PT, OT, SLP, PA, MD, DO, pre-med and MSW students and faculty
Group size
A 15-person skills lab to a 200-seat lecture hall
Length
50-minute guest lecture to a half-day workshop
Setting
Lecture hall, skills lab, simulation center or online
Faculty
Russ L'HommeDieu, DPT, and Karen L'HommeDieu, LMSW, with Daisy
Cost
Honorarium or quote. Ask about CE through your approved provider
Lessons we teach
Kindness, compassion, animal-assisted therapy and resilience. Choose one for a guest lecture, or combine two or three for a workshop.
Compassion
Compassion is not what burns you out
The neuroscience of compassion versus empathic distress, and why the common label "compassion fatigue" points clinicians in the wrong direction. Compassion can be trained, and it protects the person who practices it.
Tell empathy, empathic distress and compassion apart
A short practice to use before a hard patient encounter
Daisy as a live example of calm, regulating presence
Best for: Every program, especially first-year students and clinical rotations
Kindness
Kindness as a clinical skill
Kindness is not soft. It shapes trust, disclosure and follow-through. Students practice dignity-centered communication and respectful language about disability and difference, the grown-up version of Different Is Cool.
Small, specific acts of kindness that fit a 15-minute visit
Person-first and identity-first language and when each fits
Role plays for delivering hard news with warmth
Best for: Patient communication, professionalism and ethics courses
Animal-assisted therapy
Animal-assisted interventions 101
The difference between animal-assisted activities, therapy and education, and between therapy dogs, service dogs and emotional support animals. What the evidence supports, where it is still thin, and how teams are credentialed.
Correct terms and legal distinctions students will meet in practice
Patient selection, contraindications, allergies and fear
Infection control, zoonosis risk and animal welfare
Best for: All programs, and hospital or facility policy discussions for MD, DO and PA students
Animal-assisted therapy
Animal-assisted therapy across the professions
A hands-on lab where students build a goal-directed session with Daisy for their own discipline, then write the goal and the documentation note the way it would appear in a chart.
Turn a dog interaction into a measurable treatment goal
Document AAT so it reads as skilled care
See how each profession uses the same visit differently
Best for: PT, OT, SLP and MSW skills labs, and interprofessional education days
Resilience
Resilience and adaptation: lessons from a three-legged dog
How a tripod dog redistributes weight, changes gait and keeps doing what she loves. Russ draws the parallels to human limb loss, injury and chronic illness, and to the difference between adapting and "overcoming."
Observe and describe compensation patterns like a clinician
Resilience as a process patients move through, not a trait they lack
How to talk about adaptation without toxic positivity
Best for: Rehab, orthopedics, prosthetics and amputee care, and pre-med audiences
Resilience
Caring for the caregiver: burnout and Occupational Distress Syndrome
Burnout is not a personal weakness. Russ's Occupational Distress Syndrome framework separates system causes from personal ones, names moral distress, and gives students practical ways to protect their capacity to care.
Recognize early signs of distress in themselves and peers
Separate what they can change from what the system must change
Build a personal and team plan for sustainable caring
Best for: Wellness weeks, clinical rotation prep and graduating classes
Interprofessional
Interprofessional case lab: Daisy on the team
Mixed teams plan care for a fictional patient after limb loss whose plan includes animal-assisted therapy. Each student brings their profession's lens, and the team presents one shared plan.
Clarify roles and hand-offs across professions
Practice shared goal setting with the patient at the center
Debrief on compassion and kindness in team communication
Best for: IPE days with PT, OT, SLP, PA, MD, DO and MSW students together
Built for your discipline
Physical therapy
Gait, balance and weight shifting while walking or grooming Daisy; tripod biomechanics and amputee rehab parallels.
Occupational therapy
Fine motor, sequencing and daily-living tasks such as leash clips, brushing and treat pouches; motivation and engagement.
Speech-language pathology
Commands for articulation and voice, sequencing for language, and motivation for AAC users.
Physician assistant, MD and DO
Patient selection, contraindications, infection prevention, facility visitation policy and when to include AAT in the plan.
Pre-med and pre-health
Compassion as a core clinical competency, kindness in patient encounters, and seeing the whole care team at work.
Social work (MSW)
Rapport building, trauma-informed engagement, grief and loss, and animals in family and school settings.
A sample 75-minute session
1
10 min
Clinical observation: students watch Daisy walk, turn and sit, then describe how she compensates on three legs.
2
20 min
Core lesson from the menu below, chosen for your course.
3
20 min
Live demonstration or skills lab with Daisy, matched to your students' discipline.
4
15 min
Small-group case or reflection: students apply the lesson to a patient they will see.
5
10 min
Q and A, and one practice each student commits to using in clinic.
What students take away
Distinguish empathy, empathic distress and compassion, and practice one way to stay compassionate under pressure.
Explain what animal-assisted therapy is and is not, and write a goal-directed AAT plan for their discipline.
Describe adaptation after limb loss using Daisy as a living example, and apply it to patient care.
Supports interprofessional education outcomes in values and ethics, roles, communication and teamwork.
Ways to book it
Guest lecture, 50 to 75 minutes, one lesson plus a short demo.
Half-day workshop, two or three lessons plus a skills lab.
Interprofessional education day with the case lab.
Grand rounds or continuing education, through your institution's approved provider.
Orientation, white coat or wellness week visit with Daisy.
Pre-health club or student organization meeting.
Virtual guest lecture for programs outside Florida.
Your teaching team
Real clinicians, real teaching experience, and a real three-legged colleague.
Russ L'HommeDieu, DPT: 35+ years as a physical therapist, DPT faculty, EdD candidate in Health Education and Leadership, Harvard Bok Higher Education Teaching Certificate, and speaker at Harvard Medical School and Baylor University.
Karen L'HommeDieu, LMSW: school social worker focused on social and emotional learning, inclusion and belonging.
Daisy: Canine Good Citizen and certified therapy dog who has lived and thrived on three legs.
Videos to use in class
Assign them before the session or use them as openers.
Watch Daisy Run Like a Rabbit
Use it for the gait observation: how does Daisy compensate on three legs?
Yes! You Can!!
Channel 4's Rio 2016 Paralympics trailer, a strong opener for talking about adaptation.
Here Comes Daisy: Sing-Along Video
Daisy's theme song, a fun warm-up for pre-health clubs and wellness weeks.
What your program provides
A projector and microphone
Open floor space for the Daisy demonstration
A faculty contact on the day
A heads-up to students about allergies or dog fears, with a no-touch option
Hand sanitizer at the door of the room
Questions from programs
Can students earn continuing education credit?
We can provide objectives, an agenda, a timed outline and faculty bios to your institution's approved CE provider so they can award credit.
Can you tailor it to one program, such as only DPT or only MSW?
Yes. Pick the lessons that fit your course, and we will adapt examples, cases and the skills lab to your discipline.
Will students interact with Daisy?
Yes, by choice. Students can observe from a distance or take part in the demonstration, with hand hygiene before and after.
Do you offer this online?
Yes. Every lesson works as a live virtual guest lecture, with Daisy on camera for the observation and demonstration parts.
Invite Daisy to your program
Takes about 2 minutes. We reply within 2 business days.
