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Join us as we sit down with Andrea L. Merrill, an assistant professor of surgery, to explore the powerful intersection of music and surgery. From her early days as a trainee to navigating the challenges of being a female surgeon, Andrea shares how Taylor Swift’s music has been a constant source of inspiration and empowerment throughout her journey. Discover how her unique playlist choices in the operating room reflect her personal growth, resilience, and unwavering dedication to patient care. Join us as we delve into the deeper connections between music, identity, and the surgical profession.

Andrea L. Merrill is an assistant professor of surgery at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and a surgical oncologist at Boston Medical Center. She can be reached at Scrubbed Out, on Instagram @anjlm and @scrubbedoutsurgeon and X @AndreaLMerrill.

She discusses the KevinMD article, “Taylor Swift in the operating room: the surgeon who found strength in song.”

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Transcript

Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast, and get CME for this episode by clicking on the CME link in the show notes. Today we welcome Andrea L. Merrill. She’s an assistant professor of surgery and surgical oncologist at Boston Medical Center. Today’s KevinMD article is “Taylor Swift in the operating room: the surgeon who found strength in song.” Andrea, welcome to the show.

Andrea L. Merrill: Thank you so much for having me on.

Kevin Pho: So let’s start by briefly sharing your story and journey.

Andrea L. Merrill: So I’m currently a surgical oncologist in Boston. I trained mostly in Boston, left briefly for fellowship, came back, and I currently treat breast cancer and endocrine diseases here.

And I’ve recently become quite passionate about writing. Actually, one of the first articles I ever published was on KevinMD, probably about 10 years ago, about women being underrepresented in surgery. And I think you still have a lot of articles on that topic, so I don’t know how much has changed in the past 10 years. But it’s really exciting to be here, since again that was one of my first introductions to having my writing published.

Kevin Pho: All right, so you’re a surgical oncologist, so I can only imagine how busy you are. Tell me why it’s important for you to write despite all your other obligations.

Andrea L. Merrill: For me, writing is almost a kind of therapy. I’m really not into journaling or meditating, but writing for me is sort of the same as journaling or meditating. Even though it’s related to work, for me it feels completely separate, because I’m able to really sit down and process things.

And I also find that I’m able to connect with a lot of other physicians in ways that I’m not able to clinically or in the hospital. I really like to be authentic and honest in my writing, and even some of the things I’ve written about, maybe I was scared to share, scared how people would react, but overwhelmingly the results have been positive, and most people tell me that my writing resonates with them. I think that’s what really drives me to write. And I would say most of my writing means more to me than any research study I’ve ever published.

Kevin Pho: Now, what’s an example where you connected with a colleague, or just someone outside your immediate professional circles, because of your writing?

Andrea L. Merrill: So I published an article on religion and medicine in JAMA back in August, and that was sort of exploring my feelings as an agnostic Jew with a lot of my patients who are very religious and who bring that religion into the exam room. I found it difficult to navigate sometimes, because we have different points of view, and so I actually shadowed a chaplain.

And so I published that in JAMA, and what was really cool is that I got almost a hundred emails or so from people all over the world, in all different specialties. Some weren’t even physicians. And I’ve actually become sort of pen pals with a retired dermatologist in Los Angeles, and he’s sort of become a mentor to me. So I think it’s connections like that that are just really cool, and I never would have had them if I wasn’t writing.

Kevin Pho: All right, so your most recent article on KevinMD is one of the most popular recent ones. It’s titled “Taylor Swift in the operating room: the surgeon who found strength in song.” Now, for those who didn’t get a chance to read that article, tell us what it’s about.

Andrea L. Merrill: Well, I think I maybe have Taylor Swift to thank for the popularity more than my writing. But for people who know me, they know that I’m obsessed with Taylor Swift. I probably have at least seven scrub hats that are Taylor Swift themed. I listen to her almost exclusively in the operating room.

And I think for a lot of people it’s just sort of a fun idiosyncrasy of mine. Oh, there goes Dr. Merrill and her Taylor Swift. Or, oh no, I have to work with Dr. Merrill and listen to Taylor Swift all day. But for me it really runs a lot deeper than that.

