International Exams · Entrance Exams

OET Preparation

For a practising clinician, OET is a test of doing familiar things in careful English. Prepare the format, not the medicine.

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OET · checked 19 September 2026

OET at a glance, from the official notices

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free OET mock testOET syllabusToday’s current affairs
19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

OET: the facts that matter now

  1. 01

    CBLA, at test venues in India and worldwide, and at home through OET@Home

    Administered by

  2. 02

    Healthcare registration and employment — NMC and GMC in the UK, AHPRA in Australia, US state nursing boards and others; some visa purposes

    Used for

  3. 03

    Listening about 40 minutes, 42 questions; Reading 60 minutes, 42; Writing 45 minutes, one letter; Speaking 20 minutes, two role plays

    Sub-tests

  4. 04

    0–500 in ten-point steps per sub-test, with grades A 450–500, B 350–440, C+ 300–340, C 200–290, D 100–190, E 0–90

    Scoring

Strategy

OET — How to prepare

From regulator to registration

  1. Read the regulator’s English page first The grades, the one-sitting rule, the accepted modes and the validity period differ between the NMC, GMC, AHPRA, Irish councils and US boards. Book to that rule.
  2. Choose OET or IELTS on the basis of the tasks Both are accepted by the main regulators. Clinicians who find academic reading passages alien and clinical letters natural usually score higher on OET.
  3. Learn the letter as a genre Purpose in the first line, the relevant history in order, the request clearly stated, nothing the reader already knows. Practise selecting from long case notes.
  4. Practise role plays with the clinical criteria in view Open the consultation, find out the patient’s concern, structure the information, check understanding; the language marks follow.
  5. Drill Part A note completion Twenty-four gaps from two consultations heard once; the answers are the words a clinician would write in the notes.
  6. Book the mode and the date Computer and at-home tests run often and return results in days; paper dates are fewer. One booking per administration.

Reading Part A is a different skill from Parts B and C

Part A is done separately in fifteen minutes and asks for fast location of facts across four texts — dosages, procedures, contraindications. Candidates who read it carefully run out of time; candidates who scan it score well. Parts B and C reward the opposite: reading a whole workplace message or article for its purpose and argument.

Exam resources

Everything for OET

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

OET SyllabusOET syllabus — every part of the four sub-tests, question counts and task types, the writing and speaking assessment criteria, and the twelve professions.OET Exam PatternOET exam pattern — the four sub-tests and their timing, the 0–500 scale and A–E grades, the three delivery modes, result timelines and fees.OET Previous PapersOET practice material — the official sample tests for every sub-test and profession, and how to use the profession-specific writing and speaking samples.OET Mock TestsOET mock tests — full four-sub-test sittings with a speaking partner, scored against the grade your regulator requires.OET PreparationOET preparation — choosing OET over IELTS for registration, the letter-writing method, the role-play criteria, and the booking decisions that matter.OET Study MaterialOET study material — the official handbook, sample tests and masterclasses, and the profession-specific reading, writing and speaking practice to add.

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