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Occupational Therapist interview questions and answers

These Occupational Therapist interview questions will help you explore the candidate’s experience and skills to find the best among them.

Nikoletta Bika
Nikoletta Bika

Nikoletta holds an MSc in HR management and has written extensively about all things HR and recruiting.

occupational therapist interview questions



Occupational Therapist Interview Questions

Occupational therapists can become indispensable in the lives of people with different types of disorders, injuries or illnesses. They may be found in therapy offices, hospitals and other health care facilities or schools.

License to practice this profession is mandatory. A  graduate degree is common in many places. The completion of occupational therapy degrees often involves a substantial amount of fieldwork. If you need someone with greater experience, place emphasis on the setting and types of impairments they’ve worked with.

Occupational therapists should be fully aware of the importance of their profession as well as the skills needed to excel in it. They should be ready to talk about modern techniques of their field and past experiences that made them better at what they do. Due to working closely with sensitive groups of people, they should emit positivity and dedication to their work. Excellent communication skills, patience, compassion and professionalism should always be found in occupational therapists.

Use the following questions as a guide during the interview. It’d be a good idea to add questions pertaining to your company and clients you usually deal with. The best candidates will have done their research and will ask smart questions.

Operational and Situational 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?

Role-specific 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?

Behavioral 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?
Ready to fine-tune this interview kit?
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