The writing task of the OET is a test of your resource of English language skills as well as your ability to comprehend the situation presented to you.

It is this comprehension of the stimulus material that is vital to helping you determine what to include (in other words, TREASURE) in your letter and what NOT to include (i.e. TRASH).

So how should you decide what’s treasure? Consider the following:

1. Your purpose/reason for writing the letter –for example, if you are writing a referral letter for a patient with a SPECIFIC condition (e.g hip replacement) then you should only include the relevant, important details regarding that complaint (e.g. aspirin given, dressings applied daily, etc.)
2. Your audience – think about who you are writing to and WHAT they already know. For instance, if you are writing to the parents of a young patient, then they will already know her medical background/family background, etc. so you don’t have to include it! However, if you are referring them to a new medical professional, then the medical/family background should be outlined.
3. Your current situation –always keep in mind what is going on with the patient/situation at the moment and what role your letter plays in the situation. This will help you to choose the appropriate language and tone to express your letter.

Sometimes you may get 3 pages of case notes and this can seem quite overwhelming. By considering the things I have mentioned above, I hope you can confidently break the case notes down into a well-written letter.

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Carol, OET teacher

Students think the OET listening task is difficult for multiple reasons, for example: “The speakers talk too quickly!” or “I can’t write fast enough!” or “It’s so hard to think about spelling and grammar whilst listening!”, etc.

Below are a few simple tips to help you score maximum marks:
1.    SKIM through the questions and get a general idea of the topic at the time given at the start
2.    UNDERLINE and listen out for the key words of each question so you can listen out for them during the dialogue
3.    PREDICT some answers if you can – e.g. if the question says “What risk factors are mentioned by the speaker for cardiovascular disease?”
4.    WRITE concise phrases instead of full sentences
•    For instance, “runny nose” instead of “he had a runny nose”
5.    DO use common abbreviations such as:
•    “HR” for heart rate
•    “SOB” for shortness of breath
•    Arrows to indicate INCREASE or DECREASE
•    Check the OET website for what abbreviations are allowed!
6.    USE your own abbreviations (for example, ‘yrs’ instead of ‘years’) then correct them when you have time later
7.    WRITE as you listen – and work on improving this!
8.    DON’T try to rephrase what is being said as this will waste time
9.    FIX up spelling, grammar and tenseduring the pauses between the questions, and during the time given at the end of the task
10.    MOVE on to the next question if you realise you have missed one, then go back and GUESS an answer if you can
11.    PRACTISE as much as you can!!!!!

-Carol L, OET Teacher

The reading section of the OET is about reading quickly and actively as well as having a good understanding of the passage. These skills can be practised.

You should practise increasing your reading speed by finding new medical passages online or in a printed journal and reading them at home. Time yourself and challenge yourself to increase your speed each time.

You also need to be able to retain the information – so try writing down what you remember after reading the passage. You should then aim to increase the amount you remember each time you practise.

Eventually, you will have increased the speed at which you read as well as the amount of information you remember from your reading. As an extra plus, you will have expanded your medical vocabulary (which can definitely be helpful in the OET and your professional life!) because of all the new scientific articles/passages you have read!

…. so practise, practise, PRACTISE!

When writing a referral letter, there are always some common mistakes that I have found students repeat over and over again.
The first is not making grammatically complete sentences. Since the patient file lists patient information in point form and not complete sentence form, it may be tempting to just list the information. However, markers can easily pick up on that because it does not flow grammatically correct. For example, when you are referring to a medical condition or treatment on a particular part of the patient’s body, then to be grammatically correct, you must use possessive pronouns. E.g. ulcer on his/her left lower thigh. This also applies for things that belong to the patient. E.g. her exercise program, his weight.

Another common mistake is the use of the word ‘diagnosis.’ A medical diagnosis refers to the process of finding out the cause of the disease or disorder and to the opinion reached by this process. This means that there is a level of difficulty or investigation required to find out the illness. For instance in the case of cancers or infections, blood tests or pathological investigations must be carried out. However, in the case of burns or cuts, fractures etc, you would not refer to them as being diagnosed with a burn or a cut.

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Finally the use of tense is often a challenge for students. Just remember that in general a letter is reporting a patient’s case so it is generally in past tense. When you are reporting on events or symptoms that occurred in the past then you use past tense. E.g. he had diabetes since he was 10 years old. When you are requesting a call of action for post-discharge then you use future tense. E.g. He will need regular blood pressure checks.

Of course there are a lot more ways that writing can be perfected, so practise is the key and regular proof checks from the teachers at Sydney language solutions the ultimate solution to passing OET!

Reference: Kozier et al.’s (2004a) Fundamentals of Nursing

The job of a nurse requires considerable critical thinking.According toKozier et al.’s (2004a) Fundamentals of Nursing, it is “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and /or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action”

In nursing, critical thinking is often required during the nursing process of assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating.For instance, in the procedure of assessing the physical and psychosocial needs of a client, you then need to determine

*an appropriate nursing diagnosis (infer),

* plan and implement an appropriate intervention (apply), and

* evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention (evaluate).

In your nursing studies, it is important to be able to read critically, to understand a reading within its broader context, and to recognize the influences of culture and context on the reading and its meaning.

Evaluation is also used in the sense of critiquing or challenging information in a reading.

Evaluation means the ability to recognisean author’s bias in the selection, presentation, and analysis of information and in a research study, to recogniseweaknesses in the data analysis or in the design of the study.It may also means you are required to present your own opinion regarding a particular issue.

Some of the questions you should ask when reading are:

• When was the article published? Is the information outdated? Or is it still relevant?
• Do the authors have a particular perspective or bias in their approach to the topic? If so, did they make their perspective clear or is it hidden?\
• Who are the authors?
• What are their credentials?
• Do they have experience in the area they are writing about?

Often the writing section B can pose a challenge to those who find comprehension difficult.

There are a few hurdles to pass with this section. In this month I will cover the first hurdle. That is the difficulty of the subject matter.

If students are not familiar with the subject matter, it may be very difficult to gage immediately the general nature of the article. In this respect, I advise all my students to familiarise themselves with three common topics that come up.

First is the top causes of morbidity and mortality in Australia. These can include cardiovascular diseases, common cancers and preventable lifestyle diseases like diabetes and injury.

Second is the Australian health system and the current affair issues specific to Australia. This will require looking up of news and health journal articles.

Third is the indigenous and rural health issues in Australia and all the other social challenges that influence their health.

Once a topic is known as is the case in all things, familiar topics are much more easier to comprehend. I also advise that as you are researching these topics, to keep a vocabulary book of all the common terms, names, acronyms that come up repeatedly as you are reading and try to memorise them.

On top of these common topics mentioned above, often latest break throughs in medical research or new discoveries in report form are included in these reading tests.

In our course we also go through some of the common medical study methods, and the advantages and disadvantages of each as a way to familiarise with how journalists analyse or criticise these findings.

Megan Lee

OET Teacher – SLS