OET 2.

0 PRACTICE
TESTS
MEDICINE - SPEAKING

HP
Practice
Test 1.

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT You are 45 and recovering from a mild heart attack two weeks ago. You
were discharged from hospital four days ago. You are unsure how much
physical activity is appropriate and are seriously worried that the heart
attack has left you dramatically weakened. You fear that any physical
activity such as walking, gardening or swimming might bring on another
heart attack. The doctors have told you that another episode may be
more severe than the first.
TASK  Explain your tiredness to the doctor and express your concern
about your future.
 Ask how much physical activity is advisable. Admit your fear that
any physical activity may provoke a relapse.
 Ask when you can return to work (you are an office worker sitting
at a desk all your day) and whether the condition will make you an
invalid for the rest of your life.
 What can you do to reduce the risk of further attacks?

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT This 45-year-old patient is attending the practice after suffering a mild
anterior acute myocardial infarct two weeks ago. Recovery was
uncomplicated, and the patient was discharged from hospital four days
ago. He/she is now very concerned about the long-term progress of
recovery.
TASK  Find out what is worrying the patient and be reassuring. Some
fatigue is to be expected; it usually takes some weeks before full
energy levels return.
 Advise the patient of the importance of joining the cardiac
rehabilitation program at a nearby hospital to increase exercise
tolerance upon supervision.
 Explain the importance of exercise (e.g., to lower cholesterol, lose
weight, strengthen heart etc.).
 Reassure the patient that his/her concerns are appropriate.
Moderate physical activity is all right two weeks after a mild event
with good recovery, with usually four to six weeks before
attempting to return to work.
 Provide recommendations for prevention of a future attack (diet,
relaxation, stress management).

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT You are the parent of 5-year-old Matthew. You present to your doctor as
a follow-up from an emergency consultation two days ago when he was
newly diagnosed with asthma. For the past month, he has been waking
frequently at night with coughing and has trouble breathing when
running around. Last week, Matthew developed a cold with low-grade
fever and two nights ago he had a severe bout of coughing, breathing
difficulty and wheezing. You took him to the Emergency Department
where he was treated with nebulised salbutamol and then discharged.

TASK  You have little understanding of asthma and ask your doctor:
“What is asthma? Will Matthew always have this condition?”.
 You are frightened that Matthew might have a severe attack and
you seek advice on how to manage his condition.
 Can the doctor help in any other way?

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT A parent presents with his/her 5-year-old son, Matthew, as follow-up

after an emergency consultation two days ago. Matthew had
experienced a severe bout of coughing, breathing difficulty and
wheezing on the back of a cold with low-grade fever. The parent felt
frightened so took Matthew to the hospital Emergency Department
where he was treated with nebulised salbutamol. The parent has little
understanding of asthma and is very anxious about how to manage.

TASK  Explain asthma to the parent (narrowing of airways in lungs).

Describe some of the symptoms (e.g. shortness of breath,
wheezing.).
 Explain 2-3 management points (e.g., how to identify and control
trigger factors; assess severity of symptoms; respond in an
urgent situation; ensure school is informed and salbutamol
available there.).
 Reassure the parent by explaining that the prognosis is good if
the parent understands the triggers and knows exactly what to
do in an acute situation (you will support by developing an
Asthma Action Plan and arranging an early review).

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Practice
Test 2.

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT You are 45 years old, married with three teenage children. You run a
successful consultancy business. Three months ago, your mother-in-law was
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she is now living with you. You are
finding it difficult to balance your family and work commitments, and are
worried about how you will manage to support your mother-in-law. Your
anxiety has been causing you to have problems with sleeping at night. You
have come to see the doctor to request sleeping pills.

TASK  Request sleeping pills, as you are sure these will help you to feel
better.
 Be insulted when the doctor cautions you against the risks of
dependency (you are not someone likely to get addicted to
medications).
 Become angry when the doctor declines your request. You are sure
sleeping pills will help to cure your anxiety.
 Reluctantly agree to attend counselling for stress management.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT Your patient is 45 years old, married with three teenage children. He/she runs
a successful consultancy business. Three months ago, his/her mother-in-law
was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she is now living with the family.
The patient is finding it difficult to balance family and work commitments, and
is worried about how you will manage to support the mother-in-law. Anxiety
has been causing your patient to have problems with sleeping at night. He/she
has come to see the doctor to request sleeping pills.

