2020 University of Texas at Austin Commencement
Winner of the 2020 Excellence in Communications Award from The University of Texas at Austin.
In March 2020, Songs for the Soul coordinated with the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing to implement a program called, “Songs for the Soul: A Call and Response During COVID-19 for Graduating Nurses.” The aim was to create a song that celebrates UT School of Nursing students and faculty, acknowledges the uncertainty of our current reality, and identifies the strength students will carry forward into their careers. Online interviews with graduating nursing students captured the “call” of the students, who expressed their emotions and concerns related to starting their nursing careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the “response” from their faculty and other experienced nurses across the country who could share reflection and words of wisdom. The song, “Who Else But You,” was included in the School of Nursing’s online commencement ceremony in May 2020.
2019 Maine weekend retreat
In September 2019, Songs for the Soul was invited to deliver a modified version of its program to an interdisciplinary oncology team during a weekend retreat in Denmark, Maine.
2018 programs
In the fall of 2018, four programs were provided to oncology nurses in Central Texas. The program model used by Songs for the Soul was the subject of a doctoral research study called, “A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Feasibility of Storytelling Through Music to Improve Wellbeing in Oncology Nurses,” by Carolyn S. Phillips, at The University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing. The research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program; the Doctoral Degree Scholarship in Cancer Nursing (DSCN-18-06901-SCN) from the American Cancer Society; the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health: Frances Fowler Wallace Memorial for Mental Health Dissertation Award; the Central Texas Oncology Nursing Society Award; the Gordan and Mary Cain Excellence Fund for Nursing Research; The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing; and the Mary E. Walker Dissertation Award. The songwriters who participated were Susan Gibson, Mandy Rowden, Natalia Zukerman, Anne Heaton, Jana Pochop, Emily Shirley, and Kristin Davidson.
2016 Santa Fe Pilot Program
In April 2016, seven oncology nurses participated in the Songs for the Soul pilot program. Each nurse produced a short story that reflected a meaningful caring experience with patients who had died. During the seventh week of the program, a team of songwriters joined the nurses to put their nursing stories into a healing song. The nurses and songwriters celebrated the experience with a performance for friends and family. The songwriters who participated were Erika Luckett, Natalia Zukerman, Mandy Rowden, and Kristin Davidson.
