Dr. Adam Striker welcomes Dr. Juliet Schmalz, who left her career in anesthesiology to start a bourbon company. She discusses what drove the change, reveals the surprising ways her background in medicine comes in handy, and shares tips for those considering a leap. Recorded May 2025.
Jun 30, 2025•32 min•Season 5Ep. 164
Dr. Keya Locke interviews Dr. Joseph Staggenborg, guest editor of July’s ASA Monitor, and Dr. Bob Johnstone, an early practice management champion. They consider the history of practice management, ASA’s efforts to advance the business of anesthesiology, the role of strategy and data, and more. Recorded May 2025.
Jun 16, 2025•26 min•Season 5Ep. 163
Drs. Adam Striker and Brooke Trainer consider some of the specialty’s pressing challenges. Listen in as they discuss recent legislative action, the impact of CMS’s conversion factor, the fallout from insurance companies upcharging patients, and more. Recorded May 2025.
Jun 02, 2025•34 min•Season 5Ep. 162
Dr. Zach Deutch interviews Dr. Nicole Guinn, guest editor of the June ASA Monitor, and Dr. Steven Frank, contributor, about blood management and transfusion medicine. Listen in as the guests share thoughts on bloodless care, the history of transfusion medicine, patient populations, the possibilities of predictive modeling, and more. Recorded April 2025.
May 19, 2025•28 min•Season 5Ep. 161
Dr. Kathy Perryman joins Dr. Adam Striker to share her unique experiences as a nurse anesthetist turned anesthesiologist. Listen in as they consider how the roles of CRNAs and anesthesiologists have evolved, differences in training and practice, the value of physician led care, and more. Recorded April 2025.
May 05, 2025•25 min•Season 5Ep. 160
Dr. Zach Deutch interviews Dr. Tom Grissom, guest editor of May’s ASA Monitor, along with contributor, Dr. Brenda Gentz, about trauma and emergency preparedness. From tips for managing possible large-scale disasters to new guidelines on ketamine usage and the status of the opioid crisis, this episode offers fresh perspectives and resources. Recorded April 2025.
Apr 21, 2025•42 min•Season 5Ep. 159
Dr. Adam Striker discusses PECS blocks and nomenclature with Dr. Christine Vo, member of the ACE editorial board. Learn about the history and efficacy of PECS blocks, the challenges of heterogeneous nomenclature, ongoing efforts to standardize nomenclature, and more. Recorded April 2025.
Apr 14, 2025•18 min•Season 5Ep. 158
In this special episode, Dr. Striker presents four short conversations with members of ASA’s Committee on Informatics and Information Technology (CIIT). Dr. Beth Minzter offers an intro to AI; Dr. Vesela Kovacheva discusses patient safety and predictive models; Dr. Kent Berg shares thoughts on remote monitoring; and Dr. Vikas O’Reilly-Shah sheds light on AI’s academic and subspecialty applications. Recorded March 2025.
Mar 31, 2025•35 min•Season 5Ep. 157
Drs. Muhammad Rafique and Igor Tkachenko, guest editors of the April ASA Monitor, discuss the road to and from the perioperative experience with Dr. Zach Deutch. Learn about the history of perioperative medicine, the role of anesthesiologists beyond the OR and around the globe, and more. Recorded February 2025.
Mar 17, 2025•37 min•Season 5Ep. 156
Drs. Diana Mosquera and Neeju Ravikant discuss Alternative Payment Models (APMs) with Dr. Brooke Trainer. Learn how APMs intersect with broader operational and financial goals, how they impact patients and physicians, and what implementation looks like in practice. Recorded February 2025.
Mar 03, 2025•32 min•Season 5Ep. 155
Dr. Zach Deutch speaks with Drs. Beth Darnall and Meredith Barad, contributors to the March ASA Monitor, about the advances in pain medicine. The episode explores the rewards and pitfalls of pain medicine, the subspecialty’s outlook, and the emerging role of biopsychosocial interventions and other innovations. Recorded February 2025.
Feb 17, 2025•34 min•Season 5Ep. 154
Dr. Brooke Trainer speaks with Dr. Jason Chi, editor for Summaries of Emerging Evidence (SEE), about two studies included in the 41A issue of SEE that aim to help anesthesiologists manage patients who resist blood transfusions due to concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, and add to our understanding of bias in pulse oximeter readings with patients who have darker pigmented skin. Recorded January 2025.
Feb 10, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 153
Drs. Jeans Santana and Gage Parr from the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists join Dr. Adam Striker to discuss the role of cardiac anesthesiologists in and beyond the OR, the use of transesophageal echocardiography, recent AHA guidelines, and more. Recorded January 2025.
Feb 03, 2025•36 min•Season 5Ep. 152
Drs. Henry Rosenberg and Kumar Belani, guest editor of the February ASA Monitor, speak with Dr. Zach Deutch about genetic breakthroughs in malignant hyperthermia. The episode touches on the advances and limitations of genetic testing, the expanding scope of malignant hyperthermia, how to best manage a diagnosis, and more. Recorded January 2024.
Jan 20, 2025•37 min•Season 5Ep. 151
Drs. Adam Striker and Brooke Trainer discuss hot button issues facing the specialty today. Their lively conversation touches on the recent Anthem Blue Cross decision to propose and then rescinded a cap on anesthesia time, how the media covers anesthesiology, potential legislative solutions, and more. Recorded December 2024.
