By Glenna Murdock, RN, contributor
Few of us have the opportunity to integrate a favorite pastime into our workaday world, but Dawn Ginese, RN, is one of the lucky few. Ginese has been a nurse for 13 years and a musician for most of her life, so when she began a job in a New York State Head Start program nine years ago, she began using music to communicate health concepts to her young charges.
Dawn Ginese, RN, uses music to communicate health concepts to her young charges.
She wrote—and continues to write—clever little songs with catchy tunes that educate children about basic health considerations such as brushing their teeth, not spreading germs and avoiding Lyme disease by using specific preventive measures. Some of the songs are aimed at allaying fears the children may have about dental exams, hearing tests and the like.
“Children can be wary of a stranger wanting to look into their mouths or ears,” Ginese explained, “so they are taught songs that stress that the dentist is a good guy [or gal] and that they should open their mouths wide and say, ‘Aaaaaah.’ I included the long, drawn out ‘aaaaaah’ so they would understand that they need to keep their mouths open wide for a little while. We practice the songs many times in advance of a visit by a dentist, hygienist or audiologist so they learn what to expect, while having fun at the same time.”
The songs have interactive aspects, as well. For example, when learning the song about the dentist, fruits, vegetables, candy and other foods are placed about the room and the children find and identify the foods that make teeth happy and those that make teeth sad. There is also some role playing, with the children taking turns donning a lab coat and peering into each other’s mouths with a flashlight.
“A comfort level has been achieved by the time the actual exam rolls around,” Ginese said. “A participatory effort with the medical professional joining in on the day of the exam is also helpful in breaking the ice with the children.”
After high school, Ginese entered college with the aim of becoming a nurse but she married while still in the pre-requisite phase. She and her husband, a minister, soon started a family, which put her nursing education on hold for several years. When the last of their three children was in elementary school she enrolled at Columbia Green Community College in upstate New York, earning her AA in nursing in 1995.
Prior to her position with Head Start, Ginese worked in home care with quadriplegic and pediatric patients. She has maintained contact with a young female patient who, due to the disease of Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1), is now paraplegic but still enthusiastic about her efforts to walk. Together they are writing a song that showcases the girl’s positive outlook.
“It is fulfilling to be able to use my musical talents both educationally and therapeutically,” Ginese said. “Helping this 16-year-old girl express her thoughts and hopes gives me immense satisfaction.”
Ginese’s Head Start students may be three and four years old, but she never underestimates their ability to handle a sophisticated vocabulary. For instance, “The Tick Song” contains the words Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis, which, along with Lyme disease, are tick-borne infections.
“I knew the children could learn to say those words,” she said. “The song, which stresses actions we can take to prevent getting a tick bite that can cause those infections, is one of their favorites. It’s amazing what kids can do and how they pick up concepts when you use music and motion.”
Ginese has also used her songs for a spiritual focus. She has incorporated her good health message into a multi-week series at her church that promotes taking care of one’s God-given body.
The popularity of Ginese’s songs has resulted in the production of a CD, The Singing Nurse: Nurturing Body Mind and Spirit (Health Songs for Active Children…Songs of Inspiration), which can be ordered from her Web site. She is in the process of writing a lesson plan to go along with the CD.
Ginese said bringing her CD to fruition is a direct result of her belief in the power of setting goals, putting them in writing and frequently reviewing and revising them. She says that thinking about goals is not as effective as writing a roadmap for success.
“As an older nursing student, raising a family and very involved in our church, I found I had to set goals in all those areas, write them down and keep track of them. I keep a small, colorful ‘girly’ notebook in my purse for jotting down ideas when they come to me and then transfer them to a large master sheet of goals and cross them off as I accomplish them. I’ve been doing this for 10 years now and find it very rewarding and encouraging when I see how much I’m getting done in the areas that are important to me.”
“I urge nurses who have professional goals or things they’d like to achieve in their outside interests to do the same, because it works,” she continued.
“Nursing was initially attractive to me because it is such a broad profession,” Ginese stated. “Now, my satisfaction comes from being a part of the solution to the puzzle that makes a person’s health better, both emotionally and physically. It is a bonus that I love music and can enjoy communicating healthy living in a fun and educational way with music and movement.”
For more information or to order Ginese’s CD, visit www.TheSingingNurse.com
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