The Empowered CRNA Blog

Essays from inside the practice — and far beyond it.

Honest writing on the work, the culture, and the life CRNAs are building outside the OR. No fluff. No hot takes. Just what moves the needle.

Essay · Wealth & Taxes
"Every deduction is a page in it. Every credit says: do more of this."
October 1, 2026 · 4 min read

The tax code is an instruction manual for building wealth.

“I made more this year and I kept less.” Two CRNAs with the same income can pay wildly different taxes. The difference isn’t how hard they work — it’s what the tax code rewards them for doing with their money.

Leslie Awasom
Leslie Awasom
CRNA · Mentor
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April 30, 2026 · 5 min read

Eating our young: it's time to change the CRNA clinical culture.

The hardest part of clinicals isn't always the physiology or the pharmacology. It's the culture — how we treat each other, and especially our students.

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