I was actually inspired to write it after reading a New Yorker article that was entitled “Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison.” It was a really, really well-written article, and I think it shows how much people connect with her writing, and how much it goes beyond just the pop star and the fun concerts, and that at the root of it is really her writing. And as a fellow writer I really connect with that.

I really liked her when I was younger, and a lot of it was because I had a lot of trouble romantically dating, she wrote about that, I could connect. But as she grew up she really started to be a champion for women, and she wrote a lot about that in her songs, and I see a lot of parallels to what she’s doing in music and what a lot of women surgeons are doing. And so a lot of her songs have sort of become anthems to me.

And there’s been a lot written about surgeons listening to music in the OR, a lot of studies showing that when surgeons listen to music they want to, or certain types of music, they can have better outcomes. And so for me it’s really something that calms me down and grounds me in the operating room, and it’s really become my thing.

Kevin Pho: You mentioned that some of her songs are almost like anthems to what women are going through in surgery. So what are some examples of some of her songs, some of her lyrics, that would really speak to that?

Andrea L. Merrill: So I think the most obvious one is “The Man.” When she does this on tour, she puts out her arm in a sign of strength, but it’s really talking about how she feels like she could get there faster if she were a man. She keeps running as fast as she can, but if only she were a man.

And I think in a lot of specialties that are dominated by men, even in medicine and outside of medicine, women feel that way. We feel that if we do the same things as men we get criticized, and so that whole song really goes off on that. It’s sort of become an anthem for a lot of us in surgery. The music video is actually really cool, it’s her in it dressed as a man, you don’t realize it till the end.

Kevin Pho: So tell me about those custom scrub hats that you wear, because you included a picture of that in your article, and I got a lot of emails asking me, Dr. Merrill, where did you get that scrub hat? So tell me the story behind that.

Andrea L. Merrill: So the scrub hat has a lot of different icons that, if you’re a true Swiftie, you would understand from her songs. They’re based on her recent album Midnights.

And one of her other songs that’s sort of become my anthem is “Anti-Hero,” and the line in that is, it’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. And so I joke about that a lot in the operating room, because sometimes female surgeons are seen as the problem. But we’ve also sort of turned it into, it’s me, hi, I’m the surgeon, for real, it’s me. And so I made it into a scrub hat. I designed a print, I had it printed on fabric, and then I sent it to someone to make into a hat. I may start selling it on Spoonflower and donate the proceeds, but I’m just testing it to make sure the fabric is OK.

Kevin Pho: So tell us, as your journey as a surgeon progresses, how has the music of Taylor Swift specifically helped you on this journey? Give us more examples of that.

Andrea L. Merrill: So again, early on I think it was more my dating life that I identified with. But since becoming a new attending, it’s been very challenging. I think there are a lot of challenges when I became a new attending that I wasn’t quite aware of when I was a trainee. You don’t really see the full picture until you really get there.

And I think, starting as a young female who looks young, I started in the middle of a pandemic with major staffing shortages, which really affected the entire nation. It’s been challenging. And so for me, Taylor represents women trying to make it in this world despite a lot of criticism.

And I think as women surgeons we get that a lot. Oftentimes we’re too bossy or too mean, when we’re really just asking for things that we need, but we’re seen as high maintenance. And she’s been called all those things, and she just rises above it. She’s like, you’re going to call me mean, OK, I’m going to go make a song called “Mean.” You’re going to call me this, I’m just going to make a song about it and make a billion dollars and become the biggest pop star in the world.

And so that’s sort of what I’m trying to do, is, despite all the excess noise, continue doing what I do best, which is taking care of my patients and trying to be a good role model for other female surgeons coming along.

Kevin Pho: So give me an example of how you moved the needle in that respect. Have you affected any change because of what you’ve been doing?

Andrea L. Merrill: I don’t know if I’ve affected change that you can really put on a CV or list that way, but I hope that the things that I say and the things I write about resonate with people. And people have told me that they really like the balance that I strike between sort of confrontational and taking a step back.

And I do a lot of mentoring activities. I’m the faculty adviser for the Association of Women Surgeons medical group, and so I have a lot of students coming to shadow me. And when there are instances of gender bias, I point it out to them. And when I struggle with things, I point it out to them. I want them to know that being a surgeon is great, but there are some real challenges. And so I try to highlight some of the things I didn’t quite realize when I got here myself.

