How to Prepare for the OET: A Practical Guide for Doctors and Nurses

The exam consists of four parts:

👂 Listening — approximately 40 minutes (42 questions)

• Part A (15 minutes): Two short consultations with patients. You need to take notes on key points. 24 questions in total.
• Part B (10 minutes): Six short recordings from a clinical setting (e.g. shift handover, verbal instructions, patient discussion). One question for each. Format: multiple choice.
• Part C (15 minutes): Two longer extracts (e.g. doctor interviews or lecture fragments). Six questions each, multiple choice.

📖 Reading — 60 minutes (42 questions)

• Part A (15 minutes): Four short texts, 20 quick questions. Tests your ability to locate information quickly.
• Part B (10 minutes): Six professional texts (e.g. guidelines, policies, internal documents). One question per text.
• Part C (35–45 minutes): Two long texts with eight questions each. Focuses on understanding meaning, arguments, and tone.

📝 Writing — 45 minutes
One task: you need to write a letter — usually a referral, but it could also be a discharge summary, transfer letter, etc.
You’re given clinical notes from which you need to extract the key information and present it clearly and professionally.
Assessment criteria: purpose, content selection and organization, conciseness, tone, and grammar.

🗣️ Speaking — approximately 20 minutes
Two role-plays, each 5 minutes long, with 3 minutes of preparation time before each.
You play the role of a doctor. The interlocutor plays a patient or their relative.

• You are assessed on your ability to structure the conversation, show empathy, explain the diagnosis and treatment plan, and ensure understanding

To pass the OET, knowing English in general is not enough. The exam tests professional communication, and you need to prepare for that specifically. Here’s a clear strategy that will help you cover all parts of the test.

1. Speaking: practice typical scenarios

• Train with real role-play templates (consultation, follow-up, explaining a procedure, breaking bad news).
• Record yourself. Compare with examples from the official OET website.
• Master useful phrases like:

— “Let me explain what’s happening…”
— “I can understand why you’re worried.”
— “Before we continue, may I ask a few more questions?”

2. Writing: learn to extract the key points from case notes

• Don’t rewrite everything. Your task is to include only clinically relevant information for the reader.
• Use this structure: introduction → reason for referral → important details → recommendations.
• Analyze real sample letters from the official website and understand what makes them effective (or not).

Training tip: take case notes, give yourself 5 minutes to analyze and 30 minutes to write. Then compare with a sample.

3. Reading: build speed and intuitionIn

• Part A, you must navigate the text instantly. Practice with a timer.
• In Parts B and C, don’t just read for facts — focus on interpreting the writer’s tone, purpose, and implied meaning.
• Use sites like NICE, NHS, and UpToDate to develop “fast reading” skills for clinical information.

4. Listening: train your clinical ear

• Start with short clips: handovers, patient instructions, interviews.
• Then move on to longer materials: lectures, podcasts, case presentations.
• Listen twice: first for general meaning, then for key details.

If you’re preparing for the OET, it’s not enough to “brush up on medical English.” You need to practice real clinical scenarios. That’s what will build the confidence and communication skills required for the test — and for your job.