What is OET Test?

The OET test is designed to evaluate the English language proficiency of healthcare professionals who are looking to register and practice in an English-speaking setting. The full form of OET is Occupational English Test.

Healthcare Professions:

The OET test offers versions for 12 different healthcare professions:

1. Dentistry
2. Medicine
3. Nursing
4. Dietetics
5. Occupational therapy
6. Pharmacy
7. Physiotherapy
8. Optometry
9. Radiography
10. Podiatry
11. Speech pathology
12. Veterinary science

Test Delivery Modes:

There are three delivery modes for OET test:

1. Paper-based OET test
2. Computer-based OET test
3. OET@Home

Paper-based OET Test:

You have the option to schedule your test up to 24 days in advance. Plus, if you prefer taking tests on Fridays or Saturdays, you’re in luck! These days are available during each test administration. You can get the results after 17 days.

Computer-based OET Test:

You can book your computer-based OET test seven days before the test day, and make your test booked from Mondays to Saturdays during every test administration. The result of computer-based OET exam can be received in just 10 days.

OET@Home:

You can book this test seven days before the test day, and test booking needs to be done from Mondays to Saturdays during each exam administration. You can receive the test results in just 10 days.

Listening:

The duration of the listening sub-test is about 40 minutes. It consists of three sections and 42 questions. The test topics are related to the general healthcare interest and candidates across all the countries and professions can access these topics.

The listening section consists of three parts:

Part A: Consultation Extracts

Each extract is of 5 minutes. The candidates need to listen to two recorded consultations going on between the health-care professional and patient. The candidates have to complete the health representative’s notes from the information that you hear on the recording.

Part B: Short Workplace Extracts

Each extract is of 1 minute. The candidates need to listen to the 6 recordings (such as team conversations, handovers, or health professional-patient talk) and they need to answer one multiple choice question for each extract.

Part C: Presentation or Interview Extracts

Each extract is of 5 minutes. The candidates need to listen to the two different extracts and answer 6 multiple choice questions for every extract.

This sub-test is specifically designed to assess a variety of skills. It aims to evaluate your ability to identify specific information, details, the main idea, opinions, and the speaker’s purpose. To do this, you will be given note-completion tasks and multiple-choice questions.

Qualified assessors meticulously review and mark your responses, following a well-defined marking guide. This ensures that your answers are thoroughly evaluated and assessed for accuracy. Part B and Part C answers are scanned by a computer and scored automatically.

Reading:

The sub-test of reading is composed of three sections, containing 42 questions and the time duration is approximately 60 minutes. The test topics are related to the general healthcare interest and candidates across all the countries and professions can access these topics.

Part A: Expeditious Reading Task

The task time duration is 15 minutes. The candidates need to read four short texts that are regarding a single healthcare topic, and answer 20 column matching, sentence completion, and short questions.

Part B: Short Workplace Extracts

The candidates need to read six extracts related to the topics like policy documents, hospital guidelines, manuals, and internal communications, and answer one multiple question for every extract.

Part C: Longer Articles

The candidates need to read two articles that are relevant to the theme of texts read by the healthcare professionals for their professional growth and answer total eight multiple-choice questions for each text.

The time duration for part b and part c is collectively 45 minutes.

This sub-test will assess a variety of important reading abilities. From skimming and scanning to identifying details, main points, and implied meanings, you’ll need to be on your game. The questions will come in different formats, including matching, sentence completion, short answer, and multiple-choice. To evaluate OET Reading Part A, qualified assessors meticulously review and mark your responses, following a well-defined marking guide. This ensures that your answers are thoroughly evaluated and assessed with utmost accuracy. Part B and Part C answers are scanned by a computer and scored automatically.

Writing

The time duration of writing module is 45 minutes and is particularly relevant to the profession.  In every profession, there is a specific task assigned that aligns with the unique workplace situations and requirements of that profession. For instance, nurses are responsible for completing tasks related to nursing, while dentists focus on tasks specific to dentistry, and so forth.

The candidates need to write a letter, mostly it is a referral letter. However, some other types of letters are also there according to the requirements of different professions, such as the letter of transfer, a discharge letter, a letter advising or informing a patient, caregiver, or a group, or it can be a letter in response to a complaint. There is a time of 5 minutes to read the case notes and other relevant documents. The candidates will be given 40 minutes time to write the letter.

The writing sub-test evaluates the six criteria. The team of qualified assessors meticulously double-mark each response, following the assessment criteria to ensure fairness and accuracy.

Speaking

The speaking sub-test is of 20 minutes and is relevant to the profession. There are two tasks based on role-play activities designed on particular workplace scenarios. In every role-play activity, the candidate assumes the role of a professional e.g. as a nurse or as a pharmacist, while the examiner assumes the role of a patient, a client, or a patient’s relative or caregiver.

In case of veterinary science tests, the examiner takes the role of the animal’s owner or a caregiver.

There are two role-play activities in the test. Before starting the test, there is a warm-up conversation between the test taker and the examiner. In each role-play, there are three minutes to read the role-play card and five minutes time to role-play the task points.

The examiner and the test taker role play cards consist of the same background information about the situation of role-play and prompts to carry on the talk for five minutes.

The Speaking sub-test is specifically designed to assess four linguistic criteria and five clinical communication criteria. Interlocutors diligently record role plays, ensuring that every detail is captured. These recordings are then carefully evaluated by qualified assessors who meticulously assess them based on the established criteria. The thoroughness of this process guarantees accurate and reliable assessments. Assessment is not influenced by the interlocutor.

Concluding Remarks:

This article discusses in detail the OET test, the professions for OET test, sections of the OET exam and the detail of all the sub tests.