Professional Competencies for Artists/Musicians in Healthcare Settings

Around the world, artists can be increasingly found working at bedsides in hospitals and eldercare facilities, delivering programs and services in public health contexts, and linked to organized systems of arts on prescription in local communities. Demand for specially-trained artists who can provide highest quality, safe, and effective services in healthcare settings is rapidly expanding. In the United States, a national team of experts has now published a set of documents to inform this growing artistic field of practice: a code of ethics, professional competencies, scope of practice, a core curriculum, and a pathway for professional certification.

In this presentation, Fulbright Specialist Patricia Lambert will present the resources available in the United States through the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) to support artist workforce development to advance professional practice in the arts in health field. These resources can be adapted and adopted for other countries and healthcare contexts. 

Patricia Lambert is a professor in the University of Oregon’s (USA) School of Planning, Public Policy and Management. She is the Fall 2025 Austrian Fulbright Specialist for Music, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts.