frequently asked questions

 

1. How much work is it really?
2. How much time will all of this take?
3. Please explain the Bucks County Community College option.
4. Regarding the actual certificate, is it recognized in other hospitals or other states? Is it anything like being "licensed?"
5. What other resources will be available to me as I take the certification program?

 

1. How much work is it really?

Our certification program is meant to be a two year or less program. It consists of classroom hours, readings, writings, an internship, a practicum project and a final exam.

CLASSROOM HOURS: Our classroom modules consist of 112 hours presented over the course of 3 or 4 days. You are expected to take the modules in sequence and with your class. You will see how essential this is to the quality of your journey.

READINGS: There are 10 books required for each level of certification. The first ten are required reading; the student can choose the others. The books in our bibliography (which you are sent upon your formal acceptance to our program) are of varying lengths - none is a tome nor a pamphlet.

We do not ask for summaries or analyses of the themes in these books, but rather what meant most to you in it - and your assessment as to whether what you read helps you understand the nature of your work better.

In addition to the books, we include a fair amount of articles and excerpts from periodicals and books in each module's materials, hopeful that students will read through everything after the module. These readings too, serve to reinforce the discussions and exercises we touch upon in each module.

WRITINGS: We ask that students keep a journal throughout their certification journeys. This course of study has proven to be life changing to many who have gone before, we believe that students will benefit greatly from keeping one. This journal may take a number of different forms which we'll speak about in Module I. From time to time, you will be given specific themes to consider and write about.

There is also required recordkeeping. In the field of healthcare, if we don't document what we're doing, it is as if it never happened. Each time you play at the hospital, you are asked to fill out a Hospital Visit Summary form and submit it to us within 48 hours of your visit. You will receive ongoing training and coaching in this most essential aspect of our work.

INTERNSHIP: The internship is 128 hours for the first level of certification; 120 for the Mastery level. You are asked to play 10-20 hours in common areas between Modules I and II and another 10-20 hours between Modules II and III. Common areas in hospitals include waiting areas, lobbies, etc. When you come to Module III, you will have 20-40 hours under your belt already. These hours can be played weekends, week days, or week evenings, during visiting hours, and so there's a lot of flexibility to suit the busiest schedule. You will serve these hours on a volunteer basis. For every 10-12 hours you work your internship, you will receive a contact hour with Edie or one of our Mastery level grads. You can use that contact hour in many ways-as a lesson; as an opportunity to shadow or be shadowed; to debrief and ask questions, and any combination thereof. You will be formally evaluated twice during your internship.

PRACTICUM PROJECT: After you've played 50 to 60 hours, you'll want to begin to develop your practicum project. The project idea needs to be approved by Edie before you begin working on it. Essentially, you'll be observing whatever aspect of harp therapy that is of particular interest to you. You will not be able to interview or test patients as this is not a formal study. Even so, you will find that you can understand a great deal using your observational and analytical skills. Some projects have focused on the personal journey to certification; some on the music; some on specific patient populations. We have begun, on a bi-annual basis, to publish our grads' projects since they stand as important data in our newly emerging field and serve also as an inspiration to students who come later.

The practicum project for the first level of certification need not be extensive, but it should enhance the student's understanding of this work and perhaps even give them a clue as to what path they want to take as they set out to work in this quickly emerging field. The final format of the project is often a narrative along with charts or graphs the student used to evaluate the outcomes. Many times it also contains music. Bedside Harp has a particular interest in and has been recognized and highly commended for our research, and so we are dedicated to working very closely with students as they satisfy this requirement. Mastery level candidates are required to present their projects before a small group.

FINAL REVIEW/EXAM: This review/exam will become part of our certification program requirements beginning with the Spring 2007 class. Because so much material is presented in our modules, we want to make sure that by graduation, students are clear on the essentials of harp therapy and of this entire program of study. We are hoping that this review will help students assess their knowledge as much as it will offer them an understanding of those areas which they may need to work on. Should a student not meet the minimum requirements when they first take it, they will be given another opportunity to be re-examined. A study guide will be made available.

2. How much time will all of this take?

Again, we see our certification program being a two-year course of study. Some have finished it in two years; some in one year; one in 7 weeks, and so the answer to this question depends largely upon the student. If you schedule yourself to be in the hospital once a week for 3-4 hours and you've done the minimum of 20 hours total between Modules I and III, it will take you between 25 to 33 weeks to complete your internship for the first level of our hospital-certified certification. This will be greatly reduced if you are able to work more hours per week. We will help you on put together a schedule that will work for you. Students most often complete the other requirements as they do their internships.

3. Please explain the Bucks County Community College option.

Every Fall we offer our certification classes through Bucks County Community College. Modules I, II, III and IV are presented off-campus, in the Bedside Harp Great Room in Bensalem, PA.

Students taking their classes through the College may receive Continuing Education Credits in every field or, upon completing the Mastery level, they may receive 10 college music credits.

There is no student housing at this commuter college; however rooms in the area of the Bedside Harp Great Room are available from about $70.00 a night. If you wish to share a room, we will do what we can to help you make appropriate connections.

4. Regarding the actual certificate, is it recognized in other hospitals or other states? Is it anything like being "licensed?"

Harp therapists are not presently licensed in any state of this country. Because of our unique agreement with our host hospitals, we are able to offer you a highly regarded certification in the field of harp therapy. If you complete 80% of your internship at one of our host facilities, you will receive the Hospital-Certified Harp Therapist and/or Hospital-Certified Master of Harp Therapy designation(s). If you complete 50% of your internship at one of our host facilities, you will receive a Hospital-Intensive Certified Harp Therapist, and/or a Hospital-Intensive Certified Master of Harp Therapy designation(s). Your certificate will bear the names of both the host facility and Bedside Harp. Hospitals throughout the country continue to tell us and our graduates that they are very impressed with our curricula, our training, and the fact that another hospital is willing to put their name on our designations.

5. What other resources will be available to me as I take the certification program?

In November 2005, we officially opened our Student Library and Resource Center, housed in our suite of offices in the Neshaminy Medical Professional Center in Bensalem, PA. Filled with hundreds of books, periodicals, cds, videos, audiotapes, drums, singing bowls, Tibetan bells, and of course harps, this Center is dedicated to promoting and supporting research involving all of the arts in healthcare.

Certification students and grads are also given access to our private online discussion board as well as to our private certification website. These two resources keep us all connected, updated and in touch and are also wonderful places to ask questions, receive your colleagues' opinions on issues, post your opinions on burning issues, etc.

And then there are our classic salons. A few times a year we gather together in person and via conference call to debate topics, hear a guest speaker, take stock of ourselves and our work.

Of this you can be sure, as a Bedside Harp student or grad, you are never out there on your own.