OET syllabus

English test for 12 healthcare professions. Four sub-tests, each scored from 0 to 500 with a letter grade from A to E. No overall score.

OET Medicine

Listening

42 questions, one mark each · About 40 minutes

The same Listening paper is used for every profession. On paper there are two minutes at the end to check all three parts. On computer and OET@Home there is a short pause after questions instead. Part A answers must use the words heard, not a paraphrase.

  • Part A: two health-professional and patient consultations, about 4 to 5 minutes each, 12 note-completion questions each (24 marks). A word or short phrase from the recording; each recording is heard once.
  • Part B: six short workplace extracts, about 45 seconds each, one 3-option multiple-choice question each (6 marks).
  • Part C: two presentations or interviews, about 4 to 5 minutes each, six 3-option multiple-choice questions each (12 marks).

Reading

42 questions, one mark each · 60 minutes

The same Reading paper is used for every profession. Spelling must match the text; British and American spelling variants are both accepted. The number of matching questions in Part A is usually between 5 and 7; the rest of the 20 are short answer and sentence completion.

  • Part A (15 minutes, then the materials are collected): four short texts on one health topic and 20 questions. Matching (which text), short answer, and sentence completion. Answers must copy the wording of the texts.
  • Part B: six short workplace texts, about 100 to 140 words, one 3-option multiple-choice question each (6 marks).
  • Part C: two longer texts, about 800 words, eight 4-option multiple-choice questions each (16 marks), following the order of the text.
  • Parts B and C share 45 minutes after Part A.

Writing (Medicine)

1 letter · 45 minutes

Five minutes to read the case notes, then 40 minutes to write; the notes stay available during the writing time. Two assessors mark six criteria: Purpose (0 to 3), and Content, Conciseness and clarity, Genre and style, Organisation and layout, and Language (each 0 to 7). There is no automatic penalty for writing outside 180 to 200 words. A grade B (350) is described as about 2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for the other criteria.

  • A letter for a medicine workplace, usually a referral, and sometimes a transfer, a discharge, or a letter to advise or inform a patient, carer or group. Case notes are supplied. The task is designed for about 180 to 200 words.

Speaking (Medicine)

2 role-plays · About 20 minutes

The interlocutor does not mark the test. Two assessors mark the recording. Linguistic criteria (intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness, resources of grammar and expression) are each out of 6. Clinical communication criteria (relationship building, the patient's perspective, structure, information gathering, information giving) are each out of 3. A grade B is described as mostly 5 out of 6 on the linguistic criteria and 2 out of 3 on the clinical criteria. There is no penalty for not covering every point on the card.

  • A short warm-up that is not assessed.
  • Two role-plays. The candidate is the doctor. The interlocutor is a patient, client, relative or carer. Three minutes to read the card before each role-play, then about five minutes of conversation.

OET Nursing

Listening

42 questions, one mark each · About 40 minutes

Not a separate nursing paper.

  • The same Listening paper as Medicine and the other professions: Part A two consultations (24 note-completion questions), Part B six short extracts (6 three-option questions), Part C two longer recordings (12 three-option questions).

Reading

42 questions, one mark each · 60 minutes

Not a separate nursing paper.

  • The same Reading paper as Medicine: Part A 20 questions in 15 minutes, Part B six short workplace texts, Part C two longer texts with eight 4-option questions each. Parts B and C share 45 minutes.

Writing (Nursing)

1 letter · 45 minutes

Same six criteria and the same 5 minutes of reading time plus 40 minutes of writing as Medicine. The Nursing practice test on this site has a nursing discharge letter, and the practice pool has two more nursing letters.

  • One letter a nurse would write from case notes: usually a referral, transfer or discharge, or a letter advising or informing a patient, carer or group. About 180 to 200 words. The case notes and the reader are nursing-specific, not the medicine letter.

Speaking (Nursing)

2 role-plays · About 20 minutes

Same linguistic and clinical communication criteria as Medicine. The cards are nursing scenarios. The Nursing practice test on this site has two nurse role-plays, and the practice pool has two more.

  • An unassessed warm-up, then two role-plays in which the candidate is the nurse and the interlocutor is a patient, client, relative or carer. Three minutes to prepare and about five minutes to speak, for each role-play.