Friday

This has been a long week and a long month all at the same time. We even had Monday off, and it has still be a very long, LONG span of time. Between client concerns and gas leaks and dangerous air outside, it has been rough. I am looking forward to a quiet day today since my only scheduled morning group is for a classroom that is empty. We have two afternoon groups and that is all. Today is my planning and preparation time, and I have lots to plan and prepare for...

Well... lots of things that I want to plan and prepare for...

I am behind with my documentation for Wednesday, so that is first on the list - get documentation finished. After that, I will engage in my strategy for sessions for next week. It is an instrument week next, and I think that we are down to focusing on ensembles because we have covered most of the instrument families. This might be marching band month - I have to see.

Administrative tasks, like session strategizing, finding and developing TME concepts, and repairing instruments, are things that we didn't really focus on when I was in school to learn about being a music therapist. My education taught me about leading sessions, writing assessments, and completing some paperwork. I have had to learn about facility-specific documentation, how to time manage, and how to fix instruments all on my own. There are so many things that we have to do in addition to leading sessions that it sometimes just boggles the mind.

Have you ever thought about all the things that you have to do in order to just be a music therapist? About the mundane tasks that have to be done so that music therapy can occur?  There are times when I list the stuff that I have to do that are not directly related to the clinical interactions that I have on a daily basis.

Scheduling (ugh). Budgeting. Vacuuming. Instrument monitoring. Cleaning and disinfecting instruments. Documentation. Written reports. Meetings. Bus duty - now, I know that most music therapists don't do this, but I have to and it takes up time. Emails. Communication with others about clients and other situations. The list goes on.

One of the things that I find my interns have little experience thinking about is time management and finding ways to get everything done. One of my biggest struggles with my interns is when they don't do things on my schedule in my way, but I have learned to acknowledge it and then let them do things THE WRONG WAY! (Tongue firmly in cheek!) For example, I like to set up the music therapy room when I arrive at work. I get the session area all set up so I don't have to stop doing something else to prepare. My interns do not, for the most part. When they have the responsibility for the first session of the day, I have to resist my urge to get things set up because it is not my responsibility. I get to set up the room on Wednesdays right now, but that is the only day that I do the first session these days. It satisfies my soul to set up my room when I arrive. (Something good about Wednesdays - I need to remember that during my next Wednesday crisis.) I also appreciate walking into a neat and clear session area each morning, but my interns do not always put things away. In the past, this has been a bigger issue because people came into the music therapy room after school, but that no longer happens. If I leave the drums out, they are right where I left them the next morning. I don't like doing that, but there is no longer a compulsory reason to put things away. I still clean up every day.

It is time to go. See you tomorrow for some creativity??