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By Sherah Ndjongo, 2025-2026 Imprint Up Close Reporter
From Harp Strings to Healing: Claire Pettengill’ s Journey Into Nursing
on them for honest, compassionate guidance. Her background in music therapy and child life had already shown her the power of emotional support in healing, but nursing felt like a natural evolution.“ It gives me the knowledge and authority to help patients and families make informed medical decisions while continuing to provide psychosocial support and integrating alternative modalities when helpful.”
When Claire Pettengill first stepped into senior homes with her harp, she never imagined that music would one day lead her to nursing.“ Music has a very special place in my heart, and it is what first sparked my interest in psychology and neuroscience,” she recalls. As she played during her volunteer gigs, residents who had seemed lost to illness would suddenly light up and recall memories. Those transformative moments propelled her into music therapy, and eventually into music thanatology, where she learned that sound could provide“ not only emotional and spiritual comfort but also real neurological and medicinal effects.” The discipline of musicianship from attention to patterns, to collaboration, to physical awareness still shapes her identity today.
Pettengill’ s shift into healthcare deepened during her time as a child life specialist in a Level 4 NICU in New York City, where she witnessed the largest nursing strike in history.“ It was during that time that I truly saw how much nurses do, not only in providing expert medical care but also in supporting families,” she says. Parents trusted their knowledge and leaned
At first glance, her career path— musician, therapist, child life specialist, nurse— may seem like a series of pivots. But to her, they are variations on the same theme.“ As a musician, my job was to interpret what the composer wanted to express and translate it into something the audience could connect with. In music therapy and child life, I did something very similar … Now as a nurse, that same skill of translation carries over.” Whether through harp strings or hospital corridors, she views her role as creating a space that feels different from illness: one that provides comfort, relief, and the possibility of change.
After nearly a decade alongside nurses, she realized the profession was her true calling.“ I would often ask them medical questions about patients, and they always had thoughtful, informed answers. I admired their professionalism and the trust I saw patients and families place in them.” It wasn’ t a single patient who confirmed her choice but a pattern of encounters. With families in anguish, cultural barriers complicating care, women’ s health needs left unmet.“ I realized I wanted to do more than comfort them. I wanted to advocate for them and bridge those gaps so their voices could be heard.”
20 NSNA Imprint