Thoughtful Thursday: Competence and AC Repair

Yesterday, when I woke up, my house was sitting at 80 degrees F. For someone who has hot flashes and asthma and heat related health issues, this is WAY too hot for sleeping. So, I did what I usually do, tinker a bit and then call for an HVAC specialist to come out and see what was going to happen. I had visions of AC replacement and the draining of my already strapped funds. My sister offered a loan from the Bank of Sister which helped a bit, but I hate having to get money from other people. Fortunately, I ended up just needing a tune up on my unit, so I ended up not having to pay anything! My bank account is breathing a sigh of relief right now.

I spent some time talking to my HVAC technician, and I found out that he has a daughter on the spectrum who loves music and talking. We also talked about the knowledge that he has that I do not have about HVAC systems and repairs, and it got me thinking about a current project that I am working on - interpreting the AMTA Revised Competencies through the concept of an internship and the skills and assignments that could help interns achieve skills.

This is a process that I love. I have done this for the competencies for so many interns, and it makes sense to me. Other people have used my format as a model for their own competency-based evaluations which is the best compliment possible. I am excited to work on this project some more.

So, what's the link between my HVAC tune up and the AMTA Revised Competencies?

My HVAC technician had to demonstrate his competence at fixing various heating and air conditioning systems. He finished several tasks and went through an extensive program to learn how to do his job. Music therapy interns go through the same sort of thing, but it is not as standardized as HVAC training.

Should it be? That's one of the questions that I am constantly turning around in my head.

In some ways, yes, music therapy training could certainly be standardized. Some of the things that we do as music therapists are standard across the experience of being a music therapist, but not everything is. It is interesting to think about our profession from this point of view. What do we do that is the same? What are the things that are common for every music therapist in this country or the world? Once we figure out the commonalities, then we can start to think about the differences.

(We tend to focus on our differences rather than our commonalities. I think this is a problem, but that is the topic of many other blog posts - past and future.)

The AMTA Revised Competencies strive to do this through providing a consistent set of skills and techniques for every music therapy student and intern in the country. The problem arrives when we are not sure how to talk about or demonstrate these skills and techniques.

Now, I feel like the AMTA Revised Competencies do better at operationally defining our skill set than the previous AMTA Professional Competencies. I like that there are different skills for pre-interns and then for interns at the completion of their apprenticeship. I find that many of the competencies can be evaluated with "do you do this or not?" I am currently figuring out where these skills are naturally demonstrated during the act of being a music therapist. There are some competencies that are not naturally occurring in all music therapy jobs, so that means that internship directors need to figure out assignments to provide practice, learning opportunities, or assignments to cover the concepts and skill development. That's where I am right now - figuring out what would fit my music therapy practice and what does not.

I love this project so much!