Midterm Evaluation

This week I completed my midterm evaluation! I can not believe I'm half way done. Time is starting to fly a little more each week. After my midterm, my supervisor commented on how much my music has improved. It was a nice time to reflect on how much I've grown as a therapist and has helped build my confidence for the final advance to the finish line.

The Path from Student to Professional

The path from student to professional is very unique to every music therapy student. I was on the same path as my fellow peers in my music therapy sequence while at FSU. I didn't really have to think much about it, if I had a question I asked my friends what they did for a course or an assignment. But here we are at the part of the path where we need to decide what internship to apply for, job to take, and population to work with. The scary part is we have to leave our peers behind and walk down the next part of the path alone. I knew I wouldn't be completely alone but metaphorically speaking, alone.

When I was at regional conference and a professional covered this topic, I was scared. I knew others were scared too when someone asked "What if I don't get an internship?" I personally felt like I was entering into some sort of limbo until finding a job. Now that I'm almost half way done with my internship (crazy)! I feel more at ease and now I question why I was scared in the first place. I now know why. I was about to enter a new chapter of my life and I didn't know what to expect. I was scared because I had to live by myself, live in a new place, and be with a new supervisor. The whole situation can be very overwhelming, but eventually you will see the light at the end of your path.

The moral of the story to all of you who haven't started internship yet is this. All you have to do is take one step at a time and everything works out on its own. It's like jumping into a cold pool. It's going to be very different and you will be anxious until you finally take that jump. But once you are in the water you will adjust quickly to the new environment.

Procedural Support with MT and Child Life

            I’ve had the opportunity to observe procedural support with music therapy and child life.  These professions obtain the same goal using different strategies.  I feel that both are equally successful and combining tactics from each will strengthen interventions.

            From my point of view, child life is more educational based. They prepare the patient by teaching what is going to happen during the procedure, why they need to do the procedure, and show the equipment that will be used so the patient is more comfortable.  One child life specialist I observed incorporated deep breaths, and narrated what was happening during the procedure while using distraction objects. If the patient’s attention was focused on the procedure, the specialist would explain what was happening and redirect the patient’s attention to the distraction object.

            Music Therapy is more distraction based. MT’s don’t associate themselves with the procedure or the equipment so they don’t appear threatening. The MT will start the session prior to the procedure and will distract the patient until after the procedure. When a painful part of the procedure is coming the MT will make sure distraction is at the highest. One reason music is beneficial is because it masks any sounds that would come off threatening to the patient.

            I believe that both methods of procedural support are effective and music therapists can learn a lot from child life. Combining some MT tactics with child life tactics will make procedural support stronger for music therapy. Patients with the cognitive ability to understand what is happening during a procedure will benefit from the education. Patients won’t feel as if they’re being punished if they understand what is happening.

Good Day

I've been meaning to blog about my amazing day on Friday! Here's the scoop..

Music therapy was referred for procedural support for an IV start with an infant. My supervisor let me lead the session and I will admit I was a little nervous. I started the session prior to the procedure and continued distraction techniques until the procedure was over. The wow moment was the comments received. The nurses said the patient was doing so well, one nurse said it was because of me :) The mother also said that the patient did so much better this time then the previous IV start (Mills canon suggests that music therapy is the reason for this) :) After the procedure I charted on the session and kept hearing a patient crying. I couldn't tell if it was coming from the room I just left as it was down the hall. I was packing up to leave the unit and noticed it was from the same room. I looked in and asked the parents if they wanted me to play some music to calm the patient down and they agreed. I used iso-principle (meeting the patient where he/she is and gradually leading them to where you want them to be), played louder music matching the patients crying then slowly transitioning to soft lullabies and was able to get a crying baby to sleep. I snuck out after that and the parents were so thankful. It was such a rush leaving that room. I was so happy to have helped them and calmed their child down. It’s magical watching how music can change everything right before your eyes. I was able to show this magic to the nurses as well as the parents.