About 4 weeks ago, my world was ablaze with all sorts of drama, good and bad. My 45 patient-hours had been completed at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and I finally graduated from student practitioner to certified practitioner. It was a long, hard-fought campaign so it came as little surprise that I felt directionless without the simple goal of hours to tackle. With the practicum at its end, so was my direct connection with the patients and with the care-team staff that had come to expect my ‘sleepy music’ on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Their support, interest, and understanding of my work inspired me to bring my very best to their patients. We had begun to work together in a kind of improvisational, chamber music manner; being aware of one another without the need for words or verbal directions. Without that direct connection to the people charged with the patients’ care, I felt I could no longer serve effectively as a therapeutic musician nor could I provide them with the kind of “triage” services that were needed in the moment on the various floors.
For years I waffled on trying to do this work independently and waffled on LLC or nonprofit. Everyone bemoaned the rigid requirements of hospitals against the workload and risks of being an independent contractor; the challenge of incorporating and being determined nonprofit by the IRS and the work that goes into running that business. However, at the end of my practicum, the signs from the hospital indicated that in order to stay true to my mission, I needed to pack up and do a Willie Nelson. Wheels up, folks.
While it was heartbreaking to leave the nursing staff that I worked with at SMH, I know that staying true to my original mission requires me to go from apprentice to journeyman. The project ideas that I hope to launch will keep the idea of mobility and destinations at its heart. I too, will find my new rhythm and beat as this next chapter begins.
