On numerous occasions, I've observed nurses playing music from their computers. Some of them are managers, which doesn't necessarily concern me since they aren't directly caring for patients. However, the other night, I noticed an ICU nurse playing music. The patient they were monitoring was obviously severely ill...on ECMO, CRRT, ventilator, many drips, tube feedings, etc. This did not seem safe to me, as music can be a distraction and with very critical patients, you need to be on top of all things at all times. What are your thoughts?
I'm fine with it if it's a personal work area/ office and it's very quiet but I'm not a fan in shared nursing stations. I personally don't listen to a lot of music and easily get noise headaches - I know nursing can be noisy but adding more noise on top makes it worse for me, not better. I also just find it an imposition on others who may find it a distraction or not to their liking (I'm most definitely not a fan of jazz or classical). Definitely seems inappropriate to me if doing patient care or in a public space in view of patients/ families.
I'm surprised how many nurses/ units are listening to music. I've only encountered it a few times on night shift but more so in LTC, again almost always on nights. Considering on the acute units I was on we weren't even allowed to have our cell phones on our person or drinks at the nursing station due to patient/ family perception, I can't imagine music going over well.
I work dialysis and when I'm passing meds, I love to have my phone playing music. You can only hear it in the med room but it helps me focus. I learned in college (before nursing school I got a BA) that if I listened to music while I typed a paper, then I could concentrate better and bang out 10 pages in no time. For some reason it jives with my brain waves and everything locks into place. My mom was a professional opera singer when I was a kid and I did my first opera from her tummy. She listened to everything from Mozart to AC/DC to Carly Simon and beyond, and it is the stuff that I'm made of. So it makes sense for me to basically need it to get it (what ever it is) done. However, I'm very respectful of others and would never let it bother someone. I'm also totally fine with someone wearing one earbud to cut out bothering someone. Not while in a patient's room, but documenting or working in the pod/nurses station. As long as one ear faces outward (listening to the world) and you're getting your work done and done well, I see nothing wrong with it.
I am usually a work-in-silence kind of person, but when it's a calm shift I would loooooove to listen to some music (anything from soft ambient to - yep - metal). However, I'm not going to put in ear buds at work since listening for my patients is a big part of my job, and my tastes are not very compatible with that of my coworkers, so it's a no-go. It sucks, but that's the way it is. I listen (and sing) in the car on the way to and from work, because it's how I cope, but this is one method of self-care that unfortunately isn't work-friendly.
However, I loooooove the challenge of finding music for my patients' benefit. We get a lot of people with dementia, intellectual disabilities, etc. on my unit, and music can be a great tool to help them relax. I'll either play something from YouTube for a few minutes, or sometimes we'll sing a song together if it's not the middle of the night. One of my favorite patients went from being in tears from missing home to cracking up when we did Jesus Loves Me. That's not in my usual repertoire, but my heathen self gave it a try for him and got a smile, so that's a win in my book.
I am usually a work-in-silence kind of person, but when it's a calm shift I would loooooove to listen to some music (anything from soft ambient to - yep - metal). However, I'm not going to put in ear buds at work since listening for my patients is a big part of my job, and my tastes are not very compatible with that of my coworkers, so it's a no-go. It sucks, but that's the way it is. I listen (and sing) in the car on the way to and from work, because it's how I cope, but this is one method of self-care that unfortunately isn't work-friendly.
However, I loooooove the challenge of finding music for my patients' benefit. We get a lot of people with dementia, intellectual disabilities, etc. on my unit, and music can be a great tool to help them relax. I'll either play something from YouTube for a few minutes, or sometimes we'll sing a song together if it's not the middle of the night. One of my favorite patients went from being in tears from missing home to cracking up when we did Jesus Loves Me. That's not in my usual repertoire, but my heathen self gave it a try for him and got a smile, so that's a win in my book.
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.
In a busy med/surg floor, it is impractical, If I have a few minutes to chart, I go in the doctor's room (they are usually there on the weekends) and play something softly. I think it is extremely unprofessional that people walk around with their blue tooth earbuds or regular ones. We have pts that don't like that we carry work phones! Except when I give them my # in case the call doesn't go through when they ring the bell....
I love listening to music while I work, like school work, but it's not really doable where I work. I love the idea of having something playing in ICU.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I feel relax and cool when music is on. Obviously, if the patient or relative does not like listening to then switch it off. ICU patient is sedated and they don't care, but there are studies that music stimulates patient and help in recovery.
Reading these responses just kinda reinforces to me that I gotta be where the music is. That's just how my brain works. Maybe that's why I loved psych and, especially, my dementia patients.
Anyway, just want to also say that the title of this thread bothers me a bit. "Should nurses be able to..." It sounds like we're a bunch of little kids that need permission to do anything, no matter how trivial.
Nurses are trusted with some big-time stuff. I would expect we could allow nurses to use their good judgment as to whether they can listen to music or not.
I mean, I'm sure Old Dude uses discretion with his fart CD...
Very quiet, very soft, kind of like ‘background' music I don't see anything wrong with. Half the time something of that variety is playing overhead anyway in the halls (I actually never noticed it until one day it seemed to be turned UP, caught my attention, and I was informed it was always playing, just this time it was loud enough for me to notice it while working).
Louder music, especially someone's own downloaded music should be saved for areas outside the patient care areas or anywhere the family could hear it.
The one that I find more of an issue with is the nurse wearing headphones for music when charting, oblivious to their phone ringing right next to them or their patient lights lit up like a Christmas tree. I think they may realize the code being called not from the phone or overhead blasting it, but by seeing the rush of staff and the code cart rushing by then in the hallway.
frances81
50 Posts
I'm fine with it if it's a personal work area/ office and it's very quiet but I'm not a fan in shared nursing stations. I personally don't listen to a lot of music and easily get noise headaches - I know nursing can be noisy but adding more noise on top makes it worse for me, not better. I also just find it an imposition on others who may find it a distraction or not to their liking (I'm most definitely not a fan of jazz or classical). Definitely seems inappropriate to me if doing patient care or in a public space in view of patients/ families.