional Approachif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Drs. Charles Hummel and Jason Cheng explain the origin story behind their involvement in founding the drive toward collegiality for a major healthcare system in California, Kaiser Permanente. Take a listen and be inspired by the immense possibilities when physicians join forces in the name of empathy and humanity.2024-12-1044 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastIUD Insertion Pain and Techniques to Improve Painif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Your host Dr. Rita Agarwal is joined today by two outstanding guests who have an interest in preventing and treating women’s pain. Drs. Anita Gupta and Stephanie Cizek. At the California Society of Anesthesiologists’ Annual Meeting in Anaheim, in April 2024, there were several posters authored by Dr. Anita Gupta looking at the literature surrounding IUD insertion pain and potential treatments for that pain. Several months later the new CDC recommendations were released recommending improved pain management techniques in patients undergoing IUD placement. Aroun...2024-11-1245 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastWhat Anesthesiologists can do about Climate Changeif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Your host Dr. Rita Agarwal is joined by two wonderful guests to talk about climate change and what anesthesiologists can do about it.Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time with far reaching implications. There is evidence of the increasing numbers of deaths directly related to heat in the USA, but even more across the rest of the world. This doesn’t include deaths related to the consequences of climate change such as more profound and extreme weather events, ri...2024-10-0852 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastPatient Safety: The State of Ketamine Use, a Conversation with Californian Anesthesiologists and Pain Specialistsif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!With ketamine being very prominent in the news recently, lots of questions arise about its use. Is it safe enough to be used the way it is? Why are patients being prescribed it? What are the safety guidelines, and are they being met?The California Society of Anesthesiologists’ Vital Times Podcast talks with anesthesiologists and pain specialists Drs. Amber Borucki, Rakhi Dayal and Rita Agarwal to talk this over. This is a must-listen for everyone. 2024-09-1034 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastCryoneurolysis: An Up and Coming Regional Anesthetic Technology. What is it, and What’s Next?if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Cryoneurolysis has rapidly evolved and refined itself as a viable technology for postoperative and chronic pain. Its specifications mean greater efficacy for certain scenarios, and active research means its application is about to enter warp-speed. In this episode of Vital Times, we speak with Dr. John Finneran, of UCSD, who is actively conducting research trials with this technique. Get up to date and get inspired.2024-08-1351 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastDifficult Airway Challengesif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Welcome to another episode of Vital Times the CSA Podcast. I am your host, Rita Agarwal. For this episode we went back to the basics and talked about something that all anesthesiologists care deeply about – managing the challenging airway. Joining me is a former colleague and friend who is an attending anesthesiologist at one of the busiest trauma centers in the country - Denver Health Medical Center. Dr. Alma Juels is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado School of Med...2024-07-1656 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastPride Month Bonus Episode!if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Dr. Ludwig Lin has a blast discussing LGBTQ and its impact on various anesthesiologist leaders within academia and politics; drop in and listen to them discuss how this one element of their lives adds meaning and purpose to all of their pursuits. This episode features Travis Reece-Nguyen, MD, Arthur Chyan, DO, and Maricela Sanchez, MD. 2024-06-2644 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastThe Scoop About Research Data Integrity: How to Navigate the Minefieldif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!There has been much noise about famous scientists reckoning with past publications with data integrity issues. The pressures of “publish or perish”, and the need for oversight of a busy lab, are tricky. Dr. Lin talks with Harriet Hopf, MD, FASA, and Elizabeth Whitlock, MD - two lauded NIH-funded anesthesiologists-scientists to get the scoop. 2024-06-1157 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastHow to Start a Mentorship Program in Both Academic and Private Practiceif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Mentorship has long been recognized as a crucial component of training physicians. Benefits of mentorship in medicine include increased productivity, improved career satisfaction, expansion of professional networks, reduction in stress, and better work-life balance. Mentorship has also been shown to aid recruitment and retention of a diverse physician workforce. The establishment of mentorship programs has been proposed as a mechanism for promoting inclusivity and diversity within academic medicine, but setting up successful programs can be challenging.Today’s podcast features 3 accomplished anesthesiologists at di...2024-05-141h 07Vital Times: The CSA PodcastThe Evolution of the Academic Anesthesiology Department Chair Job Description: Adapting to Headwindsif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!CSA Vital Times tracked down some of the chairs running some elite Anesthesiology Departments - they just happen to be in California! They have survived and thrived the seismic changes occurring across all academic medical