Music/Talk Radio in Operatory

[punkedoutriffs]

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Quick question, is it bad form or unprofessional to listen to music or talk radio while you do your job?

 

[Vicviper]

We have radios in our clinics, and I think music would be ok, but say political talk radio might be iffy.

 

[HupHolland]

As the patient what their favorite song/artist is and set up a pandora station 👍

My patient the other day wanted to hear some motown and about 15 minutes into the appointment Aretha Franklin's "You make me feel like (a natural woman)" started blaring from my laptop. Let's just say every op around me was cracking up, but I was gloved up so I sucked it up and had a chuckle

Hup

 

[biorenaissance]

What about day trading while the patient numbs? I mean if you do it in your office no one knows right?

 

[tinman831]

If it's loud enough so that people in the other operatory can hear it, then it's too loud. Not everyone may agree with your taste in music and it can be considered distracting to others. If you're listening to music on your own headphones, it could be seen as tacky. You should be concentrating on your work and not jammin to your favorite tunes. Also, you need to convey a sense of professionalism to your patients and to your instructors. I personally don't care. It'd be nice to listen to a little classical while I work. But someone else may not want to listen with me.

 

[DrJeff]

I have XM playing in all operatories/waiting room/common areas of my office all day long. Generally on some type of adult contemporary, classic rock, or occassionally country channel(when one of my assistants sets the channel 🙄 )

 

[sonofapizzaman]

I love to listen to talk radio, especially sports talk, so it's nothing polarizing. I guess those days will be over... I love the pandora idea, but quiet enough to keep other patients from hearing.

 

[teeth63a]

Any type of talk radio will alienate more than anything else...politics, sports, even NPR.

We have our office speakers connected to a computer set up to Pandora or Shoutcast, on any "adult contemporary" or "love songs" station.
If you're on Pandora, search "Anuhea" she's from Hawaii...her music is a mix of Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz...good stuff, and Pandora will also bring up similar music. On shoutcast we have it on AOL Love Songs or AOL Adult Contemporary.

No radio station will make 100% of the people 100% happy, but the two genres I mentioned are the least offensive. Stay away from hard rock, rap (obviously).

Marketers say to stay away from regular radio, because a lot of airtime is filled with commercials. You don't want your patients discretionary income competing with other products.

And what you do in your office is entirely up to you. But if you're reaching over your patient on etrade to click on a stock, I'm guessing that will not go over well with your patient 😛

In an open bay/student environment, I would refrain from music and encourage the pt to bring their own player.

 

[punkedoutriffs]

So I'm guessing recorded lectures on a docked ipod, like Open Yale Courses or something, will not fly? This is more a question for private practice later on, btw.

 

[CarpeDium]

My father always has classic rock playing in his practice and I have yet to hear a patient comment about it (unless they start singing along). If it's relatively neutral music at an appropriate volume, knock yourself out... Remember, it will be YOUR practice. Once you have established a competent patient base do whatever it is that makes YOU most comfortable, as long as it's professional and considerate of course. If your patients like you, they won't care too much about background noise.

 

[CarpeDium]

So I'm guessing recorded lectures on a docked ipod, like Open Yale Courses or something, will not fly? This is more a question for private practice later on, btw.

Listening to lectures? If you are looking to learn while at work just have them playing in your back office.. You can't focus on learning (or you shouldn't, rather) while performing dentistry. And no, I don't think patients would appreciate listening to lectures haha they need something that will be at least somewhat comforting.

 

[SeattleRDH]

I have never worked in a practice that didn't have music playing in the background. Watch out for the radio because the ads can be annoying. Also, most radio stations play the same set list everyday which can drive the staff nuts.
My favorite practice had the classical station on all day (which was very relaxing) but offered noise cancelling headphones for patients. We had ipods and a CD player that had a radio setting. The patients loved it because some of them wanted to listen to talk radio.
I've also worked in practices with TVs above the chair. We let patient's bring in their own movies to watch - very nice for long restorative appointments. The problem with cable is that patients often want to watch the news and it can increase their stress level. Best to stick with sports or the food network.

 

[mike3kgt]

Listening to lectures? If you are looking to learn while at work just have them playing in your back office.. You can't focus on learning (or you shouldn't, rather) while performing dentistry. And no, I don't think patients would appreciate listening to lectures haha they need something that will be at least somewhat comforting.

The best radio you can possibly listen to is something that will not bring up any political conversations or anything remotely controversial. The last thing you want is a patient who is passionate about something like abortion or Obama in your chair talking about these topics.

Try Coffee House on Sirius. Mix of great acoustic songs of popular music. Soft, quiet, and most importantly, only things patients talk about is "wow, I like that version of that song" or "man, that version STINKS!!" It's fun to poke at the really bad songs... like there's this version of "Roxanne" on Coffee House that my staff, patients, and I love to listen to, hahahaha. 🙂.