Laura Newton, a fourth-year medical student, is one of the founding members of Doc’Apella, a UNMC student acapella group.
Doc’Apella will be performing a selection of holiday favorites at noon today in the lobby of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Created about a year ago, the group has approximately 50 members from across all colleges at UNMC, although not all show up for every practice or performance.
“We get together and rehearse every Tuesday and Wednesday evening,” Newton said. “We enjoy singing with each other, but we also enjoy sharing our music with others.”
The group has performed for patients, professional organizations, student groups and others through its first year of existence. In addition, Newton said, the group is participating in a study to see if belonging to the group and taking part in practices and performances impacts the students’ feelings of wellness.
“We haven’t really evaluated that yet, but I have had many people tell me how much they look forward to the practices and performances,” she said.
Audiences enjoy the group, as well.
“We’ve had lots of positive feedback from patients and staff members,” she said. “Performing for our patients allows us to see them not only as people brought to us in our professional capacity. We are future health care providers, but we also have a creative and fun side, and to share that facet of ourselves with the patients helps us connect to them on a deeper level.”
Newton, who is graduating in the spring, is looking for student leaders to continue the fledgling group, continuing to grow it in the future.
“Throughout 2019, we had 10 or 11 performances, between singing for patients and performing at other hospital functions,” Newton said. “I’d love to see the group continue to grow and have a positive impact on UNMC and the patients at the med center.”