When Melonie Ambler prepares to treat a patient, her medical toolkit includes something unexpected: A cello.
“I ask, ‘Transport me to your favorite place on Earth,’ or ‘What are you famous for within your friends or your family?'” Ambler said. “When I get that response, I can accentuate the drama, emotions, personalities and energy of the patient.”
Ambler, a Stanford University medical student, has pioneered an innovative approach to palliative care by transforming patients’ life stories into spontaneous musical compositions. She has paused her medical education for a year to formally research the intersection of music and end-of-life care.
The approach has shown some powerful results, particularly for families coping with loss.
“I had one patient, this lovely man. I sent the recording to his wife and him the day that he died. When she listened to it, she said it was like he was there with her, and that she’s listened to the recording every single night since he passed,” she said.
Ambler’s work has attracted attention from leading advocates of music in medicine, reflecting a growing international movement. In Europe, some physicians have begun prescribing art as medicine.
Dr. Lisa Wong, co-director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School, explains the scientific foundation behind this approach.
“Neuroscience came together. We’re seeing actual images on the impact on the brain,” Wong said. The initiative, now a decade old, recognizes that many faculty members are also artists. “When we talk to them, we ask, ‘Why do you devote so much time to your art forms?’ Invariably, they say, ‘It makes me a more balanced person and it makes me a better doctor.'”
For Ambler, who has treated 55 patients with her musical methodology, the experience has transformed her perspective on mortality.
“It’s something we avoid talking about,” Ambler said. “Being around these goals of care conversations are essentially when patients decide how it is they want their end-of-life to look. I think those are conversations that I hope to have with my own family, with my own friends.”
While her research continues, Ambler’s preliminary results suggest meaningful benefits for patients receiving this musical intervention during their final days.
“Some of the most meaningful moments that I personally experienced while on my medical school rotations were moments that were emotionally charged and difficult and moments where traditional medicine may not be effective or provide comfort.”
