A surgeon’s life is defined by long hours, exacting focus, and countless critical decisions that impact the lives of others. They go through years of training to develop a stamina that can sustain the deepest, complex pressures. But just like the rest of us, they rely on small rituals and routines to keep their days steady, mind sharp, and energy plugging along.
In Routine Procedures, we’re taking a closer look at the daily habits—from breakfast choices to favorite shoes—that shape our surgeons’ work and life.
Multiple Snoozes, Robot Days, and Leaving the Hospital Satisfied
Jason Hawksworth, MD
Surgical Director, Adult Liver Transplantation
Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery
What time does your alarm go off in the morning?
I usually get up a little before six.
Snooze or no snooze?
Multiple snoozes. Multiple alarms set and at least two rounds of snoozing. It’s just enough to almost get back to sleep before it wakes you up again. Of course.
Breakfast of choice (especially before a big day)?
Coffee, plus or minus a little egg sandwich.
First thing you do when you get to work:
Depends if it’s an OR day or not. If it’s an OR day, the first thing I’ll do is change into my scrubs and then simultaneously walk to pre-op to say hi to my patient and sign the consent and the history on the app while I’m walking to see them. Once that’s done, I’ve got about an hour before we actually start. Anesthesia has to do their thing, so I’ll catch up on email, charts, delinquent notes…admin stuff.
On a clinic day, I’ll usually come in, have a little more time to socialize, check some email, and start clinic.
Do you have any pre-op rituals or routines?
Not really. I’m usually pretty serious on OR days. I like moving cases along quickly and efficiently. I’m not a big talker in the OR; I’m pretty much all business. But for the robot days, I take my shoes off because the robot has pedals you operate with your feet, and you can feel them better without shoes.
Is there music in your OR?
One of my partners loves music in the OR. I’m sort of indifferent. I used to play music, but over the years I just got so busy that it was easier to work in silence and get through cases quickly and efficiently.
For living donor cases, it’s almost mandated that there are two surgeons for safety. My partner, Dr. Nathaly Llore, does those with me and she always plays music. So, I defer. She’s in charge of the playlist. She loves Taylor Swift, so there’s always Taylor Swift in there. My daughter does too, so yes, I know all the songs.
Favorite shoes for long days standing in the OR:
Tennis shoes, any good ones. With no shoes at the robot, I usually wear fun socks on robot days—tropical, palm trees, sports teams, NASA, pink flamingos. Honestly, I have so many socks, the last thing I need is more socks.
Favorite part of your day:
If it’s been a long OR day and everything has turned out okay in the end, it’s a very satisfying way to leave the hospital. You did some good work, and you walk out with that feeling.
What’s always in your lab coat pocket or bag?
I wear this white coat that has a gift from a pediatric patient’s mom on it, a caduceus pin. I also have my little liver pin, so some flair on there. In my pocket, there’s always a mask and my favorite robot scrub cap.
Any non-medical habit that helps you stay focused?
When I’m on my way to work in the morning, I usually listen to very chill music. That’s kind of my meditation. I’ll listen to soundtrack music. Interstellar is a good one. Very chill. That’s like my pseudo-meditation.
Most underrated part of your job:
There’s probably so much that’s underrated. OR time is intense and fulfilling, but so much happens behind the scenes. Cases can take hours or months of planning. That’s the unseen work: coordinating with your team, administrators, nurses, making sure everyone’s on the same page. In transplant, there’s a lot of regulatory work too, really important, but time-consuming. You spend a lot of time outside the OR, so you can spend more time in the OR doing what you love.
I really like the imaging part of planning. I like making the 3D reconstructions and really understanding the anatomy. CT scans are two-dimensional, and you have to reconstruct in your head. I started using a three-dimensional program about five years ago, and I now won’t do cases without it. It’s mandatory.
When you finally get home, what’s the first thing you do?
I’ll make myself not think about work for at least an hour. Usually, that means a little glass of wine. Then I’ll read novels, science fiction, nonfiction, and history—especially war history. I was in the military for a long time, so I have an affinity for it. I read all sorts of things. If there’s a ton of work piled up, I’ll finish charts instead, but I try to get my brain doing something different.
If one of your patients saw you outside the hospital, they’d be surprised to see you…
Probably in a T-shirt and shorts. And not a nice shirt, like a grungy shirt. They’d be like, “Oh, that’s Dr. Hawksworth…weird.”
More routines:
Abe Krikhely, MD
Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatric Surgery
Roshni Rao, MD
Chief of Breast Surgery
John Chabot, MD
Chief of GI/Endocrine Surgery
Executive Director of the Pancreas Center