Thirty years ago, Ron Stewart and 2 of his classmates produced a musical variety show that has since become a yearly event at Dalhousie University's School of Medicine. Thirty year later, Stewart, a former minister of health in Nova Scotia who now teaches emergency medicine at Dalhousie, has once again spearheaded a bit of medical school musical magic.
Good music . . . good medicine, a new chorale, band and string ensemble, gives medical students a musical oasis away from the rigours of medical education. Response has been overwhelming, with nearly 100 medical students, many in their first year, eager to attend rehearsals. Many of the students are delighted that their musical talents need not be put on hold during medical school.
The program also opens up new research opportunities for students. It is funded by an endowment named in honour of Dr. Bernard Badley, who recently retired after spending 20 years as conductor of the medical school's Tupper Band. Stewart, the endowment's chief fund-raiser, hopes to raise $350 000 over the next 5 years to cover the modest expenses of the band, string ensemble and choir, and to fund several student research projects every summer. The latter will focus on the positive impact music is believed to have on health. This year, 2 students will be researching the effects of music on the lifestyles of older people living in seniors' residences. Figure 1
Stewart hopes other medical schools eventually adopt the Good music . . . good medicine concept. He is also rather proud of the program's logo, which he conceived.
Stewart, who plans to host a world seminar on music in medicine in Halifax next year, is convinced one of the significant spin-offs of this kind of event will be the production of more physicians who find music personally fulfilling and will be eager to help identify the possible untapped benefits that music can have on patient care and many aspects of contemporary medicine.-[copyright sign] Dorothy Grant, Halifax