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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.

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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. Around the same time there was increased media attention to IUD related pain and the fact that women’s pain has historically often been dismissed, minimized or ignored. In this episode, we discuss all of this and more!

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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, rising sea level, disruptions to ecosystems and agriculture, drought, and famine. Addressing climate change involves action at local, national, global levels and includes the efforts of individuals, society, businesses, governments, and health care and other institutions.

Both guests are individuals who are committed to addressing efforts to reduce greenhouse gases at the individual, institutional, and local levels.

Dr. McGain is an MBBS and PhD who practices in anesthesia and intensive care at Western Health, St Albans, Victoria, Canada and in Australia as the Associate Dean of Sustainable Healthcare at the university of Melbourne. Dr McGain has spoken and published over 100 articles on the topic of greenhouse gases, reducing carbon footprint and bringing the scientific method to comparing the environmental impact of different practices. In fact, it was as a result of an editorial that he and Drs. Gordon and Debnath Chatterjee wrote, and a presentation from my other guest Dr. Lin, that Dr. Rita Agarwal finally stopped using nitrous oxide for mask induction in children after 30 + years of practice. She had given up desflurane, embraced low flow gases, and minimizing volatile agents, but honestly thought you would have to pry nitrous oxide out of her cold dead hands, before she stopped using it. They convinced her otherwise and hopefully will convince all of you as well

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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.

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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.

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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 Medicine and the Director of Quality, Safety and Improvement, and the Director of OB Anesthesia at Denver Health Medical Center. She is also an Expert Consultant for the Colorado State Medical Board and has lectured extensively, presented workshops and cared for many patients with difficult airways. In this podcast, she will share some of her scarier and/or more interesting experiences.

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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.

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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.