What Doctors Can Learn From Musicians

At first, when I read the title of the article, I thought, "How in the world can doctors learn from musicians?" But after reading it, I can definitely see how it works. Music and medicine differ in one, big way: Medicine is based around having the knowledge of many medical topics, but little knowledge if used in the performance of medicine. Musicians, on the other hand, make it their goal to perform. They practice and practice and practice with plenty of critical feedback from teachers, themselves, and audiences. For most of you, you've had some sort of private lesson teacher or coach or something of that sort. The way they help you is by coaching you. Helping you along the way, you know? That's what doctors can use from musicians. Getting constant feedback and coaching during their process of practicing. They "spur constant growth" (Ofri) with you, motivating you to do your best. As a musician, you strive to become better, and no plateaus are acceptable. I find that this method can be very effective and it would greatly help our population of doctors. If they get their feedback and criticism, they can better their performance and make sure they're the best they could be.
The author, Danielle Ofri, is a musician and a doctor, so the article works very well coming from someone who has the experience of both areas. I thought it was well done, and brought up a good point of improvement in the field of medicine. She also quotes a book by a fellow doctor about her argument, and how "the actual practice of clinical medicine is a performance" (Ofri).


Article: What Doctors Can Learn From Musicians by Danielle Ofri, M.D.