The Occupational English Test assesses English communication in healthcare settings. It is designed for healthcare professionals seeking to register, work or study in an English-speaking environment, but the organisation receiving the result decides which profession, delivery mode, scores and combination of sittings it accepts.
OET is evidence of English proficiency. It does not recognise a clinical qualification, grant professional registration, issue a visa or authorise clinical practice.
This guide uses nursing and medicine examples while explaining the common OET rules. OET itself supports 12 healthcare professions, and candidates must select the correct profession when booking.
Every figure in this guide is checked against the official test-owner sources linked below — last verified 8 August 2026.
Decide whether OET fits the application
Start with the receiving organisation, not with the test.
Ask the regulator, employer, university or immigration authority:
- Is OET accepted for this exact route?
- Which OET profession must appear on the result?
- What minimum score is required in each sub-test?
- Must all scores come from one sitting?
- Can results from different sittings be combined?
- Is a single-subtest resit accepted?
- Which delivery modes are accepted?
- How recent must the result be when the application is assessed?
OET publishes a directory of recognising organisations, but the receiving organisation's own current rule remains decisive. There is no universal OET pass score for every profession, country or purpose.
Choose the correct profession and delivery mode
OET is tailored to 12 professions:
- dentistry;
- dietetics;
- medicine;
- nursing;
- occupational therapy;
- optometry;
- pharmacy;
- physiotherapy;
- podiatry;
- radiography;
- speech pathology; and
- veterinary science.
Listening and Reading use healthcare content common to all professions. Writing and Speaking are profession-specific. A nurse should not book Medicine because a regulator happens to require the same numerical score.
OET currently offers:
- OET Test on Paper at a test centre;
- OET Test on Computer; and
- OET@Home where available.
Not every receiving organisation accepts every mode. Computer candidates in selected locations can also face a choice about how Speaking is delivered. Confirm acceptance before paying.
Current OET test format
Listening format
- Approximate time: About 40 minutes
- Main purpose: Understand consultations, handovers and other spoken healthcare material
Reading format
- Time: 60 minutes
- Main purpose: Locate, interpret and synthesise written healthcare information
Writing format
- Time: 45 minutes
- Main purpose: Produce one profession-specific document from case notes
Speaking format
- Approximate time: About 20 minutes
- Main purpose: Complete profession-specific patient or carer role-plays
The first OET booking normally requires all four sub-tests. Later single-subtest bookings may be available, but the receiving organisation decides whether that result pattern is acceptable.
What each sub-test requires
Listening
Listening contains three parts and 42 questions. It moves from extracting consultation notes to understanding short workplace extracts and longer presentations or interviews.
Train:
- predicting the kind of information a gap needs;
- recording exact clinical detail while audio continues;
- recognising paraphrase;
- following attitude, purpose and implication; and
- recovering immediately after a missed answer.
Reading
Reading contains three parts and 42 questions. Part A is a rapid consultation task across several short texts. Parts B and C test detailed comprehension of workplace and longer healthcare texts.
Train:
- search by meaning rather than repeated words;
- match a question to the right source text;
- distinguish policy purpose from factual detail;
- follow stance and inference; and
- protect time for the longer texts.
Writing
Writing is a 45-minute profession-specific task based on case notes. The required document can be a referral, transfer, discharge or advice letter or another profession-appropriate communication.
The task is not a case-note transcription exercise. Select information for the reader and purpose. Review the official criteria:
- purpose;
- content;
- conciseness and clarity;
- genre and style;
- organisation and layout; and
- language.
Speaking
Speaking lasts about 20 minutes and contains two profession-specific role-plays. The interlocutor plays a patient, carer or relative; clinical knowledge is context, but communication is what is assessed.
Prepare to:
- open and structure the interaction;
- discover the person's perspective;
- show empathy and respect;
- explain without avoidable jargon;
- check understanding;
- respond to concern or resistance; and
- close with a clear plan.
How OET scores and results work
The Statement of Results reports each sub-test on a 0-to-500 scale in ten-point increments and maps each score to a letter grade from A to E. Receiving organisations set their own sub-test thresholds.
