Atomic Anesthesia

Rhea Temmermand, PhD, CRNA & Sachi Lord, MSN, CRNA

Welcome to Atomic Anesthesia, the essential podcast for nurse anesthesia residents seeking to master both basic and clinical science education (and RNs looking to become CRNAs, too!). Join us as we break down tough science concepts and demonstrating their practical clinical application in real-world scenarios. Each episode of Atomic Anesthesia is crafted to provide comprehensive explanations of complex scientific principles, tailored specifically for the needs of nurse anesthesia residents or nurses preparing for graduate school. Whether you're grappling with pharmacology, physiology, or any other challenging subject, our expert hosts are here to guide you through every step of the learning process. But we don't stop there. Atomic Anesthesia goes beyond the classroom, inviting esteemed guests from both the scientific and CRNA communities to share their insights and experiences. From discussions on graduate school training to invaluable tips for navigating the complexities of clinical practice, our diverse range of topics ensures that every episode is packed with valuable knowledge and practical advice. Whether you're commuting to clinicals, hitting the gym, or simply relaxing at home, Atomic Anesthesia is the perfect companion for learning on the go. Tune in and empower yourself with the knowledge and skills you need to excel in your journey towards becoming a proficient and confident nurse anesthethesiologist.

  1. 1 day ago

    THE TWITCHING HOUR: TRAIN-OF-FOUR EXPLAINED │ EP114

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: Train-of-four basics, including what the twitches actually represent and how to interpret your TOF countTOF count vs TOF ratio, understanding fade, and why four twitches does not necessarily mean full recoveryPost-tetanic count, depth of neuromuscular blockade, and when to use different stimulation patternsUlnar vs facial nerve monitoring, Phase I vs Phase II succinylcholine blockade, and qualitative vs quantitative monitoringUsing TOF to guide neostigmine and sugammadex reversal, plus high-yield SEE/NCE concepts and practice board questions 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. GPCR Cheat Sheet — The G-protein coupled receptor mechanisms behind the alpha antagonists, beta blockers, and signaling pathways that show up in every OR vasodilator conversation.SEE/NCE Study Plan — A structured plan to help you prepare for the SEE and NCE without burning out — hypertension treatment is a high-yield topic.Non-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — Propofol, ketamine, dexmedetomidine, and the rest of the non-opioid sedation toolkit on one page. 💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Rhea & Sachi at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter. Mentioned in this episode: 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you’re a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That’s where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we’re a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we’ll get started! - Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  2. 11 Sept

    VASODILATORS IN THE OR: WHEN THE PRESSURE NEEDS TO DROP NOW │ EP113

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: The three mechanism buckets every OR vasodilator falls into — nitric oxide donors, calcium channel blockers, alpha antagonists — and why the bucket tells you the side effect profile before you ever look up the drugThe full NO → cGMP → PKG → smooth muscle relaxation cascade behind nitroglycerin and nitroprusside, and why one drops preload while the other balanced-dilatesCyanide toxicity and coronary steal with nitroprusside — when to use it, when to cap it, and when to pick something elseClevidipine vs nicardipine vs hydralazine — which drug fits which case, and why hydralazine is falling out of favor for tight OR controlControlled hypotension for neuro cases, afterload management in cardiac surgery, and hypertensive emergencies including aortic dissection and pheochromocytoma 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. GPCR Cheat Sheet — The G-protein coupled receptor mechanisms behind the alpha antagonists, beta blockers, and signaling pathways that show up in every OR vasodilator conversation.SEE/NCE Study Plan — A structured plan to help you prepare for the SEE and NCE without burning out — hypertension treatment is a high-yield topic.Non-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — Propofol, ketamine, dexmedetomidine, and the rest of the non-opioid sedation toolkit on one page. 💜 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. 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you're a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That's where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we're a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we'll get started! — Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  3. 8 Sept

