I was recently asked this by one of my high-school aged patients. My response was, "It depends... what do you want to listen to while I operate on you?". So we spent the next 45 minutes exploring the K-Pop station on Pandora.
I love music. I grew up playing the guitar (poorly) and I recently returned to learning the guitar (still struggling). I believe in the healing and soothing properties of music. I believe in the common language of a well done melody. There are some that believe that music is a distraction in the operating room and there is no place for it. I had a mentor the would reference the sound of the electronic heart monitor (a hopefully constant beep…beep... beep) as music to his ears and the only thing he wanted to listen to. While I respect him immensely and his perspective, in my OR music has a definite role. There are times for ultimate focus and silence, but the reality is that the OR is an inherently tense environment filled with people of diverse backgrounds that have to work together quickly, efficiently and precisely. Anything that we can do to decrease the anxiety and stress level, makes for a more effective team and better surgery. There was actually a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that demonstrated improved relaxation and motor skills of surgeons listening to music of their choosing.
Some days require something mellow like Jack Johnson or Big Head Todd. Other days need a kick in the pants and we get Ja Rule. Most days end with AC/DC and you don’t want to hear my OR Jazz mix… that’s a bad day. Music is good for me, it is good for my team and it also good for the patient. Playing melodies for patients has been shown to decrease anxiety levels and heart rates in perioperative patients.
Fun fact: Apollo was the god of Music and Healing
