This post is just a bit of nothing, or everything, just for fun. Some VERY VERY cool things are developing and I cannot wait to share them with all of you. (Send some positive thoughts my way people!) First off, this is my horoscope of the day, I absolutely had to share:
Marilyn Monroe (my idol) said "Always stay true to yourself, retain individuality." This is a statement I live by, and the fact that my horoscope encourages me to encourage others' individuality, and incorporates music ;-), is pretty cool---so everyone, BE YOU and love it!!! Do something original today, and if its not original, just do something for yourself. Just like Natalie Portman:
(If you haven't seen Garden State...watch it) Embracing who I am and how I contrast, in or out of harmony with others, has been a huge part of this internship, and it has done me WONDERS! My faults and mistakes give me opportunities to learn, and my strengths help me stand out, give me confidence, and make me a special part of the Music Therapy team at UH Hospitals. I am going into a field where there really is no monotony and I don't think I'll ever loose myself or get bored. I honestly hope the same for all of those people who don't like their jobs or who feel stuck in the 9-5.
11 Days till National Conference!
My Goals for the week: -Build more repertoire!!! -Finish Hospice Rotation -Successfully go on rounds alone -Stay confident
Thanks for reading all!! Have a great week! I leave you now with an AWESOME music video by the AWESOME group Melodime, you may recognize a few people.....
What an exciting week it
has been for me here in Cleveland--new life changes and curve balls, but more importantly a new therapy rotation! Thursday I began my rotation with TODDLER ROCK.Toddler rock is a program that brings
kids 3-5 years old to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to participate in hour
long classes that help them improve socialization, literacy, and language
skills—all through music!This
class also helps the teachers by giving them new tools and strategies to use in
their classroom.
I am beyond excited to be
able to go to the Rock Hall every week and to get to know my class and be surrounded
by all the music history.Our
first session was a group introduction with all the therapists and all the
kids, probably about 200+ kids/teachers were present for this group.As the kids sat with their schools I
looked around; one group in particular looked like little angels—guess who
lucked out and will be working with this class—you got it, me!
Over the course of 10
weeks, we will focus on 4 letters F, C, I, and T so if anyone knows any fun
letter songs or games, send them my way! I really feel that as a music therapist I do VERY well working
with kids, I am even considering pursuing a job specifically for this
population, but that could be a whole separate blog post in itself!
Things coming up to watch
out for that I cannot wait to tell you about:
I’ll be headed to
National Conference. I’ll
be saying goodbye to Lindsay and becoming SENIOR intern. I
will be receiving my three-month evaluation
Things I’ve learned this
week:
By
learning about my patients and hearing their stories, I learn more about myself everyday.
Free
coffee is AWESOME.
Even
if an adult has a cognitive delay, speak to them as an adult.
If you haven’t heard of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—here is there website, its SUPER awesome and if
anyone plans on coming to visit, I’ll take ya there!
First of all let me
apologize for my slacking in posting entries—I have been extremely busy and absolutely
loving it, so this post is going to be a sort of catcher-upper.
I write to you from the
Winking Lizard Tavern, Starbucks simply wouldn’t cut it today becauseeee
FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! I am the only one decked out in Washington Redskins gear
surrounded by Brown’s fans…there is a lonely dolphins fan though.
GOODBYE sundresses,
sunburn, and beach trips HELLO football, cool weather, hot drinks, and warmer
fashions; I am ready for fall!
Had to….sang this song for
an audition once…I find myself singing it a lot this week :P
I have had an awesome few
weeks and cannot believe I’m approaching month 3!I am becoming a very confident intern and
therapist and starting to move into independence.
On top of seeing patients,
developing music skills, leading groups, article reviews and book reports, I
have to complete a couple of big projects while I am here: a presentation about
music therapy, a case study, and a research project.
I am proud to say that my
case study will be completed this week!
This was something I was nervous about even STARTING.How will I know which patient I want to work closely
with?Am I ready to carry out the
therapy process on my own?Will I
actually be benefiting this person?
YES!
To make a long story sort of short--
Going on rounds with Dr.
Lane, she was easing me into independence and wanted me to take more of a lead
when working with this specific woman.I don’t know why, but the leadership and confidence came almost
effortlessly that day, rapport was built almost immediately and I was able to
completely assess her and implement a session.
Because I was able to
connect with her and figure out multiple goals I could work on, I decided she
would be perfect for my case study.I have developed a program plan for her and have led five sessions on my
own. I plan on terminating services on Monday and writing up my report.I have data to show her progress and
have charted in her notes all the amazing things we accomplished.Her goals are mainly psychosocial but I
am fully confident I have helped her greatly in her stay at the hospital and
have evidence to prove it.
Here are my goal areas I
set for her after the assessment:
Mood
modification Decision
making (and independence) through leisure time skills practice *I
started out with pain management but then as she got closer to discharge this was not really needed so I focused on her biggest needs
I have learned so much
from her and am so glad to have knocked this project out so I can begin to
focus on my upcoming rotations in Toddler Rock and the Intensive Outpatient
Program for Adults with mood disorders.
With all this going on,
weeks seem to fly by! I certainly enjoy my weekends, a chance to breathe, a
chance to relax, and a chance to just have some fun!
A couple weekends ago I
got to travel to Pittsburgh, what a great city, I ate a slice of pizza the size
of my head! Last weekend I was able to make a trip home to VA!I even got to enjoy a delicious all you
can eat blue crab feast.
This is the first time I
have been away from home for this long and this far away so it was just what I
needed.I found that at first,
being in Cleveland, all I had was my internship, I didn’t know anyone, didn’t
know anything to do, so I drowned myself in work.Being here almost three months now, it’s a lot easier to “escape,”
and that’s very important, in any line of work—I believe I talked about this
before…anyway…
I am so excited I got to
see a lot of my friends and my family; I love and miss you all! Good luck to
everyone at SU this semester!
