What is asked in an OET exam?
By Gemma Raw
There are four sub-tests that make up the Occupational English Test (OET).
As an international health and social care professional, you can take the OET in separate sittings (no more than six months apart). Within each sitting, you’ll need to answer questions that are split into four sections, including:
Listening
Reading
Writing
Speaking
The aim of the OET is to assess your English language communication skills so that you can register and practice in the UK and other OET-recognised English-speaking countries.
What’s asked in the OET Listening Test?
In the OET listening test, you’ll be asked to listen to patient consultations and give the correct answers to a series of questions.
The test usually takes around 45 minutes and has three parts. In each part, you’ll hear several different extracts. You’ll only hear the extract once, so you must listen carefully. Helpfully, you’ll have two minutes to check your answers at the end of the test. The questions are not designed to evaluate your clinical knowledge. Rather, their purpose is to check that you can accurately listen to and understand what is being said.
What will I be asked in the OET Reading Test?
As with the listening test, the OET reading test is divided into three parts, with 42 questions. The entire test should take about one hour to complete, and the topics are always generic healthcare questions.
Top Tip: There are plenty of free OET reading tests you can access online.
What does the written OET test involve?
The written OET test is specific to your profession. So, if you’re an international nurse, you’ll only be asked to write something that’s relevant to nursing. Normally, the written task involves you writing a referral letter. Although, for some professions, a different type of letter may be asked for. To help you complete the task, you’ll be given clear instructions and other materials (case notes and other documents) that you can use to form your written response. Your performance will be scored across six criteria.
How does the speaking part of the OET exam work?
The speaking sub-test is tailored to your chosen profession, will take around 20 minutes and is role-play based. In each role-play scenario, you play the role of the health or social care professional (e.g., the social worker or nurse) while the other person plays the role of a patient, client, relative or carer. Each role-play lasts just five minutes and is designed to accurately reflect situations you may come across within the workplace.
During the test, the role-play conversations are recorded, and the audio files are sent to the OET assessors who score your performance.
Top Tip: Helpfully, the OET has published a speaking checklist and glossary so that you can be clear on what assessors will be looking for.
Make sure you prepare for your OET exams.
For more information about overseas worker requirements, please read our collection of blogs.