    DECODING DEXAMETHASONE'S ANTIEMETIC EFFECT (MECHANISM EXPLAINED) │ EP112

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: Exactly how PONV happens in the brain, no vague "vomiting center" hand wavingAll 5 real mechanisms behind how dexamethasone actually stops nausea and vomitingThe practical dosing, timing, and combination strategy that gets the best PONV prevention References: Chu CC, Hsing CH, Shieh JP, Chien CC, Ho CM, Wang JJ. The cellular mechanisms of the antiemetic action of dexamethasone and related glucocorticoids against vomiting. Eur J Pharmacol. 2014;722:48-54.Horn CC, Wallisch WJ, Homanics GE, Williams JP. Pathophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Eur J Pharmacol. 2014;722:55-66.Ho CM, Wu HL, Ho ST, Wang JJ. Dexamethasone prevents postoperative nausea and vomiting: benefit versus risk. Acta Anaesthesiol Taiwan. 2011;49(3):100-104. 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. SEE/NCE Study Plan — a structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boardsNon-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — every non-opioid analgesic you need to know, one pageGPCR Cheat Sheet — G-protein coupled receptors decoded for anesthesia 💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Rhea or Sachi at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter. Mentioned in this episode: 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you’re a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That’s where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we’re a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we’ll get started! - Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  4. 4 Sept

    THE DIFFICULT AIRWAY ALGORITHM, STEP-BY-STEP │ EP111

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: The three decisions that shape every airway plan: awake or asleep, noninvasive or invasive, and preserve or ablate spontaneous ventilationThe most important fork in the algorithm, can you oxygenate or not, and how it sends you down the non-emergency pathway or the emergency pathwayManaging the cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate crisis, including front-of-neck access and the scalpel-bougie-tube technique 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. SEE/NCE Study Plan — a structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boardsNon-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — every non-opioid analgesic you need to know, one pageGPCR Cheat Sheet — G-protein coupled receptors decoded for anesthesia 💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Rhea or Sachi at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter. Mentioned in this episode: 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you’re a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That’s where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we’re a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we’ll get started! - Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  5. 1 Sept

    10 HIGH-YIELD SEE/NCE BOARD QUESTIONS EXPLAINED │ EP110

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: Ten challenging SEE/NCE board questions, one from every corner of the NBCRNA blueprint, each read in full board style with a breakdown of why the right answer wins and why every distractor was built to fool youHigh-yield pharmacology and physiology traps, including Hofmann elimination for the organ-failure patient, shifting the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, and the MAC family from MAC-awake to MAC-BARThe clinical-reasoning questions that show up at the bedside, from autonomic hyperreflexia and infant bradycardia to coronary perfusion pressure and reading the capnograph waveformA local anesthetic maximum-dose calculation and a full walk-through of recognizing and treating local anesthetic systemic toxicity 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. SEE/NCE Study Plan — a structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boardsNon-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — every non-opioid analgesic you need to know, one pageGPCR Cheat Sheet — G-protein coupled receptors decoded for anesthesia 💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Rhea or Sachi at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter. Mentioned in this episode: 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you’re a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That’s where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we’re a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we’ll get started! - Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  6. 21 Aug

    PREECLAMPSIA AND THE OB PATIENT: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY THAT SAVES LIVES │ EP109

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: The cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and coagulation changes of normal pregnancy you need to know before you can recognize what's broken in preeclampsiaWhy preeclampsia is fundamentally a placenta problem that becomes a vascular endothelium problem — sFlt-1, soluble endoglin, VEGF neutralization, and the cascade that drives every symptomHELLP syndrome — microangiopathic hemolysis, hepatic involvement, and how it changes your anesthetic planMagnesium sulfate pharmacology — NMDA antagonism, the dosing regimen, toxicity ladder, and why you must cut your non-depolarizing NMB dose by 30 to 50 percentNeuraxial vs general anesthesia in the severe preeclamptic — when neuraxial is safe, how to manage platelet thresholds, and how to blunt the catecholamine surge of laryngoscopy when general is unavoidable 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. SEE/NCE Study Plan — OB pharm and physiology is high-yield on the exam — this plan tells you exactly where it fits in your prep timeline.Non-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — Multimodal pain management options including the non-opioids that show up in OB anesthesia plans.GPCR Cheat Sheet — The receptor pharmacology behind the pressors and antihypertensives you'll be running on these patients. 💜 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. 💜 PARTNERS: The Incomologists® https://theincomologists.com/ You work hard caring for others—let us take care of you. Whether you're a W-2 employee or transitioning to a 1099 role, we understand the unique challenges healthcare professionals face, from insurance coverage to financial planning. That's where we step in. Like you, we are a team of healthcare providers who understand your needs and help you find tailored insurance plans and financial strategies without the hassle or pressure. And we're a partner you can rely on, today and in the future. We evaluate all available options and resources in the market to protect our clients, so contact us, and we'll get started! — Jake Bevilacqua, CRNA (jake@theincomologists.com)

