To Volunteer Or Not To Volunteer?
As a music therapist, volunteerism is a grey area. Though music therapists offer a valuable skill set, we are also working to establish our profession in a market that doesn’t fully appreciate our employment potential.
First off, my experiences volunteering have been positive because I’ve set clear boundaries and expectations for the agency I work with. I first got the idea to volunteer as a way to keep up my musical chops while unemployed. A fellow music therapist working at an inpatient hospice unit referred me to her agency’s volunteer coordinator.
The volunteer coordinator was happy to rush through the volunteer application with me because music was so appreciated on the unit, but he also understood the difference between the clinical work of the music therapist employed on the unit, and the more limited scope of music volunteers.
Here’s the difference: Music volunteers offer music to patients. The music therapist addresses clinical goals through music interventions. As a volunteer, I cannot access a patient’s charts to assess his or her medical and social history. Volunteers are not part of the interdisciplinary team and do not provide documentation and follow up on patients they visit. Although I am qualified to practice music therapy, when I volunteer through the hospice unit I am limited in the services I provide. And I’m okay with this.
I’m cautious of recommending volunteerism as a way to find a job to new professionals of music therapy because I don’t want the work we do to be discounted. The work we do is valuable and we deserve to be paid for the services we provide. For an agency that does not currently receive music therapy, I can foresee a misunderstanding in the scope of practice for music therapy volunteer. You don’t want to work for free.
When I am on the unit and the nurse refers to me as the “music therapist” I pull him or her aside and explain that that label in this setting is a misnomer, and quickly explain the differences between music volunteering and music therapy. When I’m volunteering, I try to keep my MT-BC on the down-low.
However, there are benefits to students or professionals who feel called to volunteer their time. First, we bring music to those might not otherwise have access to it. Also, volunteering gives me exposure to a population and setting that I’m interesting in, while building relationships with other professionals in the hospice field. I have the support and mentorship of the on-staff music therapist of whom I can ask questions about grey areas I come across. Finally, volunteering gives me the chance to build my music repertoire and practice instruments in a real-life setting.
For students, certainly consider volunteering with a music therapy agency during the summers off. This is a great way to network and sample populations that you might not otherwise experience in your practicum assignments. For new professionals, it can be an “in” with an agency and may lead to a job (I was offered a per diem job with the hospice agency after six months of volunteering).
As with everything, volunteering as a music therapist has its pros and cons. If you have the extra time and energy, perhaps you’ll consider volunteering. As always, education and advocacy about music therapy are key.
Update: As of November 2013, I have stepped down as a volunteer for time and mentorship reasons.