In fact, two days ago, the general manager of the Bordeaux-Nord Group, Philippe Cruette, had the idea of releasing on the web, by way of best wishes, a video of doctor…
In fact, two days ago, the managing director of the Bordeaux-Nord Group, Philippe Cruette, had the idea of releasing on the web, by way of best wishes, a video of doctor Aïcha N’Doye, filmed in the cinema. operation as she calms down a patient, singing Alicia Keys to her. Eye to eye. “Someone from the team sent this to me, I was shaken with emotion and immediately wanted to share it, he said, to make it my message for the year 2023. I did not imagine…”, is surprised Philippe Cruette.
She didn’t imagine either. And here she is between two patients, posing in her surgical gown for press photographers, explaining her “operating mode”, almost apologizing for making so much noise. Because the video went viral in just a few hours. She adds a little pink on her lips at once and puts herself on stage between her files and her stethoscope. In the corridors of the polyclinic of Bordeaux-Nord or that of Arcachon where she also intervenes, it is not uncommon to hear her voice grow. “Be careful, I don’t sing just anytime, not even systematically,” she admits with a burst of laughter.
The medicine or the artist? The two
“Since childhood, I have always sung and dreamed of being a singer, she recalls. My father was a doctor and we made a deal: try medicine, and if that doesn’t work, sing. I passed medicine, it fascinated me, but I never stopped singing. I’ve been in bands, sung in bars and even had a stage name: Queen Cha. My thing is soul of course, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles. But I can sing Céline Dion and Aznavour to my patients. »
The first time she sang was for a patient in the operating room, so stressed that the anesthetist had a little trouble putting her to sleep. “Do you want me to sing? The patient replied: “If it’s for rain, don’t bother”. I sang anyway. After a minute or two, she calmed down. Then fell asleep. From there, I understood that my voice had that effect, and I made it my weapon. »
“I lower the light, I ask them to focus on my voice. Singing soothes them, relaxes them”
So Doctor Queen Cha also sings sometimes, with patients in simple consultation. Those who for various reasons are reluctant to face an examination. And sometimes the patients look at her with wide eyes. Believe in a joke: “I am a gynecologist and senologist, I sometimes consult women who have not seen a gynecologist for a long time, others who have been traumatized by brutal examinations, or who are afraid, who stress . I lower the light, I ask them to focus on my voice. Singing soothes them, relaxes them. And we can proceed to an examination quietly. It’s complicated a gynecologist examination, we touch on intimacy. »
More song less anesthesia
In the operating room, the nurses, if they dared, would applaud, but it would make noise. Because the teams adore their Queen Cha and repeat to her “But what are you doing here? You should get on stage! No regrets for Doctor Aïcha N’Doye. “The dream of becoming a singer is behind me, but using this asset to gain the trust of my patients is something that matters to me. In the block, we have an audio system to broadcast music, during the anesthesia there is a lot of anxiety. We have many patients affected by breast cancer, and sometimes the surgeries will be debilitating. Singing has a soothing virtue whose strength I never imagined. »
Each time the doctor sings, the tension drops, the heart rate calms down and the anesthesiologist decreases his doses of injected drug. “The most anxious end up falling asleep and they wake up most of the time very well, recognizes the surgeon. »