NBCOT Plan

Domain 02: Analysis, Interpretation, and Planning: practice questions

4 original questions · 4 editor-approved · every choice explained.

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Blueprint-mapped questions with full rationales for every choice.

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Domain 02: Analysis, Interpretation, and PlanningDifficulty 3/5

Which goal is written in a measurable, client-centred form?

  1. AClient will tolerate therapy sessions and demonstrate motivation for dressing tasks
  2. BTherapist will provide dressing training and adaptive equipment education each session
  3. CClient will improve upper-extremity strength to increase independence in dressing
  4. DClient will don a pullover shirt with setup assistance in five minutes, four of five sessions
Show answer and rationale

Correct: D. A measurable goal names the occupation, the level of assistance, the condition and the criterion. Strength changes, tolerance and therapist actions are not client-performance outcomes.

  • C — Strength is a component, and 'increase independence' has no criterion.
  • A — Tolerance and motivation are not measurable occupational outcomes.
  • B — This describes what the therapist does, not what the client will achieve.
Domain 02: Analysis, Interpretation, and PlanningDifficulty 3/5

A client with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis wants to continue eating meals with their family. Which intervention approach is most appropriate?

  1. AModify and compensate, using adapted utensils, positioning and energy conservation
  2. BPrevent, by avoiding all self-feeding to reduce the risk of aspiration events
  3. CCreate and promote, by introducing new leisure occupations instead of meals
  4. DEstablish and restore, using progressive resistive exercise for the upper limbs
Show answer and rationale

Correct: A. In a progressive condition, adaptation preserves participation as capacity declines. Restorative strengthening cannot alter the disease course, and withdrawing the occupation removes the client's stated priority.

  • D — Progressive resistive exercise does not restore function in ALS and may cause fatigue.
  • B — Removing the occupation abandons the client's goal rather than supporting it.
  • C — Substituting a different occupation ignores what the client asked for.
Domain 02: Analysis, Interpretation, and PlanningDifficulty 2/5

When should discharge planning begin?

  1. AAt the final session, once the client's outcomes have been measured
  2. BAt the evaluation, because the expected discharge setting shapes the plan
  3. CAt the midpoint of the episode, once progress can be estimated reliably
  4. DWhen the payer requests a discharge date for authorisation purposes
Show answer and rationale

Correct: B. The expected discharge environment determines which occupations and skills are worth training, so it belongs in the plan from the evaluation onward.

  • C — Waiting until midpoint wastes sessions on skills that may not transfer.
  • D — Payer timing is administrative rather than clinical.
  • A — Planning at the end leaves no time to train what the environment requires.
Domain 02: Analysis, Interpretation, and PlanningDifficulty 3/5

After three weeks of intervention the data show no progress toward a goal, and treatment integrity is high. What should the OTR do?

  1. ADischarge the client, because the lack of progress indicates no potential
  2. BIncrease session frequency while keeping the same intervention approach
  3. CContinue the plan unchanged, because occupational change takes time
  4. DModify the plan, changing the approach or the goal based on the data
Show answer and rationale

Correct: D. When the plan is being delivered as written and the data show no change, the plan itself is what needs to change — the approach, the grading or the goal.

  • C — Continuing an approach the data contradicts wastes the episode.
  • A — Lack of progress with one approach does not establish absence of potential.
  • B — More of an ineffective intervention is still ineffective.

Primary references

  1. Certification Exam Handbook (2025) — National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) · primary · retrieved 2026-09-22, verified 2026-09-22