The effect of a music therapy in-service on perceptions of oncology nursing staff

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were changes in oncology nurses' perceptions of music therapy after a 20minute in-service. Eighteen nurses and one social worker participated in the study. The researchers modified a previously utilized instrument in which participants rated how strongly they felt music therapy could be used to meet various clinical objectives on the surgical oncology unit. After informed consent was obtained, participants completed a brief pretest, and the researchers then facilitated an in-service. At the conclusion of the in-service, participants completed the posttest. Paired-sample t-tests indicated that six of these objective areas had statistically significant positive increases. Posttest themes included welcoming music therapy to the unit and excitement about the possibility of providing better care for the patients.