Don’t be surprised but your surgeon might be playing music while conducting surgery in the operating room. In a poll conducted by Spotify in collaboration with healthcare knowledge platform Figure 1, about 90% of 700 respondent-surgeons from more than 50 countries globally revealed that they actually play music while performing surgical operations.
But there is absolutely nothing to worry about because doing so helps them do their tasks better. The respondents cited the ability of music to ease their tension and keep their focus. One of the surgeons interviewed during the survey said, “It calms the nerves and improves staff morale.”
Music genres
Now are you ever wondering about the type of music these surgeons are likely to play while conducting surgery? Of those who admitted listening to music while conducting their tasks, 49% said they prefer to play rock music, while 48% play pop and 43% choose classical music.
According to Dr. Alan I. Benvenisty (not among the survey respondents), a vascular and transplant surgeon at New York City’s Mount Sinai Health System, listening to bands from his youth brings him nostalgia, which in turn helps him get more calm and focused. “Peoples’ lives are in my hands and listening to rock puts me in a comfortable place so my full attention is on my patients,” he said.
No need to worry
“If it is a complex case, we’ll put music on at a lower volume,” Dr. Benvenisty disclosed. “We never let music dictate the demeanor of the procedure. We make sure it doesn’t get in the way of interpersonal communication because that’s the most important thing.”
Spotify shares with you a sample playlist of rock songs that most surgeons likely listen to while conducting serious surgical procedures: