China Initiative Visits Beijing | November 17–24, 2019
December 18, 2019

Purpose
In November 2019, the China Initiative team travelled to Beijing to support the instructors and students of the inaugural class of the USC-PUHSC dual degree occupational therapy master’s program at PUHSC. China Initiative Director Dr. Julie McLaughlin Gray, and OTD Resident Psalm Chang observed instructors Yijun (Jane) Liu and Dr. Liguo Qian as they taught culturally-adapted courses to the students, including Foundations: Occupation, Foundations: Kinesiology, Foundations: Neuroscience & Neuroscience of Behavior, and Foundations: Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis. During the Foundations: Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis course, Dr. Gray delivered a lecture regarding the USC OTD program, which the students are projected to begin in Fall 2021. Psalm Chang and Yijun (Jane) Liu followed by presenting reflections on their own OTD experience.

The China Initiative team also attended the 3rd Comprehensive Academic Annual Conference of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (CARM) at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. Dr. Gray presented “Curriculum Design for Developing Occupational Therapy Leaders” in both the Rehabilitation Medicine Education and Remote Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy sub-forums.  In the Occupational Therapy sub-forum, instructor and OTD candidate Yijun (Jane) Liu and instructor Dr. Liguo Qian co-presented in Chinese on “The Cultural Adaptation of a Graduate Occupational Therapy Program in China”.

During the CARM conference, the China Initiative and PUHSC team also held a consultation meeting with representatives from the five universities in Mainland China with WFOT-accredited OT programs Capital Medical University, Kunming Medical University, Sichuan University, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Program faculty shared insights and experiences regarding WFOT approval and made recommendations for future approval processes, to be overseen by the CARM OT Sub-Committee.

Delegation
USC Chan China Initiative Director Dr. Julie McLaughlin Gray and OTD Resident Psalm Chang.

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