Emcee MDs

According to a recent study, anesthesiologists are taking on one more critical responsibility in the OR--choosing the music:

In many hospitals, the task of selecting OR music often falls to the anesthesiologist -- and it's one many take seriously. Some say amassing impressive music collections is even an effective marketing tool -- a way an anesthesiologist can ensure being picked when a surgical team is being chosen.

"Sometimes surgeons will say, 'I won't work with that anesthesiologist because he's a fuddy-duddy and I don't like the kind of music he plays,'" said Dr. Doug Reinhart, an anesthesiologist in Ogden, Utah.

Reinhart surveyed 301 American Society of Anesthesiology members and found that providing operating music was among non-medical tasks many performed. Anesthesiologists in private practice and those under 50 were most likely to serve as the operating-room DJs. [AP]

Comments

[ol cranky]

From my own personal experiences, I've found that anesthesiologist's tend to have more eclectic tastes in music than most surgeons.

[Gary Sugar]

Well of course the dealer should choose the tunz. What does a dentist know about music?

If he's pushing nitrous, I say Beatles.

If it's sodium pentathol, obviously Interpol.

[mschmidt]

Whenever I've had surgery, the anaesthesiologist always asks me if I have any questions. Now I'll know what to ask.

[janet]

Shouldn't that be DJ MD?

I write patient education materials, and sometimes when I am trying to explain what the anesthesiologist does, I'm tempted to write "the anesthesiologist makes sure that you stay alive during surgery."

I spend a lot of time talking to doctors, and it's interesting to observe the different personality types in different specialties. Contrary to stereotype, I often find surgeons to be warm and engaging. I tend to assume that all pediatricians are nice and friendly -- but then hands down the biggest jerk I have ever had to work with was an arrogant, narcissitic pediatric pulmonologist. The only generalization I've found to hold true consistently is that dentists, and especially orthodontists, are motor-mouths. I think this is because they spend so much time with patients who are conscious but can't talk or answer questions. They get into the habit of keeping up a constant stream of chatter (my own dentist certainly does this). Maybe they should play music instead. So, getting back to anesthesiologists, the DJ behavior makes sense to me. They spend all their time with patients who are unconscious, but unlike the surgeon, they spend a lot of time sitting by the patient's head and looking at the patient's face. There's something uncomfortable about that -- I can imagine wanting music to fill in the gap, the lack of the interaction that would be there if the patient was awake.

[Lance Norskog]

I've read that at the UN the diplomats take turns picking the music for the boombox when they have those long committee meetings. Sounds Ali-G-ish, but true.

[mudkitty]

I hooked up with a anethesiologist years ago, and boy was it a wild 38 hours. That and he looked like a combination of Gary Cooper and Tyrone Power. Also, he was from Memphis originally, so in the dark he sounded like Elvis.

We went at it like banshees, and at one point, in total darkness, we smacked faces together really hard. I saw stars. When light creeped in I saw blood all over his nose. I tiptoed into his bathroom and there was blood all over my nose too (who knew?) I still have a slight, nearly imperceptible scar from that night.

Ah, those were the days my friend.

But I learned something very valuable from the anesthesiologist, and that is to match every alcoholic drink with a glass of water. Good advice. Thank you Jay, where ever you are.

[mudkitty]

I hooked up with a anethesiologist years ago, and boy was it a wild 38 hours. That and he looked like a combination of Gary Cooper and Tyrone Power. Also, he was from Memphis originally, so in the dark he sounded like Elvis.

We went at it like banshees, and at one point, in total darkness, we smacked faces together really hard. I saw stars. When light creeped in I saw blood all over his nose. I tiptoed into his bathroom and there was blood all over my nose too (who knew?) I still have a slight, nearly imperceptible scar from that night.

Ah, those were the days my friend.

But I learned something very valuable from the anesthesiologist, and that is to match every alcoholic drink with a glass of water. Good advice. Thank you Jay, where ever you are.