One fact about working in the field of music therapy: you have to explain what music therapy is a lot. I work in a hospital which drastically increases the amount of explaining compared to all other workplace options. Hospitals have a revolving door of patients, family members, visitors and staff. Not only that, but music therapy is usually in every unit of the hospital so music therapy techniques may differ…. and the music therapist will need to be adept at knowing the difference and communicating the pertinent information.
Some common questions/comments I get from patients are:
- What is music therapy?
- Do you know (insert song title here)?
- I’m having pain right now, I don’t think you could help me.
- What instruments do you play?
- What? You want ME to play an instrument?
- Where else do you volunteer?
Common questions/comments I get from co-workers are:
- So what do you do?
- Room # would really appreciate some music right now.
- Are you here to play me a song?
- I want your job because you make people happy all day.
- You get paid to do this?
I’ve been a music therapist since 2003 and have experienced the ebb and flow of work burnout. I believe that my level of advocacy fatigue contributes to my level of burn out. High level of advocacy fatigue = unhappy music therapist. The truth is it doesn’t really bother me when people ask about music therapy because it’s better that someone ask rather than not ask. But, when I’ve had a tough day it DOES bother me to hear those questions. Mostly because they’re always the same questions and redundancy is sometimes annoying.
So, here are some facts to help offset Advocacy Fatigue:
Reality check: When someone asks a question it’s because they are interested and want to know more. You couldn’t ask for a more attentive audience. In my daily work life I’m asked ‘What is music therapy?’ by about 80% of the patients I meet. It’s way better to be asked 80% of the time than 20% of the time… right?!?!
Understand that when working with colleagues it’s not EDUCATING; it’s COMMUNICATING. When I have an ‘educator’ type of hat on with colleagues it creates a teacher-student relationship in my head. That’s the wrong kind of relationship… I’m not going to test their knowledge or expect colleagues to recite music therapy facts. We work together for the betterment of the patient… so we need to have a relationship that honors an even flow of communication. Sure we may not agree, but that isn’t always because the other person doesn’t ‘get’ music therapy, it could be because their expertise/schooling is telling them something… it could be that the music therapist doesn’t ‘get’ what they are saying. Whatever the situation we need to be talking to each other and working together.
Maybe it’s you: If people are asking me questions that bother me, then something may be wrong with me. Maybe it’s a short-term thing like just having a bad day. Maybe it’s a bigger problem like having some other issues at home/work/etc that are affecting me at work. No matter the reason, how can I ethically enter into a session with a patient when I’m in that place? My baggage can’t enter the session. It’s not fair or right. There is always 5 minutes in the day to chill out AND there is always time during professional supervision to talk about this… after all, that’s what professional supervision is all about.
What are your thoughts about Advocacy Fatigue?
How do you cope with Advocacy Fatigue?
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From CBMT / AMTA:
Introduction: Advocacy –> Recognition –> Access
Since 2005, the American Music Therapy Association and the Certification Board for Music Therapists have collaborated on a State Recognition Operational Plan. The primary purpose of this Plan is to get music therapy and our MT-BC credential recognized by individual states so that citizens can more easily access our services. The AMTA Government Relations staff and CBMT Regulatory Affairs staff provide guidance and technical support to state task forces throughout the country as they work towards state recognition. To date, their work has resulted in 35 active state task forces, 2 licensure bills passed in 2011, and an estimated 10 bills being filed in 2012 that seek to create either a music therapy registry or license for music therapy. This month, our focus is on YOU and on getting you excited about advocacy.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I deal with this on a daily basis and I am only about 10 months into my hospital career! I was really feeling burnt out a few months ago and was becoming increasingly angry about the attitude I was receiving about my work. I work in a teaching hospital and we have a never ending rotation of med students and residents that are sometimes so rude that I literally have no words- and that rarely happens to me!
I think what bothered me the most was: what happened to simple respect for each other and respect for what each person brings to a situation? I asked my director that once and she said that most likely looking for respect was not going to happen, and I find that appalling.
The director of my department was quick to point out that I seemed stressed and angry and that it was about educating staff about what I do- and I have begun doing this. I think it is hard, as both a new professional and being new in my position, to communicate with staff that has been here a long time and/or is older than I am- but I have made big progress!
The nurses in each unit I go to have become used to my presence and while I still get some inappropriate referrals, for the most part, the nursing and medical staff has come a long way. I think part of it has to do with my exposure in the hospital environment. About 5 months into my working here, I was asked to be part of a Shwartz Rounds presentation about a pt I had done a lot of work with, and that was really nice. I am also doing in-services for nursing and for the medical teams so that they get an idea of what it is I offer (and I am very clear to state answers to pretty much all of the questions you also say you receive on a daily basis).
It really is difficult though and I wish that AMTA would help us out a bit- that is something I think I may bring up when I go to conference in March.
Thank you for your post!
It is nice to hear that I am not the only one in my boat.
Thank you for writing this! It’s good to know I’m not the only one who gets tired of answering the “what is MT” question all the time. And it’s a wonderful reminder to adjust my perspective and remember that people ask because they want to know. It’s so easy to get bogged down into thinking “I’ve explained 20 times this week, why doesn’t everyone get it already?!”
Great post Michelle! A school district is another place where you deal with advocacy a lot. In my 10 years as an employee, I had 6 different direct supervisors and found myself explaining my job over and over again. The last supervisor didn’t want to hear it. She had already decided to cut my position. So no matter how tired I am of explaining music therapy, it is better when someone wants to know.
Michelle:
Thanks for writing this. A new perspective on being fatigued about answering the “What is music therapy?” question. Also very validating!
I will say that it has been nice lately, because people are equating my work as a music therapist to Gabby Giffords. Although Hospice music therapy is different than rehab or hospital music therapy, I’m so glad that MT is getting more publicity these days. It makes advocating or explaining MT much easier.
Blessings to all my MT colleagues!
I could say a lot about this topic as it relates to work (I work in a prison and also intern at a children’s hospital that does not otherwise have an onsite MT), but wanted to comment that I have experienced advocacy fatigue in my personal life as well. An acquaintance of mine who has already asked me about music therapy in the past, came up to me at a party and mentioned to myself and another friend that she had listened to the Science Friday program on NPR in which music therapy was highlighted. She said “The thing that really stood out for me was that we are all our own music therapist, ya know like how you play music to get yourself psyched up for a run or use it to help you fall asleep… I thought that was really cool.” Now the host of the radio show did make comments to that effect, but I thought that the music therapists who were featured on the program had been very clear about what music therapy actually is. I was so saddened to hear that her take away from this wonderful, hour-long program was this trite statement made by the host. I thought to myself “this is a great opportunity to educate her further,” but I just didn’t have it within me.