A university in east Taiwan has employed a chicken to help teach their nursing students about the benefits of animal therapy.
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00:00You've heard of therapy dogs, now meet Ximei, the therapy hen, resident poultry professor
00:08of the nursing department at Tzu Chi University in Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien.
00:21A quick hit with the class, this friendly fowl has been employed to teach students about
00:26alternative therapies, and through playing with Ximei, these future healthcare professionals
00:31experienced first-hand the potential therapeutic effects of interacting with animals.
00:53While not quite as typical a choice as dogs or cats, hens are used as therapy animals,
00:59reducing stress and providing company for people with mental health issues, mobility
01:04difficulties, or who live alone.
01:06And for the university, it's a chance to demonstrate to their students the range of
01:11tools available to them as healthcare providers.
01:24With Taiwan set to become a super-aged society this year, and facing a constant shortage
01:30of healthcare workers, the country's need for creative solutions is coming home to roost.
01:36And while the idea of emotional support hens may ruffle a few feathers, these nursing students
01:41are experiencing that their benefits are by no means poultry.
01:46Hank Hsu and Rhys Ayres for Taiwan Plus.