Jan 06, 2025•46 min•Season 5Ep. 150
Dr. Adam Striker shares clips from ANESTHESIOLOGY 2024 in this special episode. Listen in as outgoing president Dr. Ronald Harter and incoming president Dr. Donald Arnold—along with Drs. Sean Runnels, Barrett Larson, Michael Hofkamp, Benjamin Houseman, Lois Connolly and Jonathan Gal—discuss commercial payer policies, Anesthesia Toolbox, Swimming with the Sharks, the specialty’s challenges, and more. Recorded by TopMedTalk in October 2024 at the ASA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
Dec 23, 2024•27 min•Season 4Ep. 149
Dr. Lalitha Sundararaman, guest editor of the January ASA Monitor, and Dr. Aaron Tebbs, Chair of the Committee on Late Career and Retired Members, join Dr. Zach Deutch to discuss retirement. This episode explores the stages of retirement, ways to stay involved with the specialty, considerations beyond finances, and more. Recorded November 2024.
Dec 09, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 148
Recorded live at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2024, Dr. Adam Striker discusses the opioid epidemic with accomplished journalist and ASA’s keynote speaker, Sam Quinones. Listen in as Mr. Quinones shares what he learned from his extensive research about the role of pain specialists, pharmaceutical companies, and Mexican drug cartels as well as the state of legislation today and how anesthesiologists can contribute to solutions. Recorded October 2024.
Nov 25, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 147
Dr. Muhammad Rafique, guest editor of December’s ASA Monitor, joins Dr. Zach Deutch for a conversation about what happens when bad things happen to good anesthesiologists. Learn how physicians and health care organizations can prepare for, or react to, bad outcomes, legal issues, personal challenges, and more. Recorded November 2024.
Nov 11, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 146
Recorded live at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2024, Dr. Jed Wolpaw, host of the ACCRAC podcast, interviews Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, anesthesiologist and secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Listen in as Dr. Wolpaw and the live audience ask Dr. Arkoosh about the intersection of anesthesiology and public service. Recorded October 2024.
Oct 28, 2024•52 min•Season 4Ep. 145
Dr. Zach Deutch discusses palliative care with Dr. Sandra Sacks, guest editor of November’s ASA Monitor. Learn how palliative care differs from hospice; understand the aims of palliative care and its role outside of the ICU; get practical tips for prognosis, planning, and end of life discussions; and more. Recorded October 2024.
Oct 14, 2024•25 min•Season 4Ep. 144
Dr. Ahmed Shalabi, member of the ACE editorial board, joins Dr. Adam Striker to discuss medical ethics in mass casualty situations, a topic highlighted in the 21B issue. Listen in as they discuss the role of ethics in managing mass casualties, what health care organizations can do to prepare, issues anesthesiologists face in a crisis, and more. Recorded September 2024.
Oct 07, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 143
Dr. Keya Locke discusses advocacy with Dr. Sam Page, guest editor of October’s ASA Monitor. Learn about the issues ASA is fighting for, what’s at stake, how to get involved, and more. Recorded September 2024.
Sep 30, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 142
Drs. Brian Brenner and Jeffrey Carness, medical officers in the United States Navy, share their unique experiences and knowledge with Dr. Adam Striker. Learn about the history and evolution of military medicine, as well as what it’s really like to practice anesthesiology in military settings today. Recorded September 2024.
Sep 16, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 141
Drs. Heather Nixon and Tracey Vogel from the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) join Dr. Brooke Trainer for a no-holds-barred conversation about intraoperative pain during cesarean delivery. Listen in as they explore the consequences of painful birth experiences and consider how anesthesiologists can meaningfully address the problem. Recorded August 2024.
Sep 02, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 140
Dr. Zach Deutch speaks to Dr. George Tewfik, guest editor of September’s ASA Monitor, about the pivotal relationship between employees and employers. Listen in as they discuss the pros and cons of various practice models as well as workforce trends, contract considerations, unionization, the use of metrics to gauge clinician efficacy, and more. Recorded July 2024.
Aug 19, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 139
Dr. Adam Striker and Dr. Aaron Primm, editor for Summaries of Emerging Evidence (SEE), discuss recent studies included in the 40B issue of SEE that add to our understanding of ketamine. Learn how ketamine compares to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of chronic depression and how intranasal ketamine might be used to treat refractory chronic migraines ( https://www.asahq.org/see ). Recorded July 2024.
Aug 12, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 138
Listen in as Dr. Ronald Harter, ASA’s president, speaks with Melina Davis, executive vice president and CEO of the Medical Society of Virginia, about ASA's new clinician well-being program, SafeHaven ( asahq.org/safehaven ). Learn about this unique partnership, how SafeHaven is helping anesthesiologists and their families, and more. Recorded July 2024.
Jul 29, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 137
Dr. Joseph Staggenborg, guest editor of the August ASA Monitor, shares his thoughts on anesthesiology’s most salient practice management topics with Dr. Keya Locke. Discover how practices have changed, how to prove value to hospital groups, the pros and cons of unionization, and more. Recorded July 2024.
Jul 22, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 136
Dr. Adam Striker interviews Drs. Steven Butz, Victor Davila, and Thomas Durick from the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) about common perioperative myths. Is hypercarbia preferable to hypocarbia? Is MAC best in ambulatory settings? Is propofol safe for patients with allergies? Learn answers to these questions and more in this informative episode. Recorded June 2024.
Jul 15, 2024•40 min•Season 4Ep. 135