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The CSA and the Vital Times podcast are proud to recognize Dr. Ana Maria Crawford of Stanford University, recipient of the 2025 ASA Nicholas Greene, MD Award for Outstanding Humanitarian Contribution.

In this episode, host Dr. Ludwig Lin speaks with Dr. Crawford about her decades-long commitment to advancing global health. To learn more about opportunities to get involved in global health initiatives and participate in Dr. Crawford’s upcoming webinars, visit www.stanesglobal.com.
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Dr. Ludwig Lin of the CSA Vital Times Podcast sits down with Dr. Adjoa Boateng Evans, a former Stanford ICU and anesthesia attending and now faculty at Duke University School of Medicine to discuss her pioneering work in bringing Humanities and personal expression into academic anesthesiology. She shares how this approach can help healthcare professionals navigate the stresses of our profession and build resilience. What inspired her to take this path? Tune in to find out.

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Dr. Jason Leong began his career as a night-shift nurse in the emergency department, quickly advancing to the role of charge nurse. Determined to further his impact in patient care, he went on to attend medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He then completed a combined Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology residency at Stanford University, followed by advanced training in Critical Care Medicine and Cardiac Anesthesiology.

Unique? Absolutely. But beyond his impressive credentials, Dr. Leong is an engaging and insightful conversationalist. In this episode of Vital Times, Dr. Ludwig Lin sits down with him for an in-depth discussion.

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Welcome to another episode of Vital Times, the CSA podcast!
I'm your host, Dr. Rita Agarwal, and today we’re revisiting an important topic: mentorship. We've discussed mentoring before, but its significance in the lives and careers of anesthesiologists makes it worth exploring again.

Strong mentorship can have a transformative impact, especially for early career anesthesiologists. Yet, despite its many benefits, building effective mentorship programs continues to be a challenge. In this episode, we’ll focus on how mentorship can help young professionals truly thrive.

We’re joined by two outstanding guests:

Dr. Titi Aina-Jones, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Texas Children’s Hospital. She trained at the University of Connecticut, University of Florida, and Boston Children’s Hospital, and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Medical Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Ioana Pasca, Associate Professor at Riverside and Loma Linda University Medical Center in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Neurocritical Care. She also serves as Associate Program Director and Director of Neuroanesthesia at Riverside University Health System, and like Dr. Aina-Jones, is currently enrolled in the Medical Education Master’s Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

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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.

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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.

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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 the answers to, but we thought it would be interesting to explore the causes, treatments and epidemiology of low back pain, especially in young people.

Dr. Amber Borucki, a pediatric anesthesiologist and pain specialist from Stanford School of Medicine and Dr. Rahki Dayal, Chair of the CSA’s Pain Committee and an anesthesiologist and pain specialist at the University of California in Irvine are joining us today to discuss pain management for back pain.

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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.