Jobins Training · Free OET Practice
Nursing: practise your professional communication.
One full Writing task and one paired Speaking role play, with models, reasoning and a second attempt.
No registrationOriginal practiceModels explainedWriting · Full-length task
Continence assessment and support
Attempt the task before opening the model. Use the five-minute reading period to study the notes and task without writing or marking them; write your letter during the following 40 minutes.
Jobins Training · Original OET practice
- WRITING SUB-TEST:
- NURSING
- TIME ALLOWED:
- READING TIME: 5 MINUTES
WRITING TIME: 40 MINUTES
Read the case notes and complete the writing task below.
Notes:
Assume that today’s date is 6 November 2026.
Ms Nora Ellis, aged 58, attends the general practice where you are the Practice Nurse.
- Practice:
- Larch Medical Centre, 8 Larch Road, Westbridge
PATIENT DETAILS:
- Name:
- Nora Ellis (Ms)
- Date of birth:
- 18 Mar 1968 (58 years)
- Residence:
- 24 Larch Close, Westbridge; lives alone
- Family:
- Daughter nearby; manages own appointments
- Occupation:
- Healthcare assistant; residential care
- First consultation:
- 18 Sep 2026
- Current review:
- 06 Nov 2026
- Diagnosis:
- Mixed urinary incontinence; GP diagnosis Feb 2026
Past medical history:
Hypertension; treatment stable since 2024.
Amlodipine 5 mg each morning; dose unchanged.
No diuretic medication.
No known drug allergies.
Two vaginal births; menopause at 51.
No pelvic surgery.
Appendicectomy aged 19; uncomplicated recovery.
No diabetes or neurological disorder recorded.
Social background:
Three long shifts/week; variable rota.