Kevin Pho: So when you have Taylor Swift playing in the background when you’re operating, do you have several playlists? Do you have different songs depending on the surgery? How do you decide which of her songs to play?

Andrea L. Merrill: A lot of it depends on my mood. So I have one that’s like all of her albums together. I have one that’s the Eras Tour, so when I was getting ready to go to her concert, which I went to in June, I played that one over and over again. Sometimes I just play the album. If I’m feeling really nice I’ll put on my OR playlist, that isn’t all Taylor Swift but has some other songs on there as well.

Kevin Pho: Now, for those who aren’t familiar with music in the OR, does a surgeon have full jurisdiction in terms of who controls the music?

Andrea L. Merrill: I think it really depends on who you are and where you are. For me, I have always picked my music in the operating room, and most people seem to be OK with that. I know that there are other surgeons who think that everyone in the room should be comfortable and would prefer someone to pick.

Again, for me, I’m the surgeon of record, my name is on the chart, if something happens I’m the one who gets sued. And it’s been very chaotic recently in the operating room, just with everything going on, I think it’s that way everywhere. The music is sort of the one thing I can really control, and it really grounds me and calms me down.

And so as long as someone isn’t like, I hate this, I can’t function, I’m going to play my music. Every so often I’ll put on some other things that people like, but generally I like to control it. And I usually play it at a reasonable level so that it’s not distracting, and obviously if there are any emergencies we would turn it off immediately.

Kevin Pho: Now, on a broader scale, tell us about the relationship surgeons have with music. I’ve certainly read this in many articles, but speak to it personally. What is that relationship between surgeons and music when they operate?

Andrea L. Merrill: I’ve seen surgeons throughout my training have different identities with music. Some are really into it, some surgeons don’t like to operate with it at all. I wrote an article about a surgeon who would pimp us on the music, which, I didn’t know the era of history he was asking me about, so I really just wanted him to talk to me about surgery.

But I think a lot of surgeons really feel strongly about their music choice in the operating room. I actually posted this on one of the general surgery forums through the American College of Surgeons, and I had many surgeons writing in. Some were like, oh, I used to bring my cassette player to the OR, and talking about all the music that they listen to.

For me, some of the songs on one of my playlists are music that I remember my mentors playing. So I had a mentor in fellowship who only listened to the Killers radio station on Pandora, so I have a few songs that are dedicated to her, and when they come on, especially in a stressful moment, I think of her and I’m like, OK, what would this person do?

And so I think for most of us we’re really connected to the music. I know many physicians who are musicians. I actually have a blog called Scrubbed Out Surgeon that highlights surgeons who are creative and have creative hobbies, either in music or art or other things outside of medicine. And so I think it’s really important that we have these hobbies and passions that are not just medicine, and kind of show who we are as human beings.

Kevin Pho: So after you wrote this article, tell us some of the responses you received.

Andrea L. Merrill: They were mostly positive. A lot of women reached out to me telling me how much it resonated with them. One person said she read it and it was like a gut punch, she didn’t realize how much it would resonate until she read it. Even my parents liked it, which, they’re not huge Taylor Swift fans, but my mom was like, oh, I finally get your Taylor Swift obsession. And again, a lot of older surgeons wrote in reminiscing about their time being surgeons as well and listening to music.

Kevin Pho: Now, do you ever envision a time where you would stop playing Taylor Swift in the OR?

Andrea L. Merrill: When I die. I don’t know. When I stop operating.

Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Andrea L. Merrill. She’s an assistant professor of surgery and surgical oncologist at Boston Medical Center. Today’s KevinMD article is “Taylor Swift in the operating room: the surgeon who found strength in song.” Andrea, let’s end with some of your take-home messages to the KevinMD audience.

Andrea L. Merrill: So I think my take-home message is, surgery is a challenging field, and sometimes we need some adjuncts to get through it. For me it’s my music and Taylor Swift. I think music is important to all of us as surgeons, and it has sort of become part of my identity.

And for all the women out there listening, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about in that article and can identify with it, and I appreciate everything you do every day, and I hope we can all continue supporting each other.

Kevin Pho: Andrea, thank you so much for sharing your perspective and insight, and thanks again for coming on the show.

Andrea L. Merrill: Thank you.