Occupational Therapist - Inpatient and Outpatient Pediatrics
Posted Sep 8, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time a parent disagreed with your plan of care for their child. What did you do?
What they are checking: Whether they treat parents as partners and can hold clinical ground without losing the family's trust.
The posting says you'd direct and delegate therapy services. Tell me about a time you supervised an assistant or a student and had to correct their work.
What they are checking: Whether they can supervise COTAs and students clearly and kindly while staying accountable for the care delivered.
Give me an example of a home program you taught a family that actually got used. What made it stick?
What they are checking: Whether they teach in a way busy caregivers can follow, since outpatient progress mostly happens between visits.
How have you worked with speech therapy, PT, nursing or physicians on a shared pediatric patient?
What they are checking: Whether they coordinate across disciplines so the child gets one plan instead of competing ones.
HSHS describes itself as mission driven. What does patient-focused care mean to you on a hard day with a full caseload?
What they are checking: Whether their values show up in concrete habits under pressure, not just in a prepared answer.
What would you do
A child on the inpatient unit is too tired or in too much pain to participate when you arrive. How do you handle the session?
What they are checking: Whether they can modify treatment, coordinate timing with nursing, and document honestly rather than forcing or skipping care.
You notice signs that a child in your clinic may be experiencing neglect. What do you do next?
What they are checking: Whether they know they are a mandated reporter and follow the process without investigating on their own.
About the work
This role covers both inpatient and outpatient pediatrics at St. John's. How does your evaluation of a child change between a hospital bed and a clinic visit?
What they are checking: Whether they can adjust assessment to a sick child's tolerance and setting instead of running the same battery everywhere.
Walk me through how you'd evaluate a toddler referred for feeding difficulties and delayed fine motor skills.
What they are checking: Whether they pick age-appropriate standardized tools and observation, and know when feeding concerns need a swallow study or another discipline.
How do you write goals for a pediatric patient so that both the family and the insurance reviewer understand why therapy is needed?
What they are checking: Whether they write measurable, functional goals that support medical necessity and still make sense to a parent.
Sensory processing comes up a lot in pediatric referrals. How do you decide whether a sensory approach is the right intervention for a specific child?
What they are checking: Whether they reason from evidence and functional goals instead of applying sensory activities by default.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by HSHS.