How to Answer: Tell me about the most successful patient you've had.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Occupational Therapist job interview.
18. Tell me about the most successful patient you've had.
How to Answer
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.
Written by Heather Douglass
Entry Level
"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."
Written by Ryan Brunner
Answer Example
"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."
Written by Heather Douglass
Experienced
"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."
Written by Ryan Brunner