The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #44526 Message #3649752
Posted By: GUEST,Inquiry
10-Aug-14 - 02:05 AM
Thread Name: Certified music practitioners
Subject: RE: Certified music practitioners
Thank-you everyone for this thread. My question is this: I'm a licensed RN, and a self taught musician for years now… several instruments, including the harp. My bachelors degree education, as well as over 25 years working in direct patient care (ER, ICU, Medical Surgical, Medical Rehabilitation, Telemetry, Urgent Care, Hospice,). That is work experience, as I'm not even listing other areas of internship that also including OR, OB/Gyn, etc. I was also a working EMT prior to becoming a nurse. So my patient care experience already fulfills one aspect, and my musical ability fulfills the other. My education also fulfills a ton more than what is required in all of these musician therapy programs, including psychology, ethics, etc. from a clinical standpoint that is. So why would it still be necessary to become certified as a harp therapist? I was told it was still necessary via various music therapy schools I checked into. Sorry, but I'm not going to pay money for mini clinical courses at these schools… courses I've previously been trained in at a more extensive level.
I'm already swamped with having to keep up CEU's for a ton of medical/nursing related certifications every two years, adding an additional number of them for harp therapy certification would just add to a greater expense and exhaustion for same. As I get older, I just don't feel the desire to add more CEU requirements to all that is on my plate at the present moment. I feel very frustrated regarding this matter, as I would love to provide comfort to patients on a musical level as well on my down time from clinical nursing, especially in my retirement years from nursing, and for which I would still love to bring comfort to patients via music therapy.
It is becoming ridiculous that almost everything requires certification these days. I suppose some of it has to do with the litigious society we live in, as well as monetary gain for those who offer the certifications. I understand that a musician would need certification for the clinical patient care aspect, because they never had patient care training, and all it entails, but not the other way around, as in my case. Very frustrating indeed! I also personally feel that a Music Therapist as someone in the thread previously mentioned they are, would be the better choice for a medical facility to choose from, because they need the patient end education which they do obtain versus others from lesser 'quick' certification programs. But for an RN/Musician, I don't fully understand. Am I missing something here? I also know a lot of very qualified Physicians who are really musically talented… also self taught musicians themselves. Would they also have to study to get certified as music therapists? Seems ridiculous to me.