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Learning Summary

Jobin Mathew

York University

NURS4525: Health and Healing: Community as Partner 4525 Tutorial

Clinical Course Director: Tanya Johnson

November 15, 2023

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Learning Summary

Looking back at the themes that emerged from my clinical, I would say that the themes

of connection and relationship building, as well as cultural sensitivity and diversity, connection

and relationship building are vital when being a part of Music Share and providing music therapy

for residents in long-term care. Creating a safe environment in which residents feel comfortable

speaking and listening to music is vital; this also encompasses the professional relationship

goals of community health nurses. These relationships include optimizing the participation and

self-determination of the client (Community Health Nurses of Canada, 2019). This was exhibited

when I was just getting started with Music Share. I had an experience with a resident who was

closed off to the idea of me coming into the room and playing music. The resident often refused,

and I responded calmly and said, “Sure, I hope you have a great day; we can try next week."

This slowly allowed me to get closer over time until one day I saw the resident watching a

YouTube series by the name of “Ana’s Bushcraft.” This was the moment that shifted everything

as I approached the resident and said, "Wow, this looks incredible. What is this?” This caused

the resident’s eyes to glow and begin a conversation while she also listened to the Music Share

playlist in the background. This began a great therapeutic relationship where the client was very

welcoming to the idea of listening to music with me. Through this and many other experiences

with residents, I realized the importance of respecting boundaries and communication

techniques such as using open-ended questions. These allowed me to provide respectful

interactions while also breaking down barriers that would have stopped me from providing care

to these residents. This will aid me in future nursing practice, as this puts into picture the

complexity that is professional relationships and now offers me better uses of communication

techniques to try and overcome them. Cultural sensitivity also came up as a theme when I had

the opportunity to listen to various cultural songs and explore different tastes in music. With one

resident, I got the chance to listen to Bollywood songs, I had never really listened to Bollywood

songs in truth, but this resident enlightened me on the genre. We listened to many songs from
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movies and the resident enjoyed songs by Kishore Kumar. The resident taught me about the

culture of India and the other countries she has visited in her life. This experience expanded my

views of other cultures as they differed so much from my own, from the homemade food she

would eat, to the music and language. Carrying over into my nursing career, the new

experiences with the resident taught me just how much I do not know about the different

cultures around the world. I believe this created a sense of cultural humility in a way that will

give me a curiosity to learn more about others to better my care for others. On a personal level,

both of these themes shift my views about conversing with other people and just how much I

can learn from the experiences of others. The experience enhanced my appreciation for the

therapeutic potential of music and enhanced my interpersonal skills. This aided me in

influencing the health of the older adult population by contributing to their emotional well-being

and creating a positive and engaging environment through Music Share. With this, I garnered a

positive reputation among the residents, the long-term care facility, and among my superiors in

Music Share. Considering all this, it did not come overnight, my belief in music therapy was slim

to none in the beginning. After completing research as well as witnessing the impacts of music

therapy, I had my “lightbulb” moment, the experiences of watching residents enjoy the music

and shift in mood drilled the idea of holistic approaches to care in healthcare. Regarding the

classroom, I believe I contributed to the power of sharing where I as well as my peers brought

our talents, skills, and abilities together in discussions during tutorials. We shared our

experiences as well as the projects we were working on highlighting the various talents and

goals we all had to promote health within the community (Chinn, 2001). I also engaged in the

power of responsibility with my preceptor who took the responsibility of providing training and

personalized playlists to me, and I assumed the responsibility of providing care to the residents

(Chinn, 2001). We all assumed responsibility for our roles and carried out our duties, my

preceptor expressed a sense of trust in me allowing me the freedom to fully carry out care in my

vision of the care I wanted to provide (Chinn, 2001). The power of consciousness was also
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exhibited with my preceptor through interaction logs (Chinn, 2001). Power of consciousness

values the ethical dimensions of the process and appreciates critical reflection which is

achieved in my interaction logs (Chinn, 2001). My interaction logs were completed after every

interaction, journaling the elicited responses from the resident as well as journaling my thoughts

and feelings on the interactions. This acknowledged the good and bad of interactions and the

ethical issues that were witnessed or contributed to certain responses by the residents as well

as myself. Power of nurturing was exhibited with my peers during the tutorial, where each

participant was treated with respect and their thoughts and values were necessary (Chinn,

2001). This was truly exhibited during the oral analysis, where my peers and I shared our

learning moments and reflected on an experience we faced. This not only built resilience among

my peers as we supported each other and the goals we aimed to achieve but as well as offering

ideas and encouragement to one another. Resource distribution that is equally available and

accessible to all members of the group is vital in the clinical setting. Distribution was exhibited

with my preceptor who provided iPads, Bluetooth wireless speakers, as well as a charger for all

Music Share volunteers. In turn, I provide interaction logs, information from the organization, as

well as notes from residents to enhance the quality of the care.

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References

Chinn, P.L. (2001). Classrooms, communities, and institutional constraints. In Peace and

power:

Building communities for future (5th ed.) (pp. 105-112). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Community Health Nurses of Canada. (2019). Canadian community health nursing professional

practice model & standards of practice.