Hand In Paw Orientation

Hello all,

Tonight was Hand In Paw’s orientation. The night that I have been waiting for, which seems like an eternity now. Wow! Although slightly overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information provided, I am thrilled to be working with such an awesome organization. As soon as I stepped foot in the door, everyone was very welcoming and immediately made me feel at ease. I was so thankful for this because my nerves were beginning to get the best of me.

I was informed that in order to assist the therapy teams on their rounds to various facilities, it is required that I become a therapy visiting assistant (TVA). To become a TVA, I must go through most of the same process that prospective therapy teams must go through to get their therapy animals certified by the Delta Society, or Pet Partners, minus a few steps. The Delta Society is dedicated to improving human health through therapy and service animals. Even though I am not volunteering with a pet, I am still required to attend a Therapy Team Screening. These screenings evaluate the temperament and suitability of the prospective Hand In Paw therapy animals. There are ultimately three outcomes that can occur. Either the handler and animal successfully complete this screening, handler or animal failed to meet minimum standards of the evaluation, or the animal is just not appropriate due to aggression towards staff or shyness during visits with strangers. In addition to this screening, I have to complete two shadow visits at different designated facilities, attend an eight hour pet workshop, pass the pet partners evaluation, and attend a three hour Hand In Paw class. I never knew there were so many requirements in this field. It makes sense, however, that the standards that are set in place are strictly centered around the safety of the patient, as well as others.   

The focus of my project has shifted. Rather than focusing on changes in physiological, sociological, and psychological origins, I will be focusing on quality control in various medical settings. After speaking with the associate director about my previous proposed objectives, I learned that they were much too in depth given the rules and regulations a TVA must follow. I am now developing a measurement tool for infection control, as well as a survey tool to evaluate the effectiveness of Hand In Paw’s quality control interventions. Many of the patients seen are severely immunodeficient and adequate infection control among these individuals is of the utmost importance. I am meeting with the associate director next week and further details concerning my development of a measurement tool will be discussed at that time. Although my previous objectives are not feasible, I am still very anxious to begin my journey with this new focus created in collaboration with an individual that knows exactly what Hand In Paw needs!!     

The Start of Something New

Hello!

My name is Amber Acklin, and I am a third semester Honors in Nursing student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The first and second semesters of the Honors Program introduced us to basic terminology, concepts, and theories. The third semester is very special in that we finally get to implement our chosen service learning projects. My chosen topic is the effects that Animal-Assisted Therapy has on the human condition throughout the aging spectrum. By human condition, I mean any disease that effects the health of humans, such as diseases with psychological, physiological, or sociological origins. 

Why am I so interested in this topic? Well, I have been an animal lover since I can remember. I've grown up with many different animals ranging from dogs, to rabbits, to guinea pigs, and etc. I remember many times as I grew up that my bad days were quickly turned around when I interacted with an animal. For example, one day in middle school, absolutely nothing was going the way I planned. Everything went sour that day, and on the way home, I just wanted to immediately get in my bed. However, as I walked in the door, I was greeted by my mother's Maltese-Pomeranian mix looking up at me with those big, brown, beautiful eyes. How could I say no to those eyes? So I thought..."A couple of strokes and off to bed I go." As I was petting her, she would gently lick my hand and look me dead in my eyes as if to say don't worry, Amber. There are better days to come, and instead of feeling miserable and going to bed, I was content and decided to stay up and enjoy the rest of my day. Many instances similar to this followed, but this particular one was the first realization of what immense power animals actually held over humans. 

So...here I am. The partner that I will be working with for this semester is a non-profit animal-assisted therapy organization known as Hand In Paw. I am so excited! Hand In Paw works at various facilities throughout Central Alabama to "improve the health and well-being of children and adults by serving those with physical, emotional, educational, or psychological needs through interactions with professionally-trained Animal-Assisted Therapy Teams." Their mission statement encompasses everything I plan to get out of my experience in a nutshell.

Having said that, I actually met some of the therapy teams at Hand In Paw's annual fundraiser, Picasso Pets, which was held August 18th. It is an event where paintings are auctioned created by the animals and professional artists. The picture below (on left) is one of the many gorgeous paintings that were auctioned at this years event. I volunteered and was deemed a designated greeter. The event was an absolute success! It was very nice and very well organized. Not to mention, the therapy teams that I got a pleasure of meeting were awesome!  

 I go for orientation at Hand In Paw in two weeks, and I look forward to my semester with these wonderful teams and experiencing first-hand the difference that they make in people's lives everyday. This is definitely "The Start of Something New!"