How to Answer: 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?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Occupational Therapist job interview.
17. 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?
How to Answer
Be open and honest with your experience on this question. If you have had experience here, talk about how you worked with that particular patient and how you effectively communicated. If you haven't had direct experience working with a non-verbal patient, talk about how you would work with them.
Written by Heather Douglass
Entry Level
"I haven't had the opportunity to work directly with a patient that was non-verbal due to a physical condition. But, I have received extensive training on the use of technology like communication boards and hand gesturing with patients. If it came down to it, simple pen and paper would work as well as long as the patient was capable to do this."
Written by Ryan Brunner
Answer Example
"In my current role, I worked with a patient suffering from aphasia. The patient had a stroke and was unable to verbal communicate upon being admitted. Working with our speech language pathologist, I was able to use a communication board with the patient and they were very receptive to doing to. The arrangement worked out very well and I was in a good place working with a great SLP."
Written by Heather Douglass
Experienced
"In my current role, I have worked with a couple of patients that were diagnosed with ALS that lost their ability to communicate verbally. With these patients, it was vital that I consult with our Speech Language Pathologist to assess the patients needs first. After that, in both cases, the patients were given the ability to communicate with computer aided devices. As their Occupational Therapist, it was important for me to be trained on the device that each patient was using so I could effectively communicate with them moving forward."
Written by Ryan Brunner