Do not average four scores into a self-created “overall pass”. A strong score in one skill does not automatically compensate for a lower score in another unless the receiving organisation expressly allows that pattern.
Listening and Reading raw marks are converted to the 500 scale. Writing and Speaking are assessed against published criteria and then converted to the same reporting scale. Practice-provider conversions remain estimates.
Result timing depends on mode, location and the test's published result schedule. OET states that computer and at-home results can be released as early as 48 hours after all sub-tests are complete, with 95% released within six calendar days. Paper publication varies by region and test date. Quality-assurance or security checks can extend the indicated time.
Use the official result date shown for the booking and leave margin for result sharing and the receiving organisation's processing.
Build a four-skill preparation workflow
Set the score contract
Write down the exact requirement for each skill, accepted mode, sitting-combination rule and application deadline. This prevents preparation for an assumed “Grade B everywhere” when the actual organisation has a different rule.
Take a task-level diagnostic
Complete official sample material under time. Record more than the score:
- Listening errors by part and information type;
- Reading errors by search, detail, inference and pace;
- Writing performance by each official criterion; and
- Speaking performance by linguistic and clinical-communication behaviour.
Train common English and profession-specific output
Listening and Reading improve through broad healthcare input. Writing and Speaking require the correct professional version. Keep nursing and medicine role, scope and documentation conventions separate.
Alternate focused drills and complete sub-tests
Use short drills to repair one method, then verify it in a complete timed sub-test. Complete-test repetition without diagnosis tends to reproduce the same error faster.
Rehearse the booked mode
If taking OET on Computer, type and edit under time and use the official familiarisation experience. If taking paper, practise handwriting legibly and managing the physical answer materials. If taking OET@Home, complete the technical, room and identity checks early.
Review errors with evidence
Use one record for every wrong answer, weak draft or failed role-play moment:
- Sub-test and part.
- Task: detail, inference, selection, purpose, organisation, language or interaction.
- Evidence missed: exact words, case-note fact or patient cue.
- Process error: what the candidate did instead.
- Better action: a repeatable method, not merely the correct answer.
- Verification: official answer, criterion or sample commentary.
- Re-test date: an unseen task that checks the same skill.
For Writing, maintain a deletion log as well as a correction log. Irrelevant detail can weaken purpose and clarity even when the English is grammatical.
For Speaking, review recordings with two columns:
- language: intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness, grammar and vocabulary; and
- clinical communication: relationship-building, perspective, structure, information gathering and information giving.
Booking and readiness checklist
- I confirmed that my receiving organisation accepts OET for this exact route.
- I recorded the required score in each sub-test.
- I checked its one-sitting, score-combination and single-subtest policies.
- I chose the correct healthcare profession.
- I confirmed that my selected paper, computer or at-home mode is accepted.
- My name and identity document meet the current booking rules.
- I checked the official test and result dates rather than an advertised estimate.
- I can complete Listening and Reading under their official timings.
- I can select and organise case-note information for the Writing purpose.
- I have practised two complete profession-specific Speaking role-plays.
- I rehearsed the equipment and interface for my booked mode.
- My timeline includes result sharing and the receiver's processing time.
- I understand that an OET result does not itself grant registration or permission to practise.
Quick answers
Who is OET for?
It is for healthcare professionals who need to demonstrate English communication for a recognising organisation. The organisation decides whether OET is valid for the specific route.
Are all four sub-tests profession-specific?
No. Listening and Reading are common across professions. Writing and Speaking are tailored to the booked profession.
How is OET scored?
Each of the four sub-tests receives a separate score from 0 to 500 in ten-point increments and a mapped grade from A to E.
Is Grade B the universal pass mark?
No. Score requirements vary by regulator, profession and application route.
Is Writing always a referral letter?
No. The profession-specific document can also be a transfer, discharge or advice letter or another task stated in the prompt.
Can I take OET at home?
OET@Home is available in eligible locations, but not every recognising organisation accepts it. Check the receiver before booking.
When are results released?
The schedule depends on mode, location and test date. Computer and at-home results are often faster; use the official date attached to the chosen booking.
Does an OET score register me as a healthcare professional?
No. It supplies English-language evidence. Qualification recognition, professional registration, immigration and employment decisions are separate.
