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.
3:10 a.m. alarm. One snooze. Head-banger music for fixing the aorta.
Virendra I. Patel, MD, MPH
Chief of Vascular Surgery
Co-Director of Aortic Center
What time does your alarm go off in the morning?
3:10 am.
Snooze or no snooze?
Snooze once.
Breakfast of choice (especially before a big day)?
Coffee.
First thing you do when you get to work:
Coffee, and log in.
Do you have any pre-op rituals or routines?
Yes. We did that spotlight thing a few years ago showing how I approach open aortas—I draw them out just so that I have the aorta memorized in terms of what to look for and when.
As far as endo [endovascular surgery] goes, I usually look at my plans. But outside of that, no. I had rituals when I was younger, but I don’t have those anymore.
Is there music in your OR?
Always.
Who picks the playlists?
I do.
What's on it?
If I’m feeling like I should be calmer or in a chill vibe, I’ll listen to a live acoustic playlist. I like live and acoustic songs because it highlights the artist’s nuances, their voices. Sometimes the live acoustic versions are even better than the originals. I have a very large live acoustic playlist.
If I’m going to fix the aorta, there is a Let’s Fix F**king Aorta playlist, which is mostly loud, angry, industrial rock-type stuff because I need the energy. That’s usually how I’m feeling when I’m tackling an aorta.
I also have another playlist called Marathon, which is a little bit of everything, except for country, because I hate country. That playlist gives me emotional energy. It can go from opera to Eminem, back to Lionel Richie. Most people who listen to it are like, “What?” But it keeps me going. And if we’re fixing the aorta, we’re definitely fixing this f**king aorta.
Favorite shoes for long days standing in the OR:
I have a pair of bloody clogs that I’ve had for more than a decade. They’ve got lots of biohazard on them. They’re steel-toed, hard, wooden-soled clogs that I wear in the OR.
Favorite part of your day:
Operating.
What’s always in your lab coat pocket or bag?
I don’t normally wear a lab coat. In my bag, always pens. You always need a pen.
Any non-medical habit that helps you stay focused?
Working out.
Most underrated part of your job:
Maintaining calm when teaching.
You know you could do it better, and you probably can, but maintaining that calm and showing someone else how to do it matters. I usually tell residents and fellows, “I will teach you how to do it, and I expect you to do it my way. Because my patients came here for me, and they’ll get my way. And if I see you doing it your way, then you can watch me do it my way.”
When you finally get home, what’s the first thing you do?
I don’t really have a ritual. Just check in with family.
If one of your patients saw you outside the hospital, they’d be surprised to see you…
Being a human. Being a normal person. As normal as a surgeon can be.
More routines:
James Lee, MD
Chief of Endocrine Surgery
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
Jason Hawksworth, MD
Surgical Director, Adult Liver Transplantation
Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Emile A. Bacha, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center