1. Do you know what is meant by Adaptive Occupation?
Adaptive Occupation is a use of technical aids and technology, in combination with consultation and education to teach client's different ways for performing their task.
2. Explain what are Auxiliary aids?
Auxiliary aids are devices used for the client who has communicating disabilities, and aids used are assistive listening devices, taped texts, closed caption decoders on televisions and qualified interpreters.
3. Do you know what is sensory defensiveness?
Sensory defensiveness is used to define child's behavior in response to sensory input, reflecting severe over-reaction to a particular sensory input.
4. What is the term Accessibility audit?
Accessibility audit is a review of the access and inclusion practices of the place of public accommodation from a physical and policy perspective.
5. Tell us how would your colleagues describe you?
This one can be difficult as you have to think how you come across to others but is much the same as selecting your strengths and weaknesses but in the scenario of team-working.
6. Why should we hire you as Occupational Therapist?
This question is almost always asked in any interview regardless of the field. This question actually is the best one for answering because it grants you the opportunity to sell yourself as long as you are able to tell them you are easily adaptable to the team/culture and that you not only can perform the job, but will do it with spectacular results.
7. Tell me when nursing home requires an occupational therapist?
When nursing home are dealing with people suffering from strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure then they need OT. They will meet patient three to six times per week after an injury, assessing his needs, prescribing appropriate equipment's and training them how to use it.
8. Explain what are the challenges does an occupational therapist has to face?
☛ Dealing with unsatisfied patient
☛ Difficulty in communicating with mentally challenged patient
☛ Daily maintaining living facilities for patient
☛ Developing living and work skills
☛ Adapting to a new environment and people if travelling abroad
☛ Language barrier with locals and patient
9. Tell me when dynamic splint can be used?
Dynamic splint is made of plastic material to support and immobilize bone or to support stretched muscles. It can be used in various ways like
☛ To correct or prevent deformity with tightening joints or muscles
☛ Stop weakened muscles from over strengthening
☛ Strengthening weak muscles
☛ To gain better range of motion before surgery
☛ Provide an even muscle balance when there is an imbalance
10. Do you know what is Augmentative or Alternative communications?
The systems that supplement or replace communication by gesture or voice among people is referred as augmentative or alternative communications.
11. Do you know what is the role of the occupational therapist in injury management?
The role of the occupational therapist in injury management is
☛ Using specialized assessments to determine the functional requirements of various task, and clients capacity to return to work
☛ Giving knowledge to clients for safe work practices
☛ Modifying the work environment keeping employees health and safety in concern, and thus minimizing the injuries
☛ Coordinating and designing graded return to work programs
12. Tell me how would your friends describe you? How would your enemies describe you?
This is a question that might as well be asking, "What are your good and bad qualities?" Obviously, your friends would say all your positive attributes. That ones a no-brainer! But, exposing your weaknesses and being able to spin it is an art. Maybe your enemy would say you were obsessive compulsive when in fact, you just truly have a divine eye for detail.
13. Explain what are the devices occupational therapist might require for helping people?
It may require
☛ Assistive device for ambulation like walker
☛ Dressing aids
☛ Bathroom equipment's
☛ Mobility and transfer device
☛ Electrical stimulation system
☛ AFO
☛ Wheelchairs
☛ Cane and Crutches
14. Tell me what made you choose OT?
What is your motivation in applying for this post?
These questions are examining your motivation for the post, and have the potential to highlight your strengths as well as your hopes from working within the post.
15. List out some common types of documentation done by occupational therapist?
Documentation done by occupational therapist includes
☛ Screening: It includes details like client information, referral information, medical history, etc.
☛ Evaluation: It includes evaluation and re-evaluation report
☛ Intervention: It includes intervention plan, contact report note, transition plan and progress report
☛ Outcomes: It includes discharge or discontinuation report
☛ Attention span and stamina
☛ Adapting towards new activities
☛ Play skills
☛ Need for personal space
☛ Reactions to touch or other types of stimuli
☛ Basic motor skill like balance, posture and manipulation of small objects
☛ Aggression and other types of behaviors
☛ Interaction between child and carers
17. Think of one client and tell me what did you do and how did OT have a valuable contribution?
This can be tricky, but the real question is how you see OT as having a positive impact and is this positive for the hospital or client or both.
