Interdisciplinary Team Members' Perceptions of the Role of Music Therapy in a Pediatric Outpatient Clinic

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of interdisciplinary team members regarding the role of music therapy in a pediatric clinic. Medical and psychosocial support staff were administered a survey regarding the different roles of music therapy prior to and directly following a video inservice. Results of the pretest indicated significant differences between occupational groups. Child life specialists/creative arts therapists rated the task "Entertain the children and their families when they are not involved in medical procedures" as less relevant than other professionals (P Every year, more than 3 million children are admitted to children's hospitals across the country for acute or chronic care (National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, 2007). As these numbers continue to increase, many children's hospitals have searched for ways to modify traditional medical care and provide a more interdisciplinary approach in the treatment of hospitalized children. The field of music therapy has continued to expand within the arena of pediatric healthcare, contributing research to promote the inclusion of this therapy modality in psychosocial pediatric care (Standley & Whipple, 2003; Robb, 2003). Researchers have examined collaboration between music therapists and other creative arts therapists as contributing members of an interdisciplinary treatment team. Music therapy and medical play therapy have been shown to be complementary approaches toward increasing verbal behaviors in pediatric patients (Froehlich, 1984). Rode (1995) discussed the interfacing of art therapy and child life programs when working with pediatric patients, stressing the importance of addressing the psychosocial needs of the child through a c-ombination of modalities as opposed to singular approaches. Collaboration among creative arts therapists, psychologists, child life specialists, and social workers on interdisciplinary treatment teams appears to promote improved patient care. However, similarities in professional objectives and treatment modalities can result in overlapping role expectations and misconceptions about areas of responsibility and scope of authority, thus increasing the likelihood of tension among members of an interdisciplinary treatment team. Role Conflict and Ambiguity Ilgen and Hollenbeck (1991) define a role as a pattern of behaviors. Within the context of a hospital organization, this pattern of behaviors can be in relatio'n to specific job responsibilities, organizational needs, and professional skills. Katz and Kahn (1 978) theorize that when role behaviors are carried out in a conventional manner, the organization will operate smoothly and effectively. Work groups within an organization may be comprised entirely of members of the same professional field, or, as in the case of an interdisciplinary team, members of several different professional fields. The work group sends cues to individual employees regarding expected role behaviors. When these role behaviors conflict with the individual's perception of role, role ambiguity or conflict can occur (Lopopolo, 2002). Role ambiguity relates to the expectations regarding a specific role, and role conflict relates to the incompatibility of expectations facing an individual (llgen & Hollenbeck, 1991). Role ambiguity often occurs when the expected behaviors of a role are unclear, leading to role conflict, which occurs when the individual performing the job task has a different perception of the expected role than other team members. …