E180: Anesthesia Mission Trips

Anthony, a CRNA and former student of the same cohort as the hosts, shares his transformative experience leading a medical mission trip to a remote region of the Philippines through FANIS, the Filipino American Nurse Anesthesiology Society. What began as a lifelong dream rooted in service and faith became a reality after over a year of meticulous planning, involving recruitment of a multidisciplinary team, securing sponsorships, and coordinating logistics across time zones and employment types. The trip wasn’t just about delivering anesthesia—it was about partnership, not saviorism. Anthony describes the profound shift in perspective that came from practicing in a resource-limited environment: using spinals instead of general anesthesia to conserve supplies, improvising OR setups with limited equipment, and learning to prioritize patient safety over convenience. The emotional impact was equally powerful—seeing patients so grateful for basic care, teaching CPR in local schools, and mentoring SRNAs and residents in real-world settings. For the hosts, who’ve long considered such trips but never pulled the trigger, Anthony’s story is a wake-up call: the time to act is now, before 'one year becomes two, becomes five.' The episode dismantles the myth that mission trips are only for the elite or fully trained—residents and early-career CRNAs were integral.