It takes a lot of courage to pack up your suitcases and move across the country, leaving behind family and friends to pursue opportunities to advance your career. Following graduation, Vivian Ly (West, ’18) headed straight to West Haven, Connecticut with her husband to serve in a highly competitive, one-year VA Connecticut Residency Program. For Vivian, moving to Connecticut has been “a big adventure.”
This past June, she completed her residency and was hired as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, Yale School of Medicine. This unique opportunity is a project of the Inter-Institutional Network for Chiropractic Research, supported by Palmer College. In this position, Vivian will be working on interdisciplinary research projects focused on non-pharmacological treatment options for pain in veterans.
Looking back at her one-year residency with the VA, one of her greatest accomplishments was “the gratification that comes from treating veterans and helping to improve their health.”
Vivian highlights her success by acknowledging the importance of lifelong learning. “It’s ok not to know everything at first, but to continue to learn, ask questions, and expand your knowledge,” she said. “I think that Palmer’s strength is in first teaching us the basics, and then providing the clinical rotations and preceptorships that really prepare us for the real work as health care providers.”
As a recent graduate from Palmer College West, Vivian wants students to know that they should “enjoy their time in school, take advantage and become involved in clubs and organizations because of the friendships, connections, and ongoing networking.”
