NTS: A Dog-tor’s Healing Paws: Animal-Assisted Therapy in Clinical Practice

This session will focus on providing examples and ideas of how animal-assisted interventions (AAI) can be effectively integrated into many common areas of PA practice (such as emergency departments, inpatient hospital services, primary care and specialty outpatient clinics, pediatrics, etc.). Faculty will highlight many innovative applications of AAT as an adjunct to traditional clinical practice, such as PT/OT sessions, psychiatric therapy sessions, provide resources for navigating common concerns, and share industry standards and best practices to ensure patient safety and quality care. Faculty will also review terminology related to AAT and the differences in therapy animals vs. service animals vs. emotional support animals to help the practicing PA have informed conversations with their patients.