Exploring the power of music to heal, connect, and reduce burnout in the medical community
Project Summary
This interdisciplinary project will evaluate a creative music-based intervention and discussion targeted for the medical community. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methods, we aim to evaluate whether a 4-concert series “Medical Music” therapeutic intervention can impact community cohesion, burnout rates, and insights into current life/stressors.
Researchers
Gregory Wallingford, M.D., MBA, is the assistant dean for professional fulfillment and well-being at Dell Medical School, where he also teaches in the Department of Internal Medicine. He is passionate about leadership development and clinician well-being, contributing tools like a rapid debriefing method during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wallingford has held leadership roles in national organizations and frequently teaches on professional fulfillment topics. Before Dell, he earned an MBA at the Wharton School and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Outside of his professional work, he enjoys being a proud father of two children.
Carolyn Phillips, PhD, RN, ACNP, AOCNP is an assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, with over 20 years of experience in oncology nursing. She holds degrees from Johns Hopkins, the University of New Mexico, and UT Austin, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the psychoneuroimmunology aspects of grief and trauma and the use of expressive arts, particularly music, to support emotional communication and coping. Dr. Phillips studies how storytelling through music impacts brain connectivity, emotional states, and long-term psychosocial outcomes in caregivers. In addition to her nursing career, she is a performing musician, uniquely blending her expertise in healthcare and the arts to create innovative therapeutic interventions.
Aaron Rochlen, Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor, Psychologist, and Program Director for the Moritz Center’s Arts & Humanities Program. He integrates music and mental health in his teaching, research, and clinical work—most notably through his Under The Rock concert series and courses like Music and Mental Health. A published expert in gender, fatherhood, and help-seeking, he’s a Fellow of the APA and former president of its Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities.
Tyler Jorgensen, M.D., is a practicing palliative medicine physician with a special interest in medical humanities, including narrative medicine and music therapy for patients with serious illness. Jorgensen practiced community emergency medicine for a decade in Austin, Texas, serving in various medical director roles, before pursuing fellowship training in hospice and palliative medicine.