Short-Term Effect of Spiritual Music on Heart Rate Variability in Medical Students: A Single-Group Experimental Study

Music in medical education: A critical interpretive synthesis

INTRODUCTION

While many have championed the value of music in medical education, research specific to how and why music has been offered in medical education is sparse and there have been few attempts to synthesise the literature.

METHODS

A Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) of 56 texts including published articles, correspondence, abstracts and one thesis published between 1977 and 2022 was undertaken to explore the evidence basis for offering music in medical education.

RESULTS

A total of 52 music-focused programmes/activities were described, encompassing both curricular and extra-curricular, receptive and participatory music activities and a wide range of musical genres. Inductive analysis of data extracted from texts revealed a variety of rationales for the use of music in medical education, which could be grouped within seven interrelated themes: well-being; supportive learning environment; affective engagement; teaching and learning; developing skills for clinical practice; humanism in medicine; and creative expression (identity).

DISCUSSION

The results of this synthesis demonstrate that there remains a gap between what is claimed about the affordances of music and what has been explicitly addressed in medical education research. Despite a paucity of research in this area, the available data support that the affordances of music are 'multiple' and may not be well represented by linear models. Evidence that engagement with music is beneficial for medical students is strongest in relation to the affordances of music for well-being, facilitating a supportive learning environment, affective engagement, memorisation and creative expression (identity). That engagement with music might enhance humanism, including developing skills for clinical practice, requires further investigation. Accounting for student agency and the 'multiple' affordances of music will ensure that future teaching and research are best positioned to benefit medical students' well-being and personal and professional development.

Potential impact of music interventions in managing diabetic conditions

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases, characterized by an insufficiency in insulin secretion as well as chronic hyperglycemia and disturbances in carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism. The major aim of this study was to conduct a literature review on the impact of music intervention on the management of diabetic conditions among patients. Available studies on the impact of music interventions on the management of diabetic conditions were reviewed and analysed using descriptive literature review approach. This review showed that music intervention plays a dual role in managing patients' diabetic conditions. First, music intervention is impactful in managing the health condition of diabetic patients through enhancing the patient’s compliance with exercise, improving lower limb blood circulation, and enhancing health parameters that increase autonomous balance among diabetic patients. Second, music therapy is impactful in the management of diabetic conditions through lowering blood sugar, heart rate, glucose levels, and stress among patients. However, with the number of empirical studies available in this regard, the impact of music intervention is still growing, and longer-term studies and randomised controlled trials with robust sample size are recommended to reach a more valid conclusion.