Patient awareness under general anesthesia

Introducing a music program in the perioperative area

Music can touch patients deeply and thus transform their anxiety and stress into relaxation and healing. Patients with cancer who undergo surgical procedures are highly stressed. To help alleviate these patients' stress and improve their comfort, perioperative nurses at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, surveyed surgical patients and staff members about introducing a perioperative music program. This article reviews the literature on the use of music in perioperative care settings and describes MSKCC's decision to evaluate and then implement a music program.