This past Friday was my two-month anniversary at the VA hospital. I can't believe I'm already 1/3 of the way through with my internship! Time is simply flying by. I've already gone from observing, to co-leading, to leading sessions on my own. I have my first patient, the start of my own caseload, and on Tuesday I will lead a group, solo, for the first time.
G4V is in full swing now. The more I observe and take part in that program, the more I realize the value of it. All the guys in the program are so supportive of each other; especially in the therapeutic group, some of the guys who have been through the program before stay and volunteer for the beginner's class time. They provide musical, and emotional, support for the new veterans. I believe that fostering an atmosphere where the veterans can support each other is sometimes the best thing we can do for them. These veterans understand each other in a way I never could. They understand the struggles of PTSD and anxiety, losing a child, battling diabetic neuropathy, or simply trying to master the guitar at the age of 70, because they've experienced it too. I can try to offer support or empathy, but the reality is I simply haven't shared their experiences. Sometimes our job as a therapist is just to provide a place where clients can support each other, in a safe environment while pursuing a common goal. And now that I am witnessing that sense of community, I realize how important it truly is.
Time to answer a question I hear a lot! When I tell people I'm a music therapy intern, they usually want to know, (after making the face that says 'what is music therapy?'), who do I work with? What does a normal week look like? Well, a normal week right now starts off with individual sessions. We may see patients who have Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, or multi-infarct dementia. On Monday nights we have two therapeutic sessions of G4V, for clients who struggle with PSTD, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, cognitive disorders, and diabetic neuropathy. On Tuesdays we do a cognitive stimulation group for long-term care residents, and attend an interdisciplinary team meeting. Then we have more individual sessions. We see several different patients who have suffered a CVA (stroke) every week, and each patient has different goals: regaining speech oral motor coordination, attention control training, regaining use of upper extremities, working with aphasia, and breath control. We see patients individually for mood disorders, depression, and PTSD. We also have sessions for physical disabilities resulting from traumatic injury, such as a car wreck, or brain damage from various causes. One afternoon a week during lunch, we provide live music for long-term care residents, and usually bring volunteers with us to help out. And every Friday afternoon, we do bedside music sessions on the palliative/hospice care unit. It's a busy schedule, and I'm always seeing something/someone new!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Two Months Down
So many things happening, so little time to write it all down! The past two weeks have been packed. This past week was the start of the new Guitars for Vets series, which will last through November. I was unfortunately ill, and not able to go to the first session :( however, we had a lot of prep work to do, making phone calls, putting binders together, and getting to play with a very fun donation: 9 guitars! The national G4V organization only funds 6 guitars per chapter per series, and we have a waiting list of more than 60, so donations are the way we can help more veterans faster. We're also beginning preparations for the Holiday Extravaganza already. Each year at Christmastime, staff and patients combine to put on a giant, hilarious musical production. It is a highlight of the year here, and lots of people have already been considering their act for months. Lots of patients also try to "torment" the interns as much as possible during their act, so I am anticipating a lot of difficult requests in the next few months, haha!
One of my more interesting moment these past weeks was when I walked down from the hospital floor to the clinic to meet a patient, and met the entire Virginia Tech football team in the stairwell! The "Hokies" were coming to visit the residents of the community living center, and I happened to run into them, literally. It's difficult to get down a stairwell with a guitar when there is a linebacker coming up the other way.
Internship responsibilities are progressively increasing! I have finally learned my way around the computer systems without asking for help every 5 minutes, which means I can complete most of my paperwork independently. The other intern and I are now responsible for the weekly cognitive stimulation/reminiscent session at the community living center, as our first independent responsibility. We also co-lead individual sessions in the clinic now, and I even facilitated most of a by myself this week. I completed my first assessment, with supervision, last week, and will hopefully have my first patient of my very own within a week or two! I'm so excited to start my own caseload. Our midterm evaluation and test is coming up in October; I'm already studying, and working on case studies. And planning sessions, and learning music... we're always busy!
Prayer requests! As grateful as I am for my free housing, it turns out that living in a hospital room long-term gets kind of depressing, and waking up to "Code Blue! Code Blue!" in the middle of the night isn't much fun. Please pray for happy days, peaceful nights, and for the thermostat in my room to get above 65, haha.
I also need prayer for interactions with one particular patient. We have one patient who is horribly, terribly disfigured. So much so that it is difficult to even look at them. Music really connected with them, and they enjoyed their session a lot. Please pray for peace of mind and strength of stomach (I'm not being flippant, it was really a difficult visual to cope with). Pray that I can focus on showing love to someone who needs it, to see the person instead of their disfigurement. Pray that I only remember the joy we experience in sessions, and I can leave all other memories at the door.