TASK  Explain to the patient that you are reluctant to prescribe sleeping pills
(e.g. risk of dependency, etc.).
 Refuse to prescribe the sleeping pills but reassure the patient that
anxiety can be managed by alternative methods (e.g. self-care
techniques, dietary measures, exercise, etc.).
 Counsel the patient on the role of stress management and sleep
hygiene (e.g. focus on routines and natural rhythms, making sleeping
environments more restful) in relieving anxiety.
 Try to convince the patient to accept a referral to see a
counsellor/psychologist for stress management.

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAIMINER CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT You are 32 years old and have a painful left ear. You first noticed this about
three days ago and, despite using paracetamol, the pain has worsened and
was particularly severe last night. This morning, you noticed what appeared
to be pus on your pillow, which you presume has come from the painful left
ear. Surprisingly, the pain has lessened somewhat, but your hearing seems
to have deteriorated and you are worried about it.

TASK  Find out what has happened to you and what needs to be done about
it.
 Express alarm at the diagnosis and explain your fear of deafness. You
are also very concerned at the amount of pus that came from the ear
(isn’t a hole in the eardrum a serious matter?).
 When your doctor advises against activities involving pressure
change, be very concerned. Your favourite hobby is scuba diving, and
you are aware that ear problems can affect fitness to dive. Will it
affect your scuba diving?
 Be hard to reassure, but eventually accept the doctor’s advice.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT This 32 year old patient presents with a three day history of a painful left ear.
On examination, there is severe otitis media (inflammation in middle ear)
present in the left ear, with a recent small central perforation of the left
eardrum and pus visible from external auditory canal.

TASK  Explain the diagnosis to the patient.

 Explain the mechanism: infection build-up of pus behind eardrum;
eventual perforation reduction in pain (pus previously under pressure
– released to flow freely to the outside).
 Reassure that patient (e.g. not an unusual occurrence with this
condition; small perforation will heal readily; no permanent effect on
hearing).
 Outline treatment: broad spectrum antibiotic; review at the end of the
course, when perforation can also be reassured; audiological testing if
hearing deficits continue.
 Advise against any activities the involve pressure change (e.g. aircraft
flight, diving, etc.) until condition has completely resolved.

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Practice
Test 3.

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT You are the parent of a 10-month-old boy. You think your child is suffering
from gastroenteritis. You’re becoming very worried about the child. He has
had diarrhoea for the last 24 hours (8-10 times in that period) and has also
vomited twice. He is urinating regularly but is crying more than usual, has a
fever and is coughing. He has apparent soreness in the nappy area.

TASK  Answer the doctor’s questions about the baby’s condition.

 You are worried that the child is becoming dehydrated. As the doctor
about this, and whether medication is appropriate.
 You’re quite panicky, and not really listening to what the doctor is
saying. Get the doctor to make things clearer for you (i.e., repeat,
paraphrase, etc.).
 Also ask about what to feed the child, both now and later, when the
diarrhoea has subsided. You are currently breastfeeding.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT The parent of a 10-month-old boy has come to see you. The child is suffering
from gastroenteritis. The parent appears anxious. The child shows no evidence
of dehydration. He is passing urine regularly, and is happily playing on the
floor of your office.

TASK  Ask for more details about the child’s symptoms.

 Confirm the diagnosis of gastroenteritis and give a brief explanation
(i.e., bowel infection, symptoms consistent with parent’s description).
 Give advice and reassurance to the parent.
 Explain the inappropriateness of any medication other than Gastrolyte
(or equivalent), a saline glucose solution.
 Advise the parent on suitable food intake (e.g. continue breastfeeding
more frequently, child may refuse food initially, etc.).

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT You are 34 years old. Your spouse recently noticed a small dark skin lesion on
the lower part of your back. You are not sure how long it has been present,
nor whether it has been growing. You are not aware of any symptoms such
as itching or bleeding. Your father died of malignant melanoma (a lethal skin
cancer) and you are very worried that you might have the same problem.

