If you’re preparing for the OET, particularly the Speaking sub-test, you know how essential it is to be well-prepared. This part of the exam requires not just good language skills but also the ability to communicate effectively in a professional healthcare context.
Whether you’re searching for the best OET coaching centre in Mohali or looking for OET exam preparation online, having the right resources and guidance is essential.
In this blog, we’ll explore a sample OET Speaking role-play, providing you with key language expectations and a practical script to help you excel in your preparation. Whether you’re in Punjab or anywhere nearby, finding the best OET coaching centre can make all the difference in your exam success.
Candidate Cue-card
SETTING Hospital Ward
Nurse You have been called to the patient’s bedside. The patient is a 37-year-old man/woman who was admitted to the hospital yesterday with a fractured leg.
You notice that he/she looks quite agitated. It’s early morning, and the doctor is on rounds in the hospital. He/ She was given a painkiller earlier today.
TASK
• Find out why the patient is angry
• Explain that you were attending to a critical patient
• Empathize with the patient regarding his/her complaint(s) and calm the patient down.
• Ask him/her about the pain (pain score, whether ongoing pain-relief medication is effective).
• Explain that you need to call the doctor to change his/her pain-relief medicine.
• Find out if the patient has any other concerns
• Encourage the patient to discuss his/her dietary preferences with the hospital dietician
Interlocutor cue-card
SETTING Hospital Ward
Patient You are 37 years old and were admitted to the hospital yesterday with a fractured leg. You are in a lot of pain which has not subsided despite the pain-killer medicine which was given to you earlier. You rang the buzzer 30 minutes ago, but no one has come to see you.
You feel alone in the hospital, and the pain is making you very uncomfortable. This is the first time you have been hospitalized. You are annoyed with the hospital staff for neglecting you while you were in pain.
TASK
• Agitatedly tell the nurse that you are extremely upset and want to file a complaint.
• Answer the nurse’s questions about why you are angry.
• When asked, tell the nurse that your pain score is 11 and you want a stronger pain-killer.
• Demand the nurse gets a stronger medication herself/himself (because calling the doctor seems like another delaying tactic to you).
• Ask the nurse if you can see the doctor and inquire about the doctor’s whereabouts.
• When asked about other concerns, express dissatisfaction with the hospital food.
Speaking description of what a good student is expected to produce
Introduction
In this roleplay, the student (nurse) has been called to the patient’s bedside. The student should start the role play with a polite introduction and investigate the reason for being called to the patient’s bedside.
• Hello, my name is Gurleen, and I am going to be taking care of you today. I see that you rang the buzzer?
• Hello, my name is Gurleen, and I am the attending nurse on duty today. I see that you rang the nurse call button. Please let me know how I may assist you?
The student should ask the patient what he/she would prefer to be called (first name or last name). This is simply a matter of courtesy and respect as some people prefer to be called by their first names while others prefer to be addressed as Mr or Mrs. followed by their last name.
• How may I address you?
• What do you prefer to be called?
1. Find out why the patient is angry
The patient seems agitated, so the student will need to ask open-ended indirect questions to find out the cause that has triggered this reaction.
• You seem angry. Would you mind telling me what’s bothering you?
• I can see that you seem angry. Would you please tell what’s troubling you?
• I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but it seems that something is disturbing you. Could you please tell me what’s going on?
• I can sense that you are quite upset. Could you please elaborate on what happened?
• I can see you are incredibly upset. It’s important that we understand each other completely. Would you mind telling me what’s bothering you?
The student should exercise reflective listening skills to acknowledge or validate the patient’s concerns to demonstrate an understanding of the situation.
This can be done by repeating /paraphrasing or reflecting back what the patient’s response. This “reflective listening” will not only affirm that the patient is being heard but also provide more opportunity to the patient to express himself/herself.
• If I understand you correctly, you are angry about the delayed bedside visit. Is that right?
2. Explain that you were attending to a critical patient
Once it has been established that the patient is upset regarding the delayed bedside visit, the student should explain the reason for the delay. However, care must be taken to do this empathetically. Use polite expressions to justify the reason for being late.
• I apologise for the delay. I had to attend to a critical patient urgently.
• I am sorry this has happened. I was attending to a critical patient.
• I am sorry that you had to wait for so long. The reason my visit was delayed is that I was attending to a patient in critical condition.
3. Empathize with the patient regarding his/her complaint(s) and calm the patient down.
For this part, the student must empathetically respond to the patient’s complaints to validate his/her feelings and show understanding. The students can also use back channelling when the patient is expressing her complaints to make him/her feel heard.
