Apply Now for Musicians in Healthcare Mentorship Programme - NOW CLOSED

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2020 MENTORING PROGRAMME HAVE NOW CLOSED.

Music in Healthcare Mentoring Programme Delivered by rb&hArts and Sound Connections 

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Background

This Mentoring Programme is run by rb&hArts’ and is an opportunity to take part in an informal training programme of shadowing, mentoring and learning to develop the skills and confidence to work with vulnerable people of all ages in healthcare settings. It is part of rb&hArts’ commitment to providing professional development opportunities for musicians wishing to develop and run high quality music activities in clinical settings.

If you are a musician and are interested to use your skills to improve the lives of hospital patients, including children and young people, then we would love you to apply!

Delivered in partnership with Sound Connections this project aims to:

• improve the quality and standards of music delivery for people of all ages in healthcare settings
• share our music practice at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation – and to provide a platform for others to engage with us and our work
• support individuals to become confident music-makers in clinical settings

This is the second year of the Music in Healthcare Mentoring Programme after a successful start in 2018/19. Feedback from last year’s candidates included:

“The programme has had a huge impact on my practice. I have learned a variety of techniques and approaches from all the mentors, and I will definitely be adapting many of the skills I've observed into my own practice”

“I was new to working in clinical settings going into this scheme. I now intend to pursue working in healthcare settings and feel confident to do so”

rb&hArts, Sound Connections and Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust

rb&hArts is delivered through Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity and is charitably funded to bring the benefits of the arts to support in and outpatients and the local communities surrounding each hospital. We aim to increase levels of wellbeing, enhance the patient experience and improve the healthcare estate through access to high quality arts experiences. It first began in 2002 and now, in a typical year, runs over 500 interventions across arts, music, and participatory arts working with 30 artists recording over 6,500 participants taking part.

Sound Connections is a leading strategic music education charity that supports people working in music through training, mentoring, resources, research and investment. Sound Connections specialises in inclusion and accessibility in music, and as a result works with a variety of practitioners’ organisations in healthcare. They also host Wired4Music, a network for London-based people age 16-25, and the Music and Social Justice Network.

Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is the UK’s largest specialist centre for the treatment of heart and lung disease. Working from two sites, Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, West London, and Harefield Hospital, near Uxbridge, the Trust has an international reputation for the expertise of its staff, high standard of care and research success. Experts at the Trust help patients from all age groups who have heart and lung problems and provide some of the most complex surgery and sophisticated treatments available anywhere in the world.

Who can join the Mentoring Programme?

We are looking to recruit musicians with little or no experience of working in clinical settings. As a musician, you will play/sing confidently and are keen to build you skills, experiences and networks to support the delivery of music in healthcare settings.

Ideally, you will have some experience of engaging with vulnerable people through music – and wish to develop your own projects and activities in the future. We welcome applications from all musical styles but are particularly interested to hear from musicians working with contemporary styles and genres that would appeal to children and young people. Two places on the programme will be reserved for musicians aged 18-25-years.

The Mentoring Programme, supported by Youth Music, is a unique opportunity to develop music skills and practice in both clinical and community settings. The mentoring is a paid opportunity and we have up to 5 spaces available. If you are accepted on to a place, attendance at all activities is compulsory. It recognises that musicians who take part may have very different skills and experiences, and the programme will be tailored and personalised to meet individual needs and capacities. 

The mentoring will include:

• Provision of Occupational Health clearance and Enhanced DBS – which will be in place before the mentoring can begin. As most of the shadowing and observation will be undertaken in a clinical setting it is important that your immunisations are up to date.  This is required to work in any hospital setting.
• Completion of questionnaires (e.g. needs assessment) before and after completion of the project
• A flat rate fee of £400 to cover expenses
• Use of shuttle bus between hospital sites
• Access to external supervision, if required
• 2-day induction by Sound Connections and rb&harts. This will include an introduction from Sound Connections and the Trust, providing a background to working in music education, rb&hArts music programme, evaluation methodology, fundraising and will be an opportunity for participants to meet rb&harts musicians
• Placement with up to 40 hours of shadowing for each mentee to be completed over 6 months – with opportunity to visit and join all rb&hArts music activities
• 3-hours of mentoring time with your designated mentor (face-to-face or via Skype). Our mentors run our current activities and bring a wealth of experience of running and evaluating music interventions in clinical settings, as well as their own professional practice.
• Keeping a reflective diary to capture your experiences and progress.
• Production of a case study, reflecting on your experiences and learning at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust (for sharing on the Youth Music Network)
• A final reflective meeting with all mentees.
• Development Needs Analysis (DNA) – led by Sound Connections, this tailored 1:1 support will be offered at the end of the programme to support individuals to identify ongoing professional development needs and identify an action plan for short, medium and long term next steps on a confidential, one-to-one basis.

rb&hArts current music provision includes:

• 3 hours of performative music per week for adults at each hospital, including long-stay transplant patients
• 3 x 1 hour weekly Singing for Breathing workshops – for older adults in the community living with Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• 14 hours per week of music provision for young people in hospital – including early years bedside singing; creative music making, music technology, lyric writing, beat boxing and vocal coaching. This now also includes 7 hours of ward-based activities at the paediatric cancer unit at Royal Marsden in Sutton which chosen mentees will also have the opportunity to shadow.
• 6 hours per week of participatory music making for young hospitalised adults (aged from 17 to 25 years) – please note this includes evenings

What you will gain from taking part in the Mentoring Programme:

• An in-depth introduction to music in health care settings, opportunities to engage directly with Sound Connections and their networks
• Mentoring from an expert music in healthcare leader
• Shadowing different music activities
• Insight into evaluation systems and fundraising planning
• Personal development plan with actions for further development
• Signposting to further training, professional development, networks and career opportunities.

Application and Recruitment process

In the first instance, please speak to:

Conni Rosewarne, Project Co-ordinator at rb&hArts.  c.rosewarne@rbht.nhs.uk 0207 352 8121 x 84087

To apply, send your CV and a covering letter via email to Conni Rosewarne, explaining how you meet the criteria, why you want to join the Mentoring Programme and how you feel it will support your professional development. If possible, please include a short video of you performing – this can be professionally or more informally on your phone, etc.

Deadline for applications is 23rd October at 5pm. Applicants will be notified by 6th November. The programme will start in January 2020.

Shortlisting and decisions will be undertaken by a panel including representation from Sound Connections, rb&hArts and our musicians.

Accessibility

rb&hArts and Sound Connections judges all applicants according to their suitability for the post applied for. Invitation to interview is based solely on a candidate’s suitability as communicated via their submitted application.

Any monitoring carried out during the recruitment process will always be optional and anonymous. If a candidate wishes to refer to their personal disability or health condition in an application, this will not impact the shortlisting process. rb&hArts and Sound Connections will not ask about a candidates' health status and/or disability at interview stage unless the candidate chooses to raise a specific question themselves related to it. If this topic is raised, any resulting discussion will be strictly independent of the recruitment decision-making process.

rb&hArts and Sound Connections welcome applicants who may require reasonable adjustments to attend an interview, and encourage applicants to make requests or ask any questions about access if offered an interview.

Following the offer of appointment, rb&hArts and Sound Connections are committed to supporting all employees with any assessments (such as for Access to Work) that may need be carried out to determine and acquire any reasonable adjustments that need to be made to the work environment. We are committed to putting reasonable adjustments in place once this has been carried out, and supporting staff if access requirements change over time.