institutions, ie the increase in clinical need, with huge growths in anesthetic opportunities (and locations - see #NORA), the competition with community hospitals, and resulting impact on their staff. Dr. Michael Gropper (UCSF), Dr. Ron Pearl (recently retired Stanford chair), and Dr. Richard Applegate (UC Davis and now Loma Linda...2024-04-021h 19Vital Times: The CSA PodcastSexual and Gender Harassment, Why You Should Care: Part 2if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Dr. Rita Agarwal continues the conversation about sexual and gender harassment with fellow Drs. Christine Doyle, Sydney Thomson, and Alyssa Burgart. Gender and sexual harassment can be harmful in many ways and not just to the person/people being harassed. It can occur to all genders and is often associated with increased costs to the institution, intention to leave and job/career dissatisfaction. I discuss the problems and possible solutions with leaders from the California Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Society of A...2024-03-121h 02Vital Times: The CSA PodcastCelebrating Black History Month with Dr. Ashley Oliver - Examining the Beginnings of an Academic Medical Careerif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!To amplify the message of Black History Month, CSA Vital Times Podcast series revisits the talented Ashley Oliver, MD. We spoke with her in February 2022 when she was a cardiothoracic anesthesia fellow at UCLA, after having been a resident and Chief Resident at UCSF. Dr. Oliver is now a first-year faculty at UCLA’s cardiothoracic section, and we have a no-holds barred discussion about being a starting faculty, being a minority, building allies, representation, and the importance of building engagement via societies like CSA and AS...2024-02-2043 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastSexual and Gender Harassment, Why You Should Careif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!A recent study from the Association of Academic Medical Colleges reported tht sexual harassment is common in the medical profession and that anesthesiologist (both men and women) reported the highest incidence of harassment. Harassment led to decreased morale, decreased engagement and a higher intention to leave. Join me for a fascinating and engaging conversation with Diana Lautenberger the author of the AAMC article for suggestion on how to prevent harassment.2024-02-0654 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastThe Impact of Scope Creep by Physician Extenders in British Anesthesiology: Lessons for the Futureif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!The utilization of physician extenders in the UK healthcare system has been quite controversial recently, with topics like training and validation requirements, impact on training and staffing, all bubbling to the surface. In addition, the lack of funding for physicians and residency slots has contrasted with the increasing spending on physician assistants. Dr. Ramey Assaf, resident and leader within Anesthetists United and Dr. Richard Marks, former Vice President for the Royal College of Anesthetists speak with Dr. Ludwig Lin on this topic. 2024-01-0950 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastMaternal Peripartum Morbidity: How Did We Get Here, and How do Anesthesiologists Help?if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!US and Californian Maternal morbidity is alarmingly high, especially in Black and Hispanic women. How did this happen, and how do we become active change agents in reversing the trend?Leaders in healthcare equity - Drs. Amanda Williams (OB), Jennifer Lucero (OB Anesthesia), and Mofya Diallo (Pedi Anesthesia) join host Dr. Ludwig Lin for this important podcast episode. 2023-12-1245 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastThe History of Anesthesia at Stanford 1972-1982if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Dr. Rita Agarwal interviews Drs. Jay Brodsky and John Brock Utne, the authors of a new book on the history of anesthesia at Stanford during the Larson Years. They share funny and moving anecdotes about the people, the department, and the events that shaped one of the top anesthesia programs in the country. 2023-11-1441 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastLatino Physician Day - Panel Interviewif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!October 1 was Latino Physician Day. For anyone interested in the health of Californians, this is important, because a large portion of our population is Latin-X, and the physicians who care for them should reflect that demographic. We at CSA are excited to bring together a panel of Latinx anesthesiologist at different stages and areas of their professional careers to speak on their journeys to Anesthesiology. This conversation is inspiring - for everyone - and is a call to action.2023-10-121h 17Vital Times: The CSA PodcastDetails Matter: Tips on Communicating with Patients in the Perioperative Processif you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!Those few precious minutes in the Preoperative area spent speaking with a patient and their significant others are essential to the initiation of a successful anesthetic, as is the “vibe” generated during the entire time until the induction agent for General Anesthesia goes in. What are the keys to success? We speak with Dr. Phil Jones, a cardiac anesthesiologist now in Toronto, Canada, who nearly trained as an actor in Britain before enrolling in Medicine studies at Cambridge. He was a consultant in Anesth...2023-09-1242 minVital Times: The CSA PodcastDebriefing on the Kindness and Empathy Deficit in the Medical Profession - Part 2if you have any feedback, please send us a text! Thank you!This is Part 2 of Debriefing on the Kindness and Empathy Deficit in the Medical Profession featuring Professor Doug Hollan of UCLA Anthropology, Dr. Wes Ely of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Dr. David Elkin of UCSF. 2023-08-0836 min