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OET preparation for nurses and doctors

English for healthcare professionals.

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What you get: The OET programme has 5 modules with 18 lessons (about 4 hours of study), 18 marked practice sets and 5 tests, including 4 full mock tests. Lessons, practice and the free diagnostic test are free with an Al Noor account; the mock tests and marked feedback on writing and speaking come with the full programme, PKR 2,000 for 90 days.

Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

About the test

OET tests English in healthcare settings. Listening (about 40 minutes) and Reading (60 minutes) are the same for every profession; Writing (one letter, usually a referral, written from case notes in 45 minutes) and Speaking (two role-plays, about 20 minutes) are specific to your profession. Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 with a grade: A is 450–500, B is 350–440, C+ is 300–340. Many healthcare regulators ask for grade B in each sub-test.

What you will learn

Start here

How OET works, how it is graded, a six-week plan and how to use the mock tests.

  1. How OET works · 12 min

    Four sub-tests, healthcare settings throughout.

  2. Grades and what regulators ask for · 8 min

    The 0–500 scale and the grades A to E.

  3. A six-week plan, and how to use the mock tests · 10 min

    What to study each week, and how to learn from a mock.

Listening

Consultation notes, workplace extracts and presentations.

  1. Part A: consultation notes · 15 min

    Writing exactly what the patient says, in the gaps the notes leave.

  2. Part A: spelling, numbers and the patient's words · 12 min

    The avoidable ways to lose marks in the notes.

  3. Parts B and C · 15 min

    What changed, what is being asked, and the speaker's view.

  4. Parts B and C: distractors and the speaker's view · 12 min

    Why the wrong options sound right, and how to hear the real answer.

Practice: Listening Part A: consultation notes · Listening Part B: workplace extracts · Listening Part C: a presentation on hand hygiene · Listening Part A: headaches (a second consultation) · Listening Part B: three more workplace extracts · Listening Part C: an interview about delirium

Reading

Fast reading across four texts, workplace extracts, and long articles.

  1. Part A: expeditious reading · 15 min

    Twenty questions, four texts, fifteen minutes.

  2. Part A: the three question types, step by step · 12 min

    Matching, short answers and sentence completion.

  3. Parts B and C · 15 min

    Policies, emails and long professional texts.

  4. Part C: reference, meaning in context and purpose · 12 min

    The question types that are not about facts.

Practice: Reading Part A: hypoglycaemia (expeditious reading) · Reading Part B: workplace texts · Reading Part C: antibiotic stewardship · Reading Part A: dehydration in older adults · Reading Part B: three more workplace texts · Reading Part C: checking that patients understand

Writing

Referral, discharge and transfer letters: purpose, selection, and professional tone.

  1. The referral letter · 15 min

    A layout the reader can act on.

  2. Selecting case notes · 15 min

    What to leave out matters as much as what to include.

  3. Discharge, transfer and advice letters · 12 min

    A different reader and purpose, the same clear structure.

  4. Letter language: tense, the passive and concise sentences · 12 min

    Accurate, clear sentences score better than difficult words.

Practice: Writing: a discharge referral (nursing) · Writing: a referral to a specialist (medicine) · Writing: a transfer letter to a care home (nursing) · Writing: a discharge letter to a GP (medicine)

Speaking

Role-plays: clinical communication as well as language.

  1. Role-plays and the clinical communication criteria · 15 min

    What the assessors listen for, beyond grammar.

  2. A role-play from start to finish · 12 min

    One complete role-play, with the criteria marked as they happen.

  3. Explaining in plain English · 12 min

    Words patients understand, and how to handle difficult moments.

Practice: Speaking: role-plays · Speaking: two more role-plays

Tests and mocks

Questions about OET

What OET grade do I need?

Many healthcare regulators ask for grade B (350 or more) in each sub-test, and some accept C+ in one or more. Requirements differ between countries, professions and years, so check your regulator's current rules.

Is OET the same for nurses and doctors?

Listening and Reading are the same for everyone. Writing and Speaking use situations from your own profession.

Are there OET mock tests?

Yes: two full mock tests in the shape of the real OET — 42 Listening and 42 Reading questions, a letter and two role-plays — each in a nursing and a medicine version. Listening and Reading are marked at once; Writing and Speaking are estimated against the OET criteria until a teacher reviews them. Mock tests come with an enrolment; lessons and practice are free.

How many marks out of 42 do I need for a B?

OET adjusts its grade boundaries slightly for each test, but a B in Listening has typically needed about 30 of the 42 marks. Treat it as a benchmark, not a guarantee.

Start OET today

Create a free Al Noor account to open every lesson and practice set, and take the free diagnostic test to see where to begin.

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Independent preparation — not affiliated with or endorsed by OET.