One of my more interesting moment these past weeks was when I walked down from the hospital floor to the clinic to meet a patient, and met the entire Virginia Tech football team in the stairwell! The "Hokies" were coming to visit the residents of the community living center, and I happened to run into them, literally. It's difficult to get down a stairwell with a guitar when there is a linebacker coming up the other way.
Internship responsibilities are progressively increasing! I have finally learned my way around the computer systems without asking for help every 5 minutes, which means I can complete most of my paperwork independently. The other intern and I are now responsible for the weekly cognitive stimulation/reminiscent session at the community living center, as our first independent responsibility. We also co-lead individual sessions in the clinic now, and I even facilitated most of a by myself this week. I completed my first assessment, with supervision, last week, and will hopefully have my first patient of my very own within a week or two! I'm so excited to start my own caseload. Our midterm evaluation and test is coming up in October; I'm already studying, and working on case studies. And planning sessions, and learning music... we're always busy!
Prayer requests! As grateful as I am for my free housing, it turns out that living in a hospital room long-term gets kind of depressing, and waking up to "Code Blue! Code Blue!" in the middle of the night isn't much fun. Please pray for happy days, peaceful nights, and for the thermostat in my room to get above 65, haha.
I also need prayer for interactions with one particular patient. We have one patient who is horribly, terribly disfigured. So much so that it is difficult to even look at them. Music really connected with them, and they enjoyed their session a lot. Please pray for peace of mind and strength of stomach (I'm not being flippant, it was really a difficult visual to cope with). Pray that I can focus on showing love to someone who needs it, to see the person instead of their disfigurement. Pray that I only remember the joy we experience in sessions, and I can leave all other memories at the door.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Medical Music Therapy: What they don't tell you in class
After finishing my sixth week here, I finally feel like I've gotten the swing of the hospital routine, at least a little bit. As thorough as my classes were, there is no real way to "be prepared" for the medical environment until you are actually in it. For my blog this week, I wanted to share a list of real, (and humorous), list of things I have learned from working full-time in a hospital:
1. There is no 5-second rule. There is no 3-second rule. Any food dropped on the ground is immediately and irrevocably lost forever.
2. Wash your hands BEFORE, and after, using the restroom.
3. Nurses are superheros.
4. The intensity of the itch on your face is directly proportional to the level of infection control contact precautions on any given ward.
5. It is almost impossible to play a guitar while wearing latex gloves.
6. Once you learn the definition of horrifying medical terms like "fecal emesis", you will forever imagine that it took place on every surface in the hospital.
7. When in doubt, you have three choices: "Amazing Grace", "Home on the Range", or "You Are My Sunshine".
8. Patients who say they like "every" kind of music, do NOT like every kind of music. They like a very specific kind of music, and they want you to guess what it is.
9. No matter how many times you tell people that you are actually a professional in an accredited field, you will still be referred to as "the music lady" at least once a day.
10. Hand sanitizer is a way of life. Until, that is, you realize that the .01% of bacteria germ-ex doesn't kill, happens to be one of the most horrifying stomach conditions known to mankind.
11. Never underestimate the importance of talking. Yes, patients enjoy listening to music, but sometimes they need you to listen to Them too.
*Note: the Medical Center does an excellent job with infection control, and this post is not intended to reflect badly in any way on the hospital. I'm just new to the world of disease control and prevention!
1. There is no 5-second rule. There is no 3-second rule. Any food dropped on the ground is immediately and irrevocably lost forever.
2. Wash your hands BEFORE, and after, using the restroom.
3. Nurses are superheros.
4. The intensity of the itch on your face is directly proportional to the level of infection control contact precautions on any given ward.
5. It is almost impossible to play a guitar while wearing latex gloves.
6. Once you learn the definition of horrifying medical terms like "fecal emesis", you will forever imagine that it took place on every surface in the hospital.
7. When in doubt, you have three choices: "Amazing Grace", "Home on the Range", or "You Are My Sunshine".
8. Patients who say they like "every" kind of music, do NOT like every kind of music. They like a very specific kind of music, and they want you to guess what it is.
9. No matter how many times you tell people that you are actually a professional in an accredited field, you will still be referred to as "the music lady" at least once a day.
10. Hand sanitizer is a way of life. Until, that is, you realize that the .01% of bacteria germ-ex doesn't kill, happens to be one of the most horrifying stomach conditions known to mankind.
11. Never underestimate the importance of talking. Yes, patients enjoy listening to music, but sometimes they need you to listen to Them too.
*Note: the Medical Center does an excellent job with infection control, and this post is not intended to reflect badly in any way on the hospital. I'm just new to the world of disease control and prevention!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)