Music was a consistent presence in both Alice Kim’s and Justin Phung’s childhoods. Now second-year medical students, they have focused on science academically. But when the opportunity arose to participate in the Music and Movement program with Professor Gilles Comeau at the uOttawa Music and Health Research Institute, they happily returned to their roots.
“When we went to these placements, it was actually strangely therapeutic to join into the session, because volunteering is not just work — it’s also being able to enjoy the activities associated with it, meet new people and get new perspectives.”
The Music on Prescription project in Ottawa uses music to support mental, physical and social well-being. It’s a form of social prescribing, which provides assistance in the non-medical aspects of wellness. In the project, health-care providers connect patients — like seniors with dementia or depression and children from underserved communities — with community music programs to improve their quality of life.
The students were sent to various program locations to lend a hand with the programs and to survey participant satisfaction.
“I think we learned a lot in terms of how to adapt to different settings and participants, and learning everyone’s preferences too,” says Justin. “We were able to build a strong connection with the instructors and the participants. I didn’t expect that we would always be asked to participate. We both went into it thinking we would just sit there and observe, but they were all very encouraging. I think in this way, we were able to build a stronger relationship with them — hence, they were a lot more open to sharing feedback through the surveys.”
The two students faced the challenge of communication with Francophone participants, where language barriers could have been a significant obstacle. As they immersed themselves in the sessions, they realized that building strong relationships required overcoming these differences. Reflecting on the experience, Alice shared how it became a valuable learning opportunity:
« We learned how to build rapport through language barriers, which is something you need to experience in a bilingual city like Ottawa. Navigating those differences was the biggest skill I took away. »
Alice Kim
Since Alice and Justin had primarily done placements in clinical settings throughout their studies, this placement was also an important opportunity for them to be centered in the community and get to know the people who live in it. “The uOttawa Music and Health Research Institute enabled us to work with a large variety of different people. We were able to work with different instructors, profs and even participants who one day could come through our clinics,” Justin says.
This opportunity allowed them to see their musical background in a new light — as something they can use in combination with the science education, they’ve worked so hard to get. In the end, they were surprised to find that the Music and Movement program could be an escape for more than just the participants.
To learn more about the Music and Movement program and explore volunteering opportunities, check out the uOttawa Music and Health Research Institute’s website.