June 18, 2025
Researching the acoustics of clinical care
From the buzz of clinic equipment to the sighs and silences, one 抖阴APP导航 researcher is exploring the often-overlooked sounds that shape the daily experiences of family physicians and their patients.
In an ,The soundtrack of a clinic day, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, , reflects on the ambient sounds of a clinic, complemented by a unique , created in collaboration with Dr. Gerard Gormley, MD, of Queen鈥檚 University Belfast and Mattea Nixon, a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology student at 抖阴APP导航.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trained to listen inside the body鈥攁 lot of my time is spent listening to hearts and lungs鈥攂ut I started to become aware of the sounds outside the room and how I can consciously and unconsciously filter them,鈥 says Kelly. 鈥淚t made me a little bit more aware of what my patients might be hearing and what might be distressing to them.鈥
A family physician and a professor at the , Kelly is exploring acoustemology within clinical practice; how the everyday sounds and rhythms shape the experiences and interactions of healthcare professionals and patients.
鈥淭here are a lot of questions we can ask about how our sensory experience can subtly help us work together,鈥 says Kelly. 鈥淎 lot of times, particularly in emergency situations, we don鈥檛 actually talk. Much of that urgency is conveyed through non-verbal communication.鈥
Deepening an understanding of how auditory cues influence care
Ultimately, Kelly seeks to deepen our understanding of how auditory cues influence clinical decision-making and collaborative care, while sparking meaningful conversations among patients, clinicians, and students about how to create more supportive and intentional soundscapes within healthcare settings.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just listening to the sound, it鈥檚 listening to the silences that surround sound,鈥 she says. 鈥淗ow is sound broken up, what happens in the silences in between? It鈥檚 sound and silence and how everything comes together. Particularly in our clinics.鈥
Intertwining medicine and the social sciences, she will advance the research through a collaborative, transdisciplinary approach, working alongside Dr. , PhD, professor in the in the , and Dr. , PhD, professor in the .
Watch to discover how the ambient sounds of a clinic can influence the experience of medicine.
Soundtrack of a Clinic
Haley Martin, Communications
Martina Ann Kelly is a professor in the departments of and at the (CSM), and a member of the O鈥橞rien Institute for Public Health at the CSM.
Ariel Ducey is a professor and head of the Department of Sociology in the , and a member of the O鈥橞rien Institute for Public Health at the CSM.
Pratim Sengupta is a professor in Learning Science at the .