Occupational Therapist Mock Interview

Practice 33 Occupational Therapist interview questions covering clinical scenarios, treatment planning, and patient-centered care.

Question 1 of 33

Tell me about the most successful patient you've had.

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Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"During my internship as an Occupational Therapist in an acute care setting in a large hospital, I was exposed to a wide variety of patients. For one particular stroke patient, my supervising therapist and I developed a home program for the patient to be able to take of themselves in the home environment after the patient was discharged. Based on feedback we received from the home health team in the hospital, the plan was successful right off the bat and this was a huge boost to my confidence as an OT."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"Looking back over my career, I have always been confident in my abilities as an Occupational Therapist. I consider my biggest wins to have come from a mental or emotional perspective with patients while having a great physical outcome as well. One particular patient had come our facility after a bad car accident where she was left with two broken legs. Being a very active person that participate in triathlons, the lady came to us in a very sad state. Upon first talking with her, she feared she would never be able to participate in triathlons or bike races ever again. Knowing that her initial surgeries went well, myself and her physical therapist kept a very positive attitude with her and worked with her during therapies until discharge. Right away, she was able to return to work in full capacity. After rehabbing further, she was back on her bike, running and swimming in no time and she was extremely thankful for the work we had done with her to get her back to her passions in life."

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

The interviewer is asking this question to hear more about your passion as an Occupational Therapist. This patient may not necessarily be the one who had the best outcome but might be the person who had the most impact on you. Start off by providing a brief overview of why the patient was seeing you and outline how you were assisting the patient. Next, discuss the successful outcome of the patient defining what made the patient a success in your mind. Finally, mention the positive impact that patient had on you as an OT and how you hope to be able to assist many other patients in the future to achieve the same level of success.

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

"The most memorable patient from my career was a man that had a leg amputated that I worked with. Upon my first visits with him, he displayed a complete sadness and poor attitude about life due to his new disability. By taking an empathetic approach, I was able to slowly walk him through his therapy to be able to walk with the aide of a prosthetic leg and return to work within a short amount of time. Seeing him walk again and start doing all of the things that he loved about life brought a smile to both of our faces."

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33Occupational Therapist Interview Questions & Answers

1.Tell me about the most successful patient you've had.

2.Are you comfortable interviewing patients to gather health information?

3.How would you treat a patient with sleep dysfunction?

4.What are a few ways you would help an adult experiencing stress?

5.What strengths or special skills will you bring to this position?

6.Have you applied with any other facilities?

7.Have you worked with patients that have suffered a stroke?

8.Do you have specialized training in driver rehabilitation?

9.What type of chronic conditions have you helped your patients monitor?

10.Where are you most comfortable providing therapy?

11.How do you help your clients suffering from Arthritis?

12.How do you validate the client's pain and work to establish trust?

13.How are your administrative skills?

14.What do you do in your spare time?

15.How did you learn about this position?

16.What is your ideal work environment?

17.How do you handle criticism?

18.What is your favorite type of patient?

19.How would your coworkers describe you?

20.How would your current supervisor describe you?

21.How would your patients describe you?

22.Are you experienced at hiring clinic staff? Is this a responsibility you are comfortable with?

23.What experience do you have helping your patients work through Mental Health challenges?

24.Why did you pursue a career as an Occupational Therapist?

25.Talk about the most difficult patient that you had to work with. What made them difficult and how did you handle the situation?

26.How do you keep yourself organized on the on the job when the work day or week gets hectic?

27.Have you ever disagreed with a decision or process change made by upper management? How did you handle that situation?

28.What are some unique skills that you think you can bring to our team that set you apart from your competition for this position?

29.Talk about a time you had to be innovative or use a new method or technology to help a patient. What made the situation innovative?

30.How do you best communicate goals with your patients and, when necessary, their families?

31.Have you specialized in the field throughout your career or are you looking to specialize?

32.What types of patient assessments have you worked with in your work history?

33.Have you ever had to work with a patient that couldn't communicate verbally due a physical condition? How did you effectively work with that patient?