What is OET?

OET (Occupational English Test) is the English language test for healthcare professionals who wish to practice and register in an English-speaking environment.

Who recognizes OET?

OET is recognized by regulatory healthcare boards and councils in Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, Ireland, Dubai, Singapore, Namibia and Ukraine.

For more information, go to this page

OET Format :

The test comprises of Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking sections.

Listening :

The Listening sub-test consists of three parts, and a total of 42 question items. The topics are of generic healthcare interest and accessible to candidates across all professions.

The total length of the Listening audio is about 40 minutes, including recorded speech and pauses to allow you time to write your answers. You will hear each recording once and are expected to write your answers while listening.

Part A – Consultation extracts (5 minutes each)

Part A assesses candidates’ ability to identify specific information during a consultation. They are required to listen to two recorded health professional-patient consultations and complete the health professional’s notes using the information they hear.

Part B – Short Workplace extracts (1 minute each)

Part B assesses candidates’ ability to identify the detail, gist, opinion or purpose of short extracts from the healthcare workplace. They are required to listen to six recorded extracts (e.g. team briefings, handovers, or health professional-patient dialogues) and answer one multiple-choice question for each extract.

Part C – Presentation extracts (5minutes each)

Part C assesses candidates’ ability to follow a recorded presentation or interview on a range of accessible healthcare topics. They are required to listen to two different extracts and answer six multiple-choice questions for each extract.

Reading

The reading section tests your reading and understanding ability on health-related subjects.

Candidates are required to demonstrate that they can read and understand different types of text on health-related subjects.

Part A – expeditious reading task (15 minutes)

Part A assesses candidates’ ability to locate specific information from four short texts in a quick and efficient manner.

The four short texts relate to a single healthcare topic, and they must answer 20 questions in the allocated time period. The 20 questions consist of matching, sentence completion and short answer questions.

Part B and Part C – careful reading tasks (45 minutes)

Part B assesses candidates’ ability to identify the detail, gist or main point of six short texts sourced from the healthcare workplace (100-150 words each).

The texts might consist of extracts from policy documents, hospital guidelines, manuals or internal communications, such as emails or memos. For each text, there is one three-option multiple-choice question.

Part C assesses candidates’ ability to identify detailed meaning and opinion in two texts on topics of interest to healthcare professionals (800 words each). For each text, candidates must answer eight four-option multiple choice questions.

Writing

The task is to write a letter, usually a referral letter. Sometimes, especially for some professions, a different type of letter is required: e.g. a letter of transfer or discharge, or a letter to advise or inform a patient, carer, or group.

Speaking

The Speaking sub-test is delivered individually and the candidate takes part in two role-plays. In each role-play, the candidate takes his or her professional role (for example, as a nurse or as a pharmacist) while the interlocutor plays a patient, a client, or a patient’s relative or carer. For veterinary science, the interlocutor is the owner or carer of the animal.

For more information, check the official website.

OET Scoring :

For each of the four sub-tests that make up OET, candidates receive a numerical score from 0-500 in 10-point increments e.g. 350. The numeric score is mapped to a separate letter grade, ranging from A (highest) to E (lowest). There is no overall grade for OET.