We are proud to introduce to our loyal donors, Dr Patsy Tan – a phenomenal researcher and the pioneer of Music Therapy programs at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH).
Dr Patsy Tan is a bilingual United States of America board-certified and Australian registered Music Therapist. She has lengthy experience working in multiple countries as a clinician, clinical supervisor, researcher, educator and of course, a music therapist.
For patients receiving in-patient care at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), Music Therapy is a relatively new but deeply personal form of treatment. Used in conjunction with required medical care, it is quickly becoming an essential tool of a patient’s treatment and healing journey.
These outcomes are not insignificant — they play a powerful role in a patient’s recovery and wellbeing in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives during their in-patient stay at the RAH.
The Hospital Research Foundation Group (THRFG) has provided funding for Music Therapy in South Australian hospitals since 2018 and has further committed to funding Music Therapy roles within the RAH, including Patsy’s, until the end of 2030. Research is now essential to help us further continue this vital program.
Please donate TODAY to Music Therapy Research!
Imagine, for a moment, being admitted to hospital with an illness, injury or condition you never asked for. You feel frightened, frustrated, unwell and in pain. Your loved ones can’t be by your side around the clock, even though that is what you long for, and perhaps need, the most.
Then Patsy arrives at your door. She sits quietly with you in your room. She asks what music you love. She listens. And then she plays. In that moment, Patsy creates a space that feels safe, human and nurturing. For countless patients, this Music Therapy experience brings profound relief. Research demonstrates the powerful emotional and psychological effects music has on the brain and body — yet the true value of what Patsy offers is often felt more deeply than words can explain.
Before Patsy’s work, Music Therapy had never been part of the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Allied Health programs. In 2018, through a collaboration between THRFG’s affiliate, the Centre for Creative Health, and the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music, Patsy pioneered South Australia’s first hospital-based music therapy program in the General Medicine ward as a pilot study, supported by a research grant from THRFG. The research study was completed in 2019 and was published in 2020. With the continued support of funding partner THRFG she secured a full-time music therapist position, enabling the program to expand to hospital-wide in January 2020. By the end of 2021, THRFG provided additional funding for a second full-time music therapist position to meet the increasing demand for music therapy at the RAH and at the same time to support the expansion of the program to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH).
Music Therapy at the RAH during COVID-19 lockdown
During the lockdowns, patients were forced to face illness and in some cases, death alone. Families were unable to be present. In those final moments, Patsy was often the only non-medical or nursing human presence allowed in the room. She sat beside patients as they passed away, playing music chosen especially for them based on their personal preferences. These final moments were recorded and later shared with the patient’s families, offering them a comfort and connection to their loved one when it was needed most.
For many, her music became a rare moment of light, hope and calm during an extraordinarily dark time.
As music drifted through the RAH corridors, patients and staff began requesting it in their own wards. Today, Music Therapy reaches patients across several wards of the RAH including Geriatric Medicine, Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, Cardiology, Burns, Orthopaedics, Plastic Surgery, Oncology, Renal, Trauma, ICU and more.
Patsy and her team need your help to support research!
Please donate TODAY to Music Therapy Research!
One of Patsy’s most meaningful initiatives is the Heartbeat Project, developed for patients living with advanced heart failure and facing probable end of life. Through this project, a patient’s heartbeat is recorded and then woven into a personalised musical composition, co-created with the patient and Patsy — a living legacy for the patient and a keepsake for their family.
The purpose of the Heartbeat Project case study was to examine whether heartbeat-based music composition, used as a legacy intervention in music therapy, reduces depression and anxiety of patients and their loved ones, thereby providing meaning and purpose to the lives of patients facing a probable end-of-life decision.
Various assessment tools were used to evaluate patients and their loved ones awareness of music therapy and legacy creation, experiences with music therapy and heartbeat composition, and their overall hospital stay. The results showed a reduction in patients depression and anxiety related to their medical prognosis. Music Therapy was found to alleviate anxiety and promote physical relaxation, with heartbeat-based legacy composition in music therapy as a notable meaningful keepsake. The intervention also provided the case study patient with a new sense of purpose and meaning in life. These positive experiences have contributed to an overall comfort level throughout patients in-patient hospitalization at the RAH.
Dr Patsy Tan’s recently published paper, “The legacy of heart failure – A case study on a patient’s experience composing heartbeat-inspired music” marks a significant professional and personal milestone, reinforcing the clinical value of Music Therapy and its lasting impact.
Please donate TODAY to Music Therapy Research!
Over the years, donor generosity to support Music Therapy through the RAH Research Fund has helped fund a piece of vital equipment, a digital stethoscope used in clinical practice. Now, Patsy’s vision is to expand this work further purchasing new instruments and supporting research by having a music therapy research assistant.
Her next project focuses on stroke patients with Broca’s aphasia, who have lost their ability to speak but retain the ability to sing. Working alongside speech therapists, the neurorehabilitation team, and researchers from the Adelaide University, Patsy aims to establish an inpatient aphasia choir together with her music therapy colleague at TQEH. This choir aims to help patients relearn speech by using singing, rhythm, and tapping to help patients regain speech by stimulating and engaging undamaged right hemisphere to compensate for functions lost in the damaged left-hemisphere, and gradually moving from melodic phrases to normal speech, a technique grounded in Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) principles. It is a long, complex and demanding process, but one filled with hope for those whose voices have been taken from them.
This work takes time, skilled teams, and resources.
Patsy and her team need your help.
Your donation today will help fund Music Therapy research at the Royal Adelaide Hospital — providing evidence of the benefits of this therapy – comfort, dignity, hope and healing to patients and families when they need it most.
Please donate TODAY to Music Therapy Research!