KMadamba
e-Portfolio
Music at the Bedside
Volunteer at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center
As a volunteer for the Music at the Bedside Program, I work to create a soothing environment for the patients, their families as well as the medical team. I do my rounds to visit and play for individual patients, allowing me to develop skills in bedside manner as I interact directly with patients. I play 3-4 arrangements for each patient while they rest or are being treated. In each shift, I visit about 4-6 patients.
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It was an absolute pleasure to play for the medical staff and the patients. And it was amazing to see first hand how music can help introduce compassion into the clinic and be an instrument towards healing for patients. This has helped see how critical the environment in the clinic and the patient-provider relationship is in health care.
Setlist during Music Therapy Shifts
Ukulele and Guitar
Calm & Soothing
Fun and Uplifting
Soothing and Relaxing Tones
Teague-Melville Essay Recipient
Research in Music Therapy
Volunteering with Music at the Bedside inspired me to research the efficacy of music therapy and the why the profound impact of music can promote patient wellness. I consolidated this research in my essay, Our Experience with Music, that received UCLA Writing Program's Teague-Melville Undergraduate Writing Prize.
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Excerpts from Karen's essay:
Music therapists are a sharp juxtaposition to the doctors and nurses we expect in the clinic. But under the disguise of melodies and performance lie “brain-based treatments for brain-based disorders” that stimulate dormant or damaged regions of the brain in new ways (Howland 2015). Neuroscience has given music therapy a pass into the scientific world, and with that lens, we can see its potential to improve cognitive ability and facilitate healing.
Christopher Small said that music lets us be “in touch with [our] own being and that of the cosmos,” that it lets us see where we stand in the world and come to terms with what’s happening in it.