Area of Focus: Leadership, Education, Program Development
Area of Practice: Technology
Project Site: Huntington University- Fort Wayne Campus (Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program)
Project Mission: Provide HU OTD students with experience and opportunity regarding the required process, usage, and benefits of animal-assisted interventions.
Project Vision: Open the door for OTD programs across the country to provide more AAI experience and information for students.
Outcome Measure 1: The capstone student will synthesize the application of knowledge gained to create an alternative professional program course within a respective occupational therapy curriculum.
Related Learning Objectives: completion of three CEU courses, develop/implement marketing materials, and create/upload four video case study modules.
Outcome Measure 2: The capstone student will design a step-by-step occupational therapy guideline for AAT success following a Team Evaluation with PetPartners to better understand the actions required when collaborating with community partners and the inclusivity of therapy dogs in OT practice and curriculum.
Related Learning Objectives: Integrate media from clinical immersion experiences into course presentations/content.
“…The OT Practice Framework specifically lists care of pets as an IADL [Instrumental Activity for Daily Living], as it is a meaningful occupation for approximately 68% of all U.S. households for approximately 84.6 million pets” (Winkle & Ni, 2019). Working alongside a therapy animal team as been shown to bolster patient perspective, that they "... are doing something important and […] that what they’re doing has meaning” (Flynn et al., 2020). "Occupational therapy professionals can contribute to the evolving knowledge base of this promising intervention…” (Cipriani et al., 2013). Which all begins with resource building (Winkle & Ni, 2019).
Signed and Submitted: 5/5/22
Student Role/Involvement Chart
The following graphic is the chart I developed and based my marketing approach and course structure upon.
All students were provided an opportunity to learn more about AAI as a participant.
Eligible students were able to sign up for the OTD 740 Animal-Assisted Intervention experience, where their role will transition to that of a collaborator. Students will work together to build upon existing intervention plans within the four video case studies.
Enrolled students will finish the OTD 740 Animal-Assisted Intervention Experience as a developer/implementor. Students will complete a final case study/full intervention plan for a mock patient. They will be asked to execute their plan with therapy dog Sully in the simulation. Students will also collect and organize a +150 page AAI resource binder to provide continued support upon completion of the course.
Future Implications in the field of Occupational Therapy:
As an occupational therapy student, being provided the opportunity to learn the role we can play alongside a therapy animal should be included in every program’s didactic curriculum across the country. Occupational therapists learn innovative approaches to facilitate progress toward independent reintegration into meaningful occupations. We learn about different models and perspectives in hopes of finding the right way to motivate our patients one day– yet the volition animal-assisted interventions can provide often is never discussed or covered. I hope one day to teach this course to multiple OTD programs across the country. I look forward to the day AAI is recognized and required in curriculums by ACOTE, only further legitimizing and professionalizing this additional area of practice.
Project Sustainability:
The Animal-Assisted Intervention Experience will be sustainable due to the following:
- Physical (In-Person Format) available
- Hybrid (70/30 Online/In Person Format) available
- Flexibility to be a condensed or full semester course
- Student content videos will act as marketing tools
- Universities are always looking for unique opportunities for their students
Questions? Please contact me: theaaiexperience@gmail.com
Christ - Scholarship - Service
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi- patron saint of animals