We're joined this week by Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs for the AANA, Ralph Kohl. Ralph has his finger on the pulse of all the current Congressional topics relevant to CRNAs, and he works each day to advocate for our goals as an organization.  He'll share with us why it's essential for CRNAs to get involved in advocating both locally and nationally, as well as some simple ways you can take part. If you're not familiar with the AANA Mid-Year Assembly, or if you're not quite sure of the importance of your state and federal PACs, this is the episode for you.

At the mid-year assembly we took the opportunity to extend an offer to all the candidates running for office in the upcoming AANA elections to join us for a few minutes on this podcast. Not all candidates took us up on the offer, but all were invited. On this episode, you'll get to hear the candidates that did participate outline their platforms and vision for the future of the AANA.

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 The candidates appear at the below times.

1:29 - President Elect Candidate - Bob Gauvin

5:18 - VP Candidate - Heather Rankin

- Heather's Facebook Page

7:00 - VP Candidate - Henry Talley

9:50 - Treasurer - Maribeth Massie

13:25 - Region 5 - Julia Harris

- Julia's Facebook Page

16:05 - Region 5 - Kristie Hoch

- Kristie's Facebook Page and Twitter

18:13 - Region 4 - Mike Anderson

- Mike's Facebook Page and Twitter

This week, we'll continue the topic of how CRNAs can plan for a successful retirement. We'll talk about when you should take social security, how much money is safe to withdraw from your savings, and how taxes will affect you. We'll even take a look into a lesser-known way that high income earners like CRNAs can contribute to Roth IRA accounts and lower their tax burden in retirement.

If you're like many CRNAs, retirement is not too far off in the distance. And the first step in preparing for retirement is knowing what to expect. How can you maintain your current lifestyle when you walk away from a regular paycheck? What kind of expenses will you encounter? Jeremy will help get your wheels turning on this first part of the CRNA Retirement Ready series.

Special guests Carole Doyscher and Joe Rodriguez join us for a spirited debate discussing how the CRNA title may or may not have become a limitation to growth and understanding of the profession as a whole. However, what should CRNAs be called instead? What are the potential repercussions of this kind of change? The answer is not so simple.

We continue our historical series with a journey back into the very first years of nurse anesthesia where Agatha Hodgins began her career. Following a quite unexpected series of events, Agatha would ultimately become the foremost anesthesia expert and educator of her time, as well as the founder of the AANA.

Former AANA presidents Richard and Sandra Ouellette pay us a visit to share the story of how the National Commission On Nurse Anesthesia Education was brought about in a time of turmoil to rebuild CRNA educational programs from the bottom up.

Chris Bettin and Dan Lovinaria, two of the creative minds behind National CRNA Week, make a special appearance. Tune in to find out why more and more CRNAs and SRNAs are getting involved in promoting their profession, and why the importance of this event extends far beyond a single week.

Join us this week as we talk to Ashley Fedan about the world of opportunities that social media offers to the CRNA community, as well as some of the pitfalls. As an administrator of a Facebook forum of over 25,000 CNRAs and SRNAs, she'll give you a look behind the scenes.

Special guests Sandra Ouellette and Nancy Bruton Maree return to delve into the history of nurse anesthesia education as seen through their own personal experiences in the field. How have educational programs evolved over the last several decades, and what awaits us in the future?