TASK  Explain the reasons for your concern at finding this lesion, and your
fear of the possibility of cancer due to your family history.
 When the doctor diagnoses a benign condition, be hard to convince.
Ask further questions:
- What will I do about this now?
- Shouldn’t I go into hospital straight away and have it removed
completely?
- What will the consequences be if my fears are correct?
- Will I get sick and die like my father?
- Will I need major operations and chemotherapy?
 Eventually accept the doctor’s explanation.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT This 34 year old patient is attending because his/her spouse has noticed a
small dark skin lesion on the patient’s lower back. The patient is concerned
that this represents a skin cancer, and requests your opinion on management.
You diagnose a benign, simple pigmented nevus that has probably been
present for many years.

TASK  Explain the diagnosis (most likely birthmark, mole, etc.) and reassure.
 Explain the treatment: excising the lesion under local anaesthetic (an
excisional biopsy) and using histopathological examination
(examination under microscope) to determine the nature of the lesion
(a simple process: can be done in your rooms with minimal risk; results
available in a few days).
 Explain the procedure if the lesion is malignant: urgent referral to a
surgeon for a wider excision of the lesion and probably adjuvant
therapy (chemo- or radiotherapy). Based on the clinical appearance of
the lesion, there is no need for urgent admission for a large procedure.

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Practice
Test 3.

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT You are the parent of a 10-month-old boy. You think your child is suffering
from gastroenteritis. You’re becoming very worried about the child. He has
had diarrhoea for the last 24 hours (8-10 times in that period) and has also
vomited twice. He is urinating regularly but is crying more than usual, has a
fever and is coughing. He has apparent soreness in the nappy area.

TASK  Answer the doctor’s questions about the baby’s condition.

 You are worried that the child is becoming dehydrated. As the doctor
about this, and whether medication is appropriate.
 You’re quite panicky, and not really listening to what the doctor is
saying. Get the doctor to make things clearer for you (i.e., repeat,
paraphrase, etc.).
 Also ask about what to feed the child, both now and later, when the
diarrhoea has subsided. You are currently breastfeeding.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 1 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban General Practice

PATIENT The parent of a 10-month-old boy has come to see you. The child is suffering
from gastroenteritis. The parent appears anxious. The child shows no evidence
of dehydration. He is passing urine regularly, and is happily playing on the
floor of your office.

TASK  Ask for more details about the child’s symptoms.

 Confirm the diagnosis of gastroenteritis and give a brief explanation
(i.e., bowel infection, symptoms consistent with parent’s description).
 Give advice and reassurance to the parent.
 Explain the inappropriateness of any medication other than Gastrolyte
(or equivalent), a saline glucose solution.
 Advise the parent on suitable food intake (e.g. continue breastfeeding
more frequently, child may refuse food initially, etc.).

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 OET Speaking Role-play
EXAMINER CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT You are 34 years old. Your spouse recently noticed a small dark skin lesion on
the lower part of your back. You are not sure how long it has been present,
nor whether it has been growing. You are not aware of any symptoms such
as itching or bleeding. Your father died of malignant melanoma (a lethal skin
cancer) and you are very worried that you might have the same problem.

TASK  Explain the reasons for your concern at finding this lesion, and your
fear of the possibility of cancer due to your family history.
 When the doctor diagnoses a benign condition, be hard to convince.
Ask further questions:
- What will I do about this now?
- Shouldn’t I go into hospital straight away and have it removed
completely?
- What will the consequences be if my fears are correct?
- Will I get sick and die like my father?
- Will I need major operations and chemotherapy?
 Eventually accept the doctor’s explanation.

OET Speaking Role-play

CANDIDATE CARD NO. 2 | MEDICINE
SETTING Suburban Clinic

PATIENT This 34 year old patient is attending because his/her spouse has noticed a
small dark skin lesion on the patient’s lower back. The patient is concerned
that this represents a skin cancer, and requests your opinion on management.
You diagnose a benign, simple pigmented nevus that has probably been
present for many years.

TASK  Explain the diagnosis (most likely birthmark, mole, etc.) and reassure.
 Explain the treatment: excising the lesion under local anaesthetic (an
excisional biopsy) and using histopathological examination
(examination under microscope) to determine the nature of the lesion
(a simple process: can be done in your rooms with minimal risk; results
available in a few days).
 Explain the procedure if the lesion is malignant: urgent referral to a
surgeon for a wider excision of the lesion and probably adjuvant
therapy (chemo- or radiotherapy). Based on the clinical appearance of
the lesion, there is no need for urgent admission for a large procedure.

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