One week down already!

Nearly a week has passed since I officially started my placement, but I've crammed so much in that I feel as though I've been there for much longer! Much of my time has been spent being introduced to staff, familiarising myself with ward etiquette, spending sooo much time investigating the legal side of sharing music files and storing copies of music, in meetings, on the phone or on the computer. But, it's all been really productive and, although I've not had the opportunity as yet to spend much time with the patients, the ground work has been well and truly laid.

I'm delighted with the deal struck with The Sony Centre to supply the MP3 players at a very reasonable price and I'm looking forward to collecting the first 10 Walkmans on Friday. I've opted for Sony Walkmans for various different reasons but mainly because they're not touch-screen (so easier for the patients to handle), they're quite chunky and they're so much cheaper than ipods. (Except for the ipod shuffle, but that's no good as the patients can't see their playlist or choose specific songs). I'm also hoping to pick up docking stations, along with some other accessories. Nothing is being rushed into as I want to make sure that every pound is well-spent and that not one of the pennies that people have so generously donated is wasted.

So, soon I'll really be getting the project off the ground by spending time with some of the patients; chatting to them about their favourite music, or songs that mean something to them, and compiling personal playlists for them. I'm so looking forward to that. I've been touched by the reaction of the staff to the whole concept and I'm fair excited about the opportunity to liase with them when they feel that specific patients would benefit in more specific ways from the therapeutic effects of music.

I've arranged a meeting next week with the rector of one of the local high schools as I'm keen to bring school choirs and musicians into the daycare area - and the ward where appropriate - as soon as possible. I'm aiming to use this project as an opportunity to raise awareness in the wider community that hospices aren't scary places. So, not only will the patients benefit from being entertained by the kids, the pupils will benefit by gaining a much better understanding of what the hospice is really all about. I'm also excited about the prospect of some members of my choir performing for the patients - there's such a wealth of talent in Heart of Scotland and I'm hoping to tap in to it shamelessly!

An aspect of my project that'll require a lot of funding is the provision of cameras and a system to enable 'broadcasting' of live performances; I've not got a clue what sort of money's involved as yet, but I've set the ball rolling by fixing up a meeting for next week with a technical expert to give me some ideas.

So, plenty to be getting on with! Next post I'll tell you a bit more about the hospice itself. For now though, bed methinks!