Occupational Therapy (university interview): NHS Interview Questions
university applicant
Occupational therapy degree interviews are values-based, and many universities run them as a multiple mini interview (MMI) — several short stations rather than one long conversation. You are not expected to have clinical experience. What is assessed is whether you understand what occupational therapy actually is, why you want to do it, and whether you can reflect honestly on what you have seen in voluntary work, a part-time job, or caring for someone.
For the full picture, see our complete bank of NHS interview questions and answers with worked STAR examples and the STAR method explained.
Care and Compassion
Panels listen for: Listen for warmth and empathy: kindness, a person-centred approach, putting people at ease, treating people with dignity, listening properly, reassuring the anxious, and standing up for those who need it. Good answers sound human — "I could see they were frightened, so I…", "I wanted to reassure them", "I made time to listen" — and show awareness of how colleagues cope under pressure.
- What does showing care and compassion mean to you day to day?
- Describe a time you showed genuine compassion to someone, at home or at work.
- Tell me about an occasion when you saw someone treated without care or compassion, and how you responded.
- Describe a time you helped a colleague provide caring, compassionate support to someone.
Communication
Panels listen for: Listen for a willingness to listen first and check they have understood, an awareness of the other person's perspective and how they are reacting, and a clear sense of the candidate's own contribution and the difference it made.
- How do you know when family, patients, relatives or colleagues have actually understood you?
- Talk me through a time you dealt with someone who was angry or confrontational.
- Tell me about a time you worked with someone you found difficult to deal with.
- Give an example of how you share what you know to help other people.
Personal and People Development
Panels listen for: Listen for self-awareness about their own development needs, a genuine habit of seeking and acting on feedback, real care for helping others grow, and an understanding that what gets measured gets done.
- Tell me about the most recent thing you learned.
- How have you kept your skills up to date lately?
- What have you done recently to take ownership of your own development?
- What development activities have you taken part in over the last few months?
Equality and Diversity
Panels listen for: Listen for genuine warmth towards people from all walks of life, an appreciation of what diversity brings, the courage to hold to their values under pressure, and a willingness to keep learning and separate fact from prejudice.
- What do equality and diversity mean to you?
- Give an example of a time you supported someone's equality or diversity needs.
- Talk me through a time you saw poor behaviour around equality or diversity.
- What would you say your own responsibilities are when it comes to equality and diversity?
Practice Occupational Therapy (university interview) questions with feedback
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