Description
- Abstract:
- Evidence-based music therapy has shown measured functional improvement in patients with neurological deficits, including patients with stroke, dementia, and Parkinson\u2019s disease. Positive patient outcomes have also been reported in treating depression and developmental delays with music therapy. Despite the growing body of evidence supporting the efficacy of music therapy, the field has been slow to receive mainstream acceptance. Earlier peer-reviewed studies illustrating the efficacy of music therapy were published well over a decade ago. There are also few opportunities to learn about music therapy in traditional medical education even though there is significant demand from students. 41 undergraduate students enrolled in a combined baccalaureate-MD program surveyed in Fall 2015 indicated that they had an interest in taking a music therapy elective. Taken together, the growing interest in the field from future physicians, the increasing amount of evidence surrounding music therapy, and the current state of music therapy suggests a need for educational efforts to advocate for music therapy as a legitimate form of treatment. In this study, we collected student demographic data and assessed student understanding of music therapy using surveys that were completed before an elective course centered on music therapy. All students had backgrounds in music, backgrounds in neuroscience, and regularly attend lectures. We report that most students agree that there are data in peer-reviewed articles suggesting that music therapy results in beneficial patient outcomes, and most students would be willing to refer patients to music therapy if applicable. We also report that most students believed that Medicaid and private insurance do not cover music therapy and were generally not confident about their ability to refer patients to appropriate types of music therapy. Only 3 out of 10 students correctly identified one established type of music therapy. Our results further highlight the need for music therapy advocacy and education in medical education.
- Notes:
- Scholarly concentration: Medical Education
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- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Citation
Le, Bryan, Chen, Rudy, and Dollase, Richard,
"Advocating for music therapy in medical education as effective treatment for neurological deficits"
(2016).
Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:697367/
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Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium
The Warren Alpert Medical School Academic Symposium is an annual event at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University that provides Year II medical students a venue to present their summer research in a poster format. Participation in the Symposium …...