18. What is the term dyspraxia and what are their types?
"Dyspraxia" is a disorder, where a person's motor skill (locomotive movements) gets hampered. It can affect daily activities of a person like holding pencils to brushing teeth. Dyspraxia is classified into four categories.
☛ Ideomotor Dyspraxia
☛ Ideational Dyspraxia
☛ Oromotor Dyspraxia
☛ Constructional Dyspraxia
19. Do you know what are the benefits of occupational therapy to the patient having Autism?
☛ Learn how to self-regulate
☛ Learn how to delay gratification
☛ Express feeling in more appropriate ways
☛ Engage play with peers
☛ Learn how to concentrate on work
☛ Learn to develop social interaction with adult and peer
☛ Learn body awareness
20. Explain in what all ways occupational therapist can be helpful to people?
Occupational therapist can be helpful in numerous ways
☛ Help them to study new ways of doing things following illness or injury
☛ Make them adapt appliances that can help them to perform their daily task easily like wheelchairs or toilet seats or provide special bath
☛ Make changes in their living environment to undertake their usual occupation
☛ Try to minimize the pain or discomfort due to illness or physical inability
☛ Boost their confidence level in social situations
These three questions are targeted at identifying whether you meet the needs of the department in terms of the skills you can bring and offer - it is important to recognise what these are but not to forget that you will also have weaknesses. Identify your weaknesses but turn it into a positive - say you need to work on this skill or that actually whilst it is a weakness it can also be a strength because....
22. Tell me the preventive occupational therapy intervention with stroke survivors?
The preventive occupational therapy intervention with stroke survivors are
☛ Abnormal changes in postural alignment
☛ Pain related with immobility or abnormal joint alignment
☛ Injury due to falls
☛ Depression following stroke
☛ Aspiration during eating, feeding and swallowing
23. Do you know with whom an occupational therapist can work with?
Occupational therapist can work with
☛ Mental health services
☛ Physical rehabilitation
☛ Learning disability
☛ Primary care
☛ Research posts
☛ Environmental adaptation
☛ Care Management
These examine how you deal with situations, both expected and unexpected. How do you act under pressure - it's okay if your previous experiences proved to be the 'wrong way' but identify that you need to change this.
25. Behavioral Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ Tell me about your most successful occupational therapy. How did you manage to help you client?
☛ Recall a time you created excellent rapport with a client's family. How did you do it?
☛ What previous work have you done as an occupational therapist?
☛ What other relevant experience do you have?
☛ Of your placements which did you enjoy the most and least? Why?
☛ If you do group work, what is the largest number of clients you have worked with?
☛ What supervisory structures are you accustomed to?
☛ How organised are you when it comes to paperwork?
☛ Have you ever had to deal with a distressed or hostile client?
☛ Have you ever had to deal with a complaint from a client?
☛ How do you approach client confidentiality?
☛ What do you like best about being an occupational therapist?
☛ What is the role of an occupational therapist play in a multidisciplinary team?
26. Treatments And Evaluations Based Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ Is therapy performed at bedside or in a gym?
☛ What are your productivity goals?
☛ How many units a day do you expect your therapists to bill?
☛ What constitutes one unit? (For example, are units calculated in 15 minute increments?
☛ How many evaluations do your therapists perform each day?
☛ How much time do you expect an evaluation to take?
☛ How does an evaluation count towards productivity?
☛ What responsibilities will I have that do not contribute to my productivity? For example, team meetings, patient transport, or documentation.
☛ What percentage of your staff members are meeting your productivity expectations?
27. Work Shift Based Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ Will I be expected to work overtime?
☛ Will I have any evening hours?
☛ Will I be a part of a weekend rotation?
☛ Will weekends be paid at time and half, or compensated with time off during the week?
☛ Will I receive overtime pay for working holidays?
☛ Are there any days during my placement that will be considered holidays?
☛ How long will it take to travel between the facilities that I'm expected to cover?
☛ How will time and mileage for travel between sites be reimbursed?
28. Environmental Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ How many therapists do you have on staff?
☛ What's the ratio of PT/OT/ and SLP therapists?
☛ Who will be my supervisor?
☛ What is your policy concerning continuing education?
☛ When will I be orientated for this position?
☛ What does your orientation involve?
☛ How many hours are allotted for orientation?
☛ How do you record documentation? Do you have a computer system, or a paper system?
☛ How long does it take the average therapist to become proficient with this system?
☛ What is your therapist salary range?
☛ Please explain the benefits that you provide.
☛ Are there any ways that your compensation package is unique or unusual?
29. Role Specific Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ What are critical skills of an occupational therapist?
☛ How do you make a difference in people's lives?
☛ What ADL evaluation tools are you familiar with?
☛ How do you keep abreast of new techniques? Is there any recent development you find interesting?
☛ Have you ever worked with groups? Tell me about your experience
☛ What do you need to consider to develop a treatment plan?
30. Operational and Situational Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ How would you handle a client who didn't want to cooperate during a therapy session?
☛ Imagine you have to work with a patient who can't communicate properly with you due to physical condition. How do you overcome this?
☛ If a patient has difficulty moving around the house, what equipment would you consider prescribing? What criteria would you use to make a choice?
☛ Imagine you have to interview a patient to gather necessary health information. Where would you start? How would you proceed?
31. Basic Occupational Therapist Interview Questions:
☛ What are the skills necessary to become an occupational therapist?
☛ What work experience do you have that is relevant to occupational therapy?
☛ What is your opinion on how an occupational therapy team should function?
☛ What do you think are the three most important skills necessary for success in occupational therapy?
☛ What contribution could you make to our team that other applicants cannot?
☛ What do you think the therapist's role would be like in this setting?
☛ What are the factors of effective occupational therapy?
☛ What are the benefits and the challenges for each of these factors?
☛ Describe a time when you delivered a positive experience for the patient.
☛ Tell me a situation where you managed risk effectively, explaining the situation, the opportunity you had to manage successfully, the action you took and the results.
☛ How would you respond to someone who was verbally hostile towards you?
☛ Describe how you address concerns from a frustrated patient or the patient's family.
☛ Tell me about a standardized assessment you have used.
☛ How do you cope with an overwhelming workload?
☛ Do you mind being supervised?
☛ What kind of management style suits your personality and your work style?
☛ Describe what you learned from your previous job.
☛ What is an effective method you have used to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients?
☛ How have you helped coach or mentor someone? What kind of improvement did you observe?
☛ How would you apply new technology or information to your position? How do you stay up-to-date on new technology relevant to occupational therapy?
☛ Do you enjoy working in a rapidly evolving workplace?
☛ Do you deal well with change?
☛ What kind of feedback do you prefer from your supervisor or manager?
☛ How do you balance cooperation with others and independent thinking?
☛ Tell me about an effective health promotion program you developed and/or participated in.
☛ Are you comfortable communicating realistic goals and progress with a patient and his family? Describe a time when you communicated what you believed were realistic goals, and the patient expressed different goals. How did you resolve the differences between your goals and the patient's goals.
☛ Tell me about the most recent seminar you attended.
☛ Does any particular type of patient interest you more than others?
☛ Would you be comfortable supervising assistants and aides?
☛ Describe a particularly difficult challenge that you helped a patient to overcome.
32. Explain and give an example of when you had to deal with a confidentiality issue?
This one is seemingly tricky, but you can turn it around as confidentiality is something which must be dealt with daily so think how this has impacted upon your working.
33. Do you have any questions for us regarding our tasks?
Sometimes the person conducting the interview is less prepared (or even more nervous) than the candidate. They might forget to give you the information you require to know whether you would be a good fit. You want to be sure you are well aware of a typical workday and ask them what kind of person would make their ideal candidate. Asking them about what they're looking for is a great way to assure them that you have those attributes and skills so they are left with a positive lasting impression.
34. Explain what do you see as the main challenges of this post?
This one is seeing if you have actually read the job description but can also be an opportunity to bring up how your weaknesses may impact upon your work - if you do discuss this, make sure you can identify methods to overcome these potential challenges.
35. Explain how do you deal with a difficult patient?
This question is probably the most common and important things that will pop up in most any healthcare-related interview. Be sure to let them know that you're capable of patiently allowing the distressed client to express their feelings as you calmly provide feedback. A relaxed patient is a happy patient.