For instance, utterances like “Okay,” “Uh-huh,” “Right,” “Mmm,” but the student needs to demonstrate an awareness of intonation and timing while using these. It is also important to include expressions of apology to defuse the patient’s anger or at least prevent him/her from becoming angrier.
The student should adjust the style of communication when talking to an agitated patient (calm tone, speaking slowly and clearly).
Also, the student should continue to ask what he/she can do for the patient. This shows again that the health professional cares enough about the situation and wants to help to rectify it.
• I am so sorry to hear that. I apologise for the rough experience that you have had. Please let me know how I can assist you?
• Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I can now understand how frustrating it must have been to wait while you were in pain. I am sorry for this; I will ensure that it does not get repeated.
• I am so sorry that this is happening to you. I understand this must have been very difficult for you.
• Given everything that you have told me, it’s understandable that you feel this way. What can I do to help you?
4. Ask him/her about the pain (pain score, whether ongoing pain-relief medication is effective).
When the patient has calmed down and demands pain relief medication for pain management, the student would need to use suitable expressions for pain assessment. Since pain is a subjective experience and may not be clearly articulated by many, a pain scale may be used to encourage the patient to self-report the intensity or severity of the pain.
• Would you mind telling me how severe the pain is on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is no pain and ten being the worst you have ever experienced?
The student should use polite expressions to inquire about the efficacy of the pain-relief medication given earlier.
• I am sorry that your pain level is so high. Did the pain medication we gave you earlier help at all in alleviating the pain?
5. Explain that you need to call the doctor to change his/her pain-relief medicine.
For this part, the student would need to explain that a stronger medication can only be administered with a physician’s orders. It needs to be done skillfully as the patient is in pain and has already had to wait for 30 minutes.
Therefore, the nurse should justify this step by explaining that this decision is the patient’s best interests. It can also be explained that prescribing a new medication is beyond the nurse’s limits of competence. The student can also provide emotional reassurance to the patient by ensuring that the patient would not have to wait long. At the same time, empathetic phrases should be used to acknowledge the patient’s pain.
• So, here’s what I am going to do. I am going to call the doctor and let him know that the pain medication you are on isn’t helping to control your pain and you are in a lot of pain right now. I need to ask him if we can give you something stronger if he’s comfortable with that. Does that sound good?
• I know it’s difficult to cope with the pain; however, I am only allowed to give medication as prescribed by the physician. It’s beyond my scope to change the medication without doctor’s order.
Your safety is my priority, and it’s crucial that the doctor agrees to switch your medication. That being said, I will ensure that you do not have to wait long.
In case the patient demands to see a doctor, the student should calmly explain that he/she is on rounds and offer to call the doctor for managing the patient’s pain.
At the same time, it should be recognised that the situation is difficult for the patient to cope with. Also, the student should reassure the patient by conveying that the doctor is concerned about the patient’s welfare and should be seeing the patient as early as possible.
• I understand your concern and where you are coming from. It is early morning, so he’s probably on rounds and should be coming to see you soon.
• I know that it’s distressing to be in this situation. Here’s what I recommend, let’s call him first and form a plan of action to manage your pain. I will also ask him to visit you as early as possible. Would that be okay?
The next step will be to check if the patient is okay with this decision.
It’s important that the patient’s views are elicited by asking questions like “How does that sound?” or “Is that okay with you?”. It’s very important to adopt a non-judgemental approach towards the patient’s perspective and acknowledge the legitimacy of the patient to have his/her own views.
6. Find out if the patient has any other concerns
If the patient expresses dissatisfaction while being in the hospital, some probing questions may be asked to find out if there is anything else bothering the patient.
• Besides this, is there anything else bothering you?
• Apart from this, is there anything else that I can assist you with?
The next step would be to pick up verbal cues and acknowledge their concerns by using empathetic phrases that signal sensitivity to their predicament.
• That does make sense. I can see why you have been upset. It’s hard enough to be in the hospital, let alone, with other stuff going on.
7: Encourage the patient to discuss his/her dietary preferences with the hospital dietician.
For this part, the student should attempt to arrive at a favourable outcome for the patient by suggesting that he/she discusses food preferences with the hospital dietician.
• Regarding the food, I can request the hospital dietician to visit you shortly to discuss your food preferences after which she can customise your diet plan to meet your needs. How do you feel about what I am proposing?
The role play should conclude with a structured end by collaborating with the patient to arrive at an acceptable plan.
• Here’s what I am going to do next. I am going to call the doctor regarding your medication, and following that, since you do not have any family here, I will check on you at least once in every hour to ensure that you have everything you need. I will also notify the dietician to visit you soon. Is that alright?
For this role-play, let’s assume the patient is a female and wants to be addressed as Mrs. Rodriguez.
