Abstract
While researchers have documented the clinical use of music in medical settings, little is known about music therapists working in this setting. The purpose of the present study was to examine the demographics, educational and clinical backgrounds, music therapy practice, and employment conditions of music therapists currently working in medical hospitals. A 50-item survey was designed and electronically mailed to music therapists (N = 199) identified by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) as working in medical hospitals in 2006 and having valid electronic mail addresses. Forty-six respondents completed and returned the survey via either electronic mails (n = 35) or postal mails (n = 11). Results indicated that most respondents (97.8%) were Board-Certified and reported working a mean of 14 years in the music therapy profession. Respondents indicated diverse opinions concerning the influence of internship population choice on obtaining current employment as evidenced by large standard deviations. Respondents reported they participated (97.8%) and presented (78.3%) at music therapy conferences, conducted research in hospitals (43.5%), supervised interns (43.5%) and practica students (30.4%), and provided in-services at the hospitals (87%). Multiple funding sources for music therapy positions were indicated, with the majority of them (67.4%) were being funded by the hospital budget. Descriptive results concerning a music therapy practices and employment conditions in the medical settings were also presented and analyzed.
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