  7. 14 Aug

    CRNA WORKFORCE CHANGES: DO THESE THINGS TO LAND YOUR PERFECT JOB │ EP108

    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. Want more content like this? Become a member of our learning platform: http://atomicanesthesia.com In this episode: Why the anesthesia staffing shortage has created one of the strongest job markets ever for new CRNAsWhat chief CRNAs are actually looking for during interviews and how to stand out as a candidateHow to evaluate your first CRNA job based on pay, location, flexibility, autonomy, and most importantly, cultureWhy you have more leverage than you think when choosing a job, plus one simple interview strategy that can make you unforgettable To contact Braden Clark, CRNA you can email him at: bradenmclark6@gmail.com 💜 FREE DOWNLOADS: Grab your copy of customized study plans & worksheets. SEE/NCE Study Plan — a structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boardsNon-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — every non-opioid analgesic you need to know, one pageGPCR Cheat Sheet — G-protein coupled receptors decoded for anesthesia 💜 CONNECT: 📥 Email questions, comments or topic suggestions to Rhea or Sachi at hello@atomicanesthesia.com, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter.

  8. 13 Aug

    REGIONAL ANESTHESIA 101: BLOCKS EVERY CRNA SHOULD KNOW │ EP107

    Regional anesthesia is one of the highest-yield, most heavily tested areas on the boards, but most review content buries the clinically useful details under anatomy that never gets asked. This episode breaks down the brachial plexus approaches boards actually tests, the truncal and lower extremity blocks showing up in modern multimodal protocols, and the complication patterns examiners use as answer traps. In this episode: The four brachial plexus approaches and why phrenic nerve risk drops as you move from interscalene to axillaryWhy adductor canal block has replaced femoral nerve block for TKA, and the volume myths that trip up test-takersThe LAST risk hierarchy by injection site, and the Exparel interaction rules boards loves to test FREE RESOURCES: SEE/NCE Study Plan — A structured, week-by-week plan to pass your boards GPCR Cheat Sheet — G-protein coupled receptors decoded for anesthesia. Non-Opioid Pharmacology Cheat Sheet — Every non-opioid analgesic you need to know, on one page Malignant Hyperthermia Reference Guide — Recognize MH fast. Treat it faster — one-page reference WANT THE FULL PLATFORM? Atomic Anesthesia is the all-in-one study platform built specifically for SRNAs — lessons, quizzes, flashcards, and more. Start your free trial at atomicanesthesia.com.

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About

Welcome to Atomic Anesthesia, the essential podcast for nurse anesthesia residents seeking to master both basic and clinical science education (and RNs looking to become CRNAs, too!). Join us as we break down tough science concepts and demonstrating their practical clinical application in real-world scenarios. Each episode of Atomic Anesthesia is crafted to provide comprehensive explanations of complex scientific principles, tailored specifically for the needs of nurse anesthesia residents or nurses preparing for graduate school. Whether you're grappling with pharmacology, physiology, or any other challenging subject, our expert hosts are here to guide you through every step of the learning process. But we don't stop there. Atomic Anesthesia goes beyond the classroom, inviting esteemed guests from both the scientific and CRNA communities to share their insights and experiences. From discussions on graduate school training to invaluable tips for navigating the complexities of clinical practice, our diverse range of topics ensures that every episode is packed with valuable knowledge and practical advice. Whether you're commuting to clinicals, hitting the gym, or simply relaxing at home, Atomic Anesthesia is the perfect companion for learning on the go. Tune in and empower yourself with the knowledge and skills you need to excel in your journey towards becoming a proficient and confident nurse anesthethesiologist.

Information

  • Creator
    Rhea Temmermand, PhD, CRNA & Sachi Lord, MSN, CRNA
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    114
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Rhea Temmermand, PhD, CRNA & Sachi Lord, MSN, CRNA
  • Show Website
    Atomic Anesthesia

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