Experiences of medical students in a novel participatory music elective

Music has been offered in medical education across the world, yielding reported outcomes of enhanced wellbeing, fostering of medical humanism, and development of professional identity. However, the existing literature on music programs within curricular medical education, especially those involving participatory or performance components, remains limited. To address this gap, our study seeks to explore the experiences of medical students in a novel participatory music elective and the potential impacts on their personal and professional development.

Students were invited to share their reflections on participating in the elective, by granting access to a personal essay submitted for assessment (2018-2020 cohorts) or by taking part in an online survey. Eleven personal reflection essays were accessed while the online survey garnered responses from 19 medical students. Written responses were analysed according to the method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which involved an iterative process of data analysis to elicit meaning of participants’ experiences and to draw out key themes.

Our preliminary data reveal that most participants found the elective to have a positive effect on their mental health, emotions, communication skills, and teamwork and was an opportunity to gain new skills. Analysis of the student reflections and survey written responses yielded a few emerging themes: identity, enriched learning experience, wellbeing, social connectedness, medical humanism, and a deepened understanding of the role of music in medicine. Some of the reported challenges faced by students participating in the elective included team integration and collaboration, scheduling of rehearsal and performances, dealing with perfectionism, performance anxiety, increased workload, and inability to connect with patients.

Despite being a work in progress and challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are already witnessing the potential of our study to contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the positive impact of music in medical education (1-5). Beyond its role in supporting the wellbeing and acquisition of new clinical and musical skills in medical students, it seems that music engagement also acts as a reminder of the role that music has played in formative moments of their lives. From this juncture of awareness, the act of music performance facilitates a profound and mutual vulnerable connectedness between the medical student and patient. This, in turn, reshapes the role of music in medicine and enables emerging doctors to uphold a more holistic and humanistic perspective of patient care.