Activity Director Mock Interview
Practice 35 Activity Director interview questions covering program design, resident engagement, and team leadership.
Question 13 of 35
When have you had a problem with caregivers obstructing your activities? How did you work with them to ensure the residents were able to participate?
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Example Answer
Community Answers
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
There are many situations where caregivers may obstruct your activities. It might be a spouse who is the caregiver and does not want their significant other making new friends, a caregiver who feels that the resident is not mentally or physically capable of participating in activities, or someone who feels the activities are not relevant. If you have ever had a caregiver obstruct your activities, explain the situation and describe how you worked with them. If you have never encountered this, explain that this has not been a problem and tell the interviewer how you would handle this situation if it happened.
Krista Wenz has been on thousands of interview panels hiring EMS professionals and firefighters for public and private agencies.
"I have only ever had this happen to me once in my career. I was working at a retirement home, and a resident had early-onset dementia. I had cognitive activities planned that would help her, but her husband refused to let her participate. I asked her husband why he would not let her participate, and he felt what I had planned was 'childish.' He had a hard time accepting his wife was losing cognitive ability. I patiently explained what was going on with his wife's brain and that I was only trying to keep her brain stimulated. I asked if he had any suggestions about what his wife might like that did not seem so 'childish' to him, and he suggested word games since she liked crossword puzzles. I created new activities for her based on his input, and he was more accepting of her participation."
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Anonymous Answer
I actually have never encountered this issue. The caregivers, office staff, and visiting family members at our facility were always ready to help and encourage the residents to participate. Many staff even helped me to give reminders to the residents that an activity was coming up so that they could participate. If I did encounter this issue, I would talk with the caregiver to discover what the roadblock was, try to work around it, and welcome their suggestions as to what the resident might enjoy better.
Marcie's Feedback
Great response! It's always good to talk about past employers and colleagues in a positive light, which you've done here. It reflects well on you. It's also fantastic that you've directly answered the question even though it's more of a hypothetical response. Consider giving more details about how you would talk to the caregiver (privately? calmly?) to further build out your answer.
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