Sample Transcript
Nurse: Hello, my name is a, and I am the attending nurse on duty today. I see that you rang the nurse call button. How may I address you?
Patient: Call me Mrs. Rodriguez.
Nurse: Mrs. Rodriguez, you seem angry. Would you mind telling me what’s bothering you?
Patient: Finally, someone is asking! I rang the buzzer 30 minutes ago. Where were you?
Nurse: I apologise for the delay. I had to attend to a critical patient urgently. How are you feeling?
Patient: I think no one seems to care. I am in a lot of pain, but this is a ridiculous hospital!
Nurse: I can sense that you are quite upset. Could you please elaborate on what happened?
Patient: Well, not just upset. I am distraught and angry and in a lot of pain. This is horrible. No one has ever treated me like this.
Nurse: I am so sorry to hear that. I apologise for the rough experience that you have had. Please let me know how I can assist you?
Patient: If you cared, you would have been here earlier…Your sorry isn’t good enough. I am going to file a complaint against you and everyone here!
Nurse: I can see you are incredibly upset Mrs. Rodriguez. It’s important that we understand each other completely. Would you mind telling me what’s bothering you?
Patient: I rang the buzzer 30 minutes ago. I have been sitting here and waiting for someone to give me medicine to help me with my pain. But, no one cares in this hospital! You are all useless!
Nurse: Thank you so much for sharing this with me. It helped me to understand the situation much better. I can now understand how frustrating it must have been to wait while you were in pain. I am sorry for this; I will ensure that it does not get repeated.
Patient: Yes! I need to get some tablets now. This pain is killing me.
Nurse: Certainly, but before that, would you mind telling me how severe the pain is on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is no pain and ten being the worst you have ever experienced?
Patient: It’s like an 11.
Nurse: I am sorry that your pain level is so high. Did the pain medication we gave you earlier help at all in alleviating the pain?
Patient: No, it’s really not helping. I need something stronger.
Nurse: Right. So, here’s what I am going to do. I am going to call the doctor and let him know that the pain medication you are on isn’t helping to control your pain and you are in a lot of pain right now.
I need to ask him if we can give you something stronger if he’s comfortable with that. Does that sound good?
Patient: Wow! That’s another delaying tactic you have there! Just get me a strong pain-killer; it’s all I am asking.
Nurse: I know it’s very difficult to cope with the pain; however, I am only allowed to give medication as prescribed by the physician.
It’s beyond my scope to change the medication without doctor’s order. Your safety is my priority, and it’s crucial that the doctor agrees to switch your medication. That being said, I will ensure that you do not have to wait long. Is that alright?
Patient: Hmm. In that case, where is the doctor? Shouldn’t he be here for this? I would like to see him.
Nurse: I understand your concern and where you are coming from. It’s early morning, so he’s probably on a round and should be coming to see you soon.
Patient: But, I am in pain… What could be more important to him than this?
Nurse: I know that it’s distressing to be in this situation. Here’s what I recommend, let’s call him first and form a plan of action to manage your pain. I will also ask him to visit you as early as possible. Would that be okay?
Patient: Yes, I would like something to help with this pain. My husband just left, and I am alone. On top of that, this pain is making me so uncomfortable. I need to feel better.
Nurse: I can understand. That does make sense. I can see why you have been upset. It’s hard enough to be in the hospital, let alone, with other stuff going on.
Patient: Yes. And I don’t know for how long I would have to stay here.
Nurse: Besides managing your pain, is there anything else too that I can assist with? I want to ensure that you are properly looked after.
Patient: Yes, I don’t like the hospital food at all.
Nurse: Thanks for sharing this with me. Regarding the food, I can request the hospital dietician to visit you shortly to discuss your food preferences after which she can customise your diet plan to meet your needs. How do you feel about what I am proposing?
Patient: Yes, that’s fine.
Nurse: Ok. Here’s what I am going to do next. I am going to call the doctor regarding your medication, and following that, since you do not have any family here, I will check on you at least once in every hour to ensure that you have everything you need. I will also notify the dietician to visit you soon. Does that sound okay?
Patient: Yes, that sounds like a good plan.
Nurse: OK. I will be back soon with your medication.
Patient: Alright, thank you, nurse.
Nurse: You’re welcome.
Mastering the OET Speaking sub-test is an achievable goal with the right resources and practice. Whether you’re searching for the best OET coaching centre near you or prefer OET exam preparation online, it’s important to choose a place that understands your needs. Our centre, often recommended as one of the best OET coaching centres in Punjab and Mohali, is dedicated to helping you succeed. Reach out to us to start your journey towards a successful OET experience.
