Julia Shekunov, M.D.

Open

• Patient experience and perspectives on rounding with facility dogs on an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit: A pilot study Rochester, Minn.

  On the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit, rounds with the treatment team at times includes a facility dog (due to schedules and availability, not all patients have a facility dog present during rounds). The purpose of this study is to investigate patient perceptions and response to the presence of a facility dog during treatment team rounds. 

  Children and adolescents who are hospitalized on an acute inpatient psychiatric unit, and who have a facility dog join them for an initial visit during treatment team rounds, will be asked after rounds to complete a brief qualitative and quantitative survey about their perspectives and experience related to the facility dog. Additionally, the facility dog handler will complete a brief survey after the visit to describe the degree of the child’s interaction observed with the dog during the visit.