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Vivian Chang OTD ’18

Leadership concentration: Advanced Clinical Practice

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I was involved in a few research labs as an undergraduate student at UCSD and I quickly realized that my favorite part of the entire research process was interacting with research subjects. Through that, I knew I wanted to find a career where I would get to work closely with other people. Since I’ve always valued both physical and emotional health and hated chemistry . . . OT was the perfect fit for me. I actually found out about OT from a Yahoo article that was titled, “10 most promising jobs of 2020.” 😊

Where are you located for your residency and what services are provided there?
I am currently completing my residency at City of Hope National Medical Center, where I provide a diverse range of OT services to my oncology patients. The services can range from ADL/IADL retraining to fatigue/symptom management to caregiver training. Additionally, I will be developing a program that will improve the discharge readiness of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation.

What do you hope to learn from this year?
I hope to be exposed to a wide variety of patients and growing the number of interventions in my arsenal. I also hope to feel more confident as an entry-level practitioner.

If you could give any words of advice for incoming Master’s students, what would it be?
Take this time for yourself — don’t overstress about acing all your classes or stretch yourself too thin by getting involved in everything. I feel like the best part the MA program is being surrounded by instructors and peers that are so supportive and greatly value your mental health. Also, view yourself as a sponge — waiting to absorb as much knowledge as you can, but don’t feel like you absolutely need to know everything.

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
Pineapple pepperoni pizza.

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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org.

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. All states require licensure to practice; a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT® OTR certification examination or attain state licensure. Program results from the NBCOT® can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.