Vivian Chang OTD ’18
Hometown: Monterey Park, CA
Program: Post-Professional OTD, Class of 2018
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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