You must ensure that you listen to the patient. In order to respond to the patient appropriately, you need to listen carefully and clarify anything that you do not understand. Don’t be afraid to ask further questions or for clarification using professional and appropriate language. Effective and appropriate communication is key in this test, and you will need to adjust your language, tone and intonation to the scenario. For example, you would need to address a depressed 90 year old woman in a different way to an aggressive 18 year old man. Be confident. Every now and again, the conversation may take an unexpected turn. This is to see how flexible you are in your thinking and language. For example, the interlocutor may ask a question like, ‘What’s the phone number for the occupational therapist?’ don’t panic! Think – on your feet as you would do at work- so, you could give a phone number of say, will give you the number after our consultation.’ ‘I Remember OET is a test of your English not your healthcare knowledge. Candidates often get anxious about how familiar they will be with the topic of their role plays. The speaking test is profession specific but can cover any part of your profession. This means the topic of the role play may not be something you commonly discuss in your work. However, don’t let this affect your confidence. You respond to unanticipated situations every day at work; you can definitely deal with the role plays! The key is to remember that you are trying to demonstrate your communication skills in English. Good preparation is always recommended but once you are in the test, focus on communication rather than healthcare accuracy. In the test, you can invent details about the role play situation or treatment without penalty. For example, if you are discussing treatment for conjunctivitis with the parent of a child with the condition and one of the tasks is explain how the parent can avoid the infection spreading, you could mention: preventing the child touching the eye area, washing hands before and after bathing the eye/ applying ointment. However, you could also tell the parent that the child should wear swimming goggles to prevent the infection spreading to the other eye. Ludicrous?
You must ensure that you listen to the patient. In order to respond to the patient appropriately, you need to listen carefully and clarify anything that you do not understand. Don’t be afraid to ask further questions or for clarification using professional and appropriate language. Effective and appropriate communication is key in this test, and you will need to adjust your language, tone and intonation to the scenario. For example, you would need to address a depressed 90 year old woman in a different way to an aggressive 18 year old man. Be confident. Every now and again, the conversation may take an unexpected turn. This is to see how flexible you are in your thinking and language. For example, the interlocutor may ask a question like, ‘What’s the phone number for the occupational therapist?’ – don’t panic! Think on your feet as you would do at work- so, you could give a phone number of say, ‘I will give you the number after our consultation.’ Remember OET is a test of your English not your healthcare knowledge. Candidates often get anxious about how familiar they will be with the topic of their role plays. The speaking test is profession specific but can cover any part of your profession. This means the topic of the role play may not be something you commonly discuss in your work. However, don’t let this affect your confidence. You respond to unanticipated situations every day at work; you can definitely deal with the role plays! The key is to remember that you are trying to demonstrate your communication skills in English. Good preparation is always recommended but once you are in the test, focus on communication rather than healthcare accuracy. In the test, you can invent details about the role play situation or treatment without penalty. For example, if you are discussing treatment for conjunctivitis with the parent of a child with the condition and one of the tasks is explain how the parent can avoid the infection spreading, you could mention: preventing the child touching the eye area, washing hands before and after bathing the eye/ applying ointment. However, you could also tell the parent that the child should wear swimming goggles to prevent the infection spreading to the other eye. Ludicrous?