MOC has two decades of experience working with the country’s top hospitals to deliver the healing power of music to patients. Our staff makes sure volunteers are familiar with the sensitive nature of the hospital and are trained on HIPAA, infection control, and patient interaction to ensure the safety of patients and volunteers alike. Check out the video below to learn more about our 5-step process to becoming a Musicians On Call Volunteer!
You don’t have to play an instrument to be a rockstar. Musicians On Call is accepting applications for both Volunteer Guides and Volunteer Musicians in areas across the United States.
Musicians On Call has programs across the country, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington, D.C.
Click here to view a list of our locations.
Don’t see your area listed? Musicians On Call is working to develop technology that will help us expand. Click here to become a champion for Musicians On Call and tell us about your interest in volunteering in your area.
What Do Volunteer Guides Do?
Musicians On Call’s Volunteer Guides escort Volunteer Musicians room-to-room during MOC’s Bedside Performance Programs within healthcare facilities. Volunteer Guides ask patients if they feel like hearing a song and introduce the musicians prior to their performances at patients’ bedsides. You do not need to be musically inclined or a performer to be a Volunteer Guide, you just need to have a passion for music as part of the healing process.
The Volunteer Guide is the “eyes and ears” of MOC during the Bedside Performance Program as well as the liaison between the hospital and the Volunteer Musician. Most importantly, each Volunteer Guide is assigned to a specific healthcare facility and learns the protocols, policies and expectations of the facility in which they volunteer and are responsible for making sure these guidelines are upheld during the program. MOC provides on-site training to help the Volunteer Guides gain a level of comfort as they interact with the musicians, caregivers, patients, and their family and friends.
What Do Volunteer Musicians Do?
Musicians On Call’s Volunteer Musicians deliver the healing power of music by going room-to-room to perform acoustically for patients, their families and staff during MOC’s Bedside Performance Program. Musicians On Call serves patients from a wide demographic including infants to the elderly affected by conditions that keep them hospitalized for in-patient care, or alternatively, hospice or long-term care. Volunteer Musicians are always accompanied by a trained MOC Volunteer Guide who is familiar with each hospital’s protocols and procedures. While nearly all performances are in patients’ rooms, occasionally a musician may play for small groups (in the lobby, dining room, etc.).
♪ Please set aside 20-30 minutes to complete the application
♪ If you are a musician, please prepare a video link to a sample of hospital-friendly acoustic music that you would play in the hospital
♪ Please Review our FAQs for volunteer applicants as well as the questions to consider below
♪ The Musicians On Call team reviews all applications submitted. Applying to volunteer does not guarantee acceptance into the Bedside Performance Program
♪ Have I carefully and realistically considered my schedule to make sure that I am able to commit to a monthly 2-hour volunteer shift for one year?
♪ Am I comfortable in a hospital environment where I will see children and adults who are sick or in pain and families under stress?
♪ Will I be able to treat my commitment to volunteer similarly to the seriousness with which I treat work or school obligations?
♪ Am I comfortable submitting personal references and having a background check?
♪ Am I willing and able to maintain professional boundaries with patients and families?
If you answered yes to all the questions, we invite you to fill out our application! If you answered no to any of the questions above, Musicians On Call may not be a good fit for you as a volunteer.
Are the following statements true?
♪ I have a month or two of unexpected free time and would like to volunteer on a short-term basis only.
♪ I hope that volunteering will lead directly to employment at Musicians On Call.
♪ I am a musician that is hoping to promote my music by volunteering with Musicians On Call.
♪ I have recently experienced the death of someone close to me and I hope that by volunteering I will be better able to work through my grief.
♪ I have an unpredictable schedule over the next few months
♪ I am currently looking for full-time employment.
If any of these statements are true, please reconsider applying to Musicians On Call at this time.
If your application is accepted, you will complete the following steps:
♪ A phone interview with a Musicians On Call representative
♪ Review Musicians On Call’s training materials and complete our Volunteer Quiz
♪ Submit a copy of a government-issued photo ID and volunteer agreement
♪ Complete a background check with our partners at Verified Volunteers. Volunteer Guides will receive their background check from their hospital placement
♪ Volunteer Musicians will talk with their Musicians On Call representative on how to schedule their first program!
♪ Volunteer Guides will work with a Musicians On Call rep to choose a facility based on suitability and availability. They will then be introduced to a hospital representative to begin their hospital volunteer onboarding. Steps from here for Volunteer Guides vary but often include a hospital orientation, training modules or quizzes, a health screening or proof of vaccinations, and two in-person program shadows
Do you have further questions? Get in touch with us!
