Hi, I'm Henry Bear. And I'm Tyler Johnson. And you're listening to The Doctors Art, a podcast that explores meaning in medicine. Throughout our medical training and career, we have pondered, what makes medicine meaningful? Can a stronger understanding of this meaning create better doctors? How can we build healthcare institutions that nurture the doctor-patient

connection? What can we learn about the human condition from accompanying our patients in times of

suffering? In seeking answers to these questions, we meet with deep thinkers working across health care,

from doctors and nurses to patients and health care executives, those who have collected a career's worth

of hard-earned wisdom. Probing the moral heart that beats at the core of medicine, we will hear

stories that are by turns heartbreaking, amusing, inspiring, challenging, and enlightening.

We welcome anyone curious about why doctors do what they do. Join us as we think out loud about what illness and

healing can teach us about some of life's biggest questions.

The hospital can be a harsh backdrop to many of life's most pivotal events.

Alarms blare at inopportune times, rounding doctors intrude on delicate conversations,

and vigilant nurses disrupt rare periods of rest.

All the chaos can add to the stress of a patient's hospital stay

and create an emotionally discordant experience, out of step with the profound grief,

joy, or intimacy one might expect to accompany the weighty moments that happen in the hospital.

In the face of this challenging environment, what can be done to connect patients to the emotional

threads of their lives, to invite meaning during these critical times.

The answer, at least in part, may lie in music.

Our guest on this episode is Melanie Ambler, fourth-year medical student at Stanford and professional

cellist. As an undergraduate at Brown, Melanie began researching the intersection of music and medicine.

She then completed a Fulbright Fellowship in France, where her master's work centered on the

effective music on patients with dementia.

Once she got to Stanford, Melanie and her cello, Shelby, got to work bringing music to

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