Community hospital work as OT/AHP advice. Advice please x

[Iwantanewjob]

Name changed for this post.

I am an occupational therapist. Currently work in social care. I quitee like the actual job but culturally i feel like a square peg in a round hole.- been qualified for 4 years and would like progression now... to get to next level here I would need to do a year long portfolio and I as im not keen on the culture I think it's time to move on. I have applied for B6 in NHs- a community hospital.

I would like to do as well as I can if invited to interview (it closed a couple of days ago). I have not worked or set foot in a community hospital before (have worked in acute hospital and liked it) . If I am offered an interverview is it reasonable to ask to pop in to meet the team? See the ward? Or is that a no go? Or is that more likely to be something I would do after interview? I just feel like there will be b5s with experience of community hospital who will have a better chance than me so id like yo understand exactly what the job is before interview.

Any other tips? Last interview as OT was newly qualified so different set of questions.

Hi op good luck with interview, I worked in community ward and district,

You might be ward based Monday but community Tuesday, not everyone on the ward needs a ot or physio, might be 3 pts Monday or 2 Wednesday so then you'll be in community, ti are generic so work across both therapist,

In community you carry your own case load , you work in a team so lots of support there , most visits were doubles, with another therapist or TI, or even a nurse, they all work together in community, we had ' HUBS' so restbite beds in community we would visit besides clients homes, you need to drive tho op,

morning start with a meeting to decide who's doing what,
Community is very busy as hospital will DC to community to free up beds,

Our service went to 7 days so weekends and lates , so 5 days over 7, lates were 10am till 8pm my be once aweek, your job might be different tho as hours ,

As to your question, I don't think you will get to meet team or look around until they offer you the post,

If they do you'll be fully supported op,

Some questions that might come up,
Loan worker- what would you do in an emergency?? Remember you'll have senior staff for support, and report back to, team lead, manager, senior nurses to hand,

Safeguarding- speaking to senior members of the team re- Safeguarding issues, either client, clients husband, children in the home,

Client- you have one that's just not progressing, or declines visits frequently, how do you address this, ,

You liaise with multiple agencies on behalf of the patients,

Your coming from acute op that's great, thats on your side, don't worry about that,

Good luck hope you get an interview op you'll love it once you settle in, honestly best team I ever work with,

Jeez, the spelling in previous…

OP, you can absolutely visit before interview or applying, it’s a good way to have a feel for the place and whether it’s a good fit.

Ah thank you both this is very reassuring.
Think I'll wait to see if I get an interview before asking to pop in - might be a bit awkward.

Yes, you can definitely ask to visit prior to interview,.
For a Band 6 interview think about the responsibilities of the role, mainly clinical, but also some supervisory responsibilities. Consider the whole team in your responses and focus on what you can offer to patients and the team.
As a community OT you are probably focusing on equipment and adaptations, a hospital Ot will do some equipment but should also be focusing on ADL and safe discharges, referring on for rehab at home. Consider mental capacity, best interest decisions.
Think about what you can offer to the team, you will have different skills to others, this is a positive. Also be honest about what you will need, where your skills gaps are, what do you need to learn.
Study the job description and person specification before the interview, think about how you can show you meet the skills needed in the job spec and try to bring these into the interview.
Hopefully this is helpful, be yourself at interview, if they don't want you when you are being yourself, it's not the job for you.
Fingers crossed you are successful at interview, but if not, see it as a learning experience, ready for the next one. Ask for feedback.

Definitely fine to visit before interview or even before putting in your application. It’s usually encouraged.

Is the job part of a frailty service? If so I’d read up on the frailty standards and pathways.
As well as the suggestions from PPs you could also be asked questions around staff supervision, clinical scenarios so have a few cases ready to apply to different scenarios, recent research paper you’ve read and how you’ve applied it to your practice, acting on or giving constructive feedback.

Good luck