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We sit down with Sydelle Ross, an anesthesiologist who has discovered the healing power of music in her practice. Join us as Sydelle shares her journey from a childhood dream of becoming a singing doctor to her current role, where she incorporates music therapy into patient care. Discover how she found fulfillment and purpose through music, and learn about her podcast dedicated to promoting awareness of music’s healing potential. Tune in as Sydelle shares insights into the transformative impact of music on patients facing life-threatening illnesses and discusses the importance of self-awareness and passion in health care.

Sydelle Ross is an anesthesiologist.

She discusses the KevinMD article, “Unveiling the remarkable journey of a doctor turned singing sensation.”

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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 Sydelle Ross. She’s an anesthesiologist, and today’s KevinMD article is “Unveiling the remarkable journey of a doctor turned singing sensation.” So we’ll talk about your KevinMD article in a little bit. First off, just briefly share your story and journey.

Sydelle Ross: Absolutely. So at six years of age I told anyone who would listen that I wanted to become a singing doctor, and I really believed with all my heart that it could happen.

I grew up in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago to be specific, and music was all around me. It’s a big part of our culture. I loved singing, it was a big part of my life at church, at school, at home. And I also loved my pediatrician and wanted to take care of kids the way that my doctor did. I should also mention that I was really motivated by the lollipop in the office, but that’s an aside.

But anyway, at six years old I had this vision of singing to my patients when they would come in for their checkups. Over the years the singing part assumed less importance, but I went ahead and became a doctor, and things were just fine.

But after completing residency and fellowship, I became more and more unhappy. I later realized that I was burned out. I didn’t know it then, I didn’t know what to call it, I didn’t have a name for it, but I got to the point where I had to quit in order to save myself. I took some time off, and when I reflected on the things that had always brought meaning and a sense of purpose to my life, I kept coming back to music. During those dark days music really helped to uplift me and sustain me.

And one day I recall asking myself, well, if music could do this for me, could it do the same for my patients? And how might I be able to offer this to them? That’s when I decided to enhance my musicianship by pursuing vocal training and guitar lessons. And one day I took the leap of faith and began singing at the bedside for a patient, and as they say, the rest is history.

Kevin Pho: So tell us more about that transformation, and how you incorporated singing at the bedside. What does that look like?

Sydelle Ross: So my primary specialty is anesthesiology. I now practice hospice and palliative medicine, so I kind of took a different path.

A big part of our encounter with patients is the psychosocial interview. So if a patient tells me that music has always been a big part of their lives, I just jump right in and request, or make an offer, to share music with the patient and their loved ones as well. Because I take care of very sick people, and certainly when someone is very sick, the illness also impacts their loved ones.

And so I sing at the bedside. Sometimes patients and their loved ones will sing with me. Sometimes they’re too weak to sing and they just enjoy the music. And I find that it has really helped to promote or facilitate communication. It has helped to affirm personhood, particularly with my dementia patients, who seem to have lost a sense of who they are because of the illness. And it has really just helped to restore joy in my profession once again.

Kevin Pho: You talk more about that journey in your KevinMD article, “Unveiling the remarkable journey of a doctor turned singing sensation.” Tell us a story, a case study, where your introduction of music really moved the needle, really helped and made a difference in one of your patients.

Sydelle Ross: So I think one of my first encounters, I had the privilege of caring for someone who was a professional jazz musician, and he came to us near the end of his life because he had developed dementia, but also a rectal cancer, a GI malignancy.

The family had said to me that he could no longer play his saxophone. He was a professional saxophonist and had really lost the sense of who he was. And so, knowing that music had always been a big part of his life, from the very beginning we had shared music together.

As time went along, he said to me that his dying wish essentially was to have a bedside jam session. And so during his final week of life I arranged for some friends of mine to visit him at the hospice unit, and that’s what we did. We offered him this gift of music and granted his wish.

And I remember him really coming to life during that encounter. Before we even got there, I had to call ahead to confirm that he was still alive. And when we got there he was lying motionless in bed. But as he heard the music, as he heard my friends warming up instruments, he literally came alive again. He began to mentor my friends. He gave them a little bit of a tutorial and tips on how they could enhance their own musicianship as saxophonists. And I say to this day, it’s one of the most successful resuscitation attempts that I’ve ever witnessed.

Kevin Pho: What kind of music do you sing?

Sydelle Ross: So most of my repertoire is in the classical genre. Growing up in the Caribbean, and more so Roman Catholic, going to Roman Catholic school, classical music was a big part of what we were exposed to, so I’m very comfortable with that.

And once I began voice training, my first teacher said, well, based on your background and the type of voice that you have, I think we can delve into some operatic arias here. So that’s what I’ve been doing. And I really also enjoy jazz singing, so I kind of straddle both of those genres, really, the classical and jazz domains. It’s a lot of fun.

Kevin Pho: Now, in terms of the therapeutic benefits for patients, are you aware of any studies or data where music therapy can help in their recovery, or help them through any difficult medical conditions or journeys that they may be going through?

Sydelle Ross: Oh sure. One of the encouraging things now is that we have emerging data that’s quite promising in the medical literature. We see it, there’s a fair amount in the oncology world, with oncology patients and the impact of music on the way that they experience health care and the health care system.

There’s one study I remember done by a group in Rhode Island that looked at the impact of music on oncology patients in the outpatient setting. And the patients commented on how the music made them feel during and after the sessions. They talked about this spiritual connection that they felt. They talked about pleasant memories that the music evoked. They talked about music giving them strength and hope. Some of the things that we really need in our health care systems, and just in our lives, to help sustain us.

And there’s more and more data coming out. We see it in just about every domain of medicine now, and in every field. In the perioperative period, people going in for surgery, we see it. In labor and delivery units, music being used to put patients at ease. You see it for sure in dementia, with music being used to help people connect with who they are and to connect with loved ones. So this is a really exciting time, and I’m really proud to be a part of this movement.

Kevin Pho: Talk to us about how music helped you from a professional standpoint, in terms of helping you through the burnout that you described. How has it changed your life professionally?

Sydelle Ross: It helped me to reconnect with who I am. As I talked about, my six-year-old self, I lost contact with my six-year-old self throughout my journey of becoming a physician. And I think music brought me back to that person, or to the core of who I am essentially.

And I think it’s because, as we practice our profession, we need to stay true to who we are. We need to pay attention to the things that nourish and sustain us, mind, body, and spirit. Because it should come as no surprise that if we aren’t well, we can’t take good care of patients.

It sounds like a no-brainer, but I don’t know how many of us are well. I don’t think we’ve been trained to think that way. I don’t know if it’s changing now, but it’s a lesson that I had to learn on my own, and I’m thankful that music played a very vital role in teaching me that lesson.

Kevin Pho: Talk more about that connection between music and medicine. I know so many physicians who are also musicians. I’m a musician myself. I know that there are a lot of physician choirs, orchestras. Why do so many physicians have that background in music?

Sydelle Ross: That’s a great question, and it’s something that I would like to explore with other physician musicians.

I think, growing up, some of us have had the privilege to be exposed to music and music based interventions from a very young age. And I think it’s one of the extracurricular activities that our parents would probably encourage us to continue pursuing.

I also think it’s a great outlet for many of us. We’re in challenging curricula in terms of our academic training from a very young age. We prepare for medical school and all of that from college, and then there’s residency and there’s fellowship. And I think music offers us a means of escape, a great outlet, a way of releasing stress in a more constructive way, because there are certainly less constructive ways for us to do that.

And so thankfully we have music that we can rely on and depend on to help sustain us and get us through the challenges that we all face as we are in training and as we continue to practice this profession, which is not easy. We find ourselves in systems that really make it difficult for us sometimes to do what we love and what we’re trained to do. And again, I think for most of us, having this background, this exposure to music, we can rely on that and use music as a way to heal ourselves through the challenges.

Kevin Pho: You mentioned earlier, when you were burnt out and you wanted to incorporate more music in your life, that you used, in your words, a leap of faith. I talked to so many physicians who are burnt out and may be in similar situations to what you describe. Now, if they wanted to pursue a passion that may not be directly related to medicine, and take that leap of faith, what kind of advice do you have for them?

Sydelle Ross: So I call it a leap of faith because I wasn’t quite sure where this was going to go, how this would turn out, what it would look like. It’s not that everything was clear about it. I just knew how I felt. I knew that I could not continue living that way and practicing medicine that way, and so I had to find a way of incorporating something that I knew was sustainable and that would continue to inspire me as I continued to practice.

And so I would say that if you’re embarking on something new or different or a little unconventional, it can feel very lonely at times, and anxiety-provoking, and daunting, because you really just don’t know what the path looks like.

But I’ve learned that if you believe in what you’re doing, and you are inspired by what you’re doing, and you stay the course, you’ll eventually cross paths with people who support you and who will accompany you along the way.

And during the lonely moments, the moments of uncertainty, when things seem so nebulous, Paulo Coelho’s words in The Alchemist I think can offer some comfort: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” So receive that, and keep going.

Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Sydelle Ross. She’s an anesthesiologist, and today’s KevinMD article is “Unveiling the remarkable journey of a doctor turned singing sensation.” Sydelle, let’s end with some of your take-home messages to the KevinMD audience.

Sydelle Ross: Well, for one thing, the world is depending on you to live your truth. That’s a quote that, it’s my own quote, that over the years I’ve come to believe is true. We have to remain true to who we are.

I also encourage each and every one of you to be OK with not being OK, and to speak up when you don’t feel like you’re OK. We don’t want to lose any more clinicians because they didn’t get help soon enough. Burnout, depression, anxiety continue to affect so many of us, and we can’t let this continue.

So again, make time for the things that nourish you physically, mentally, and spiritually.

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

Sydelle Ross: Thank you for having me, it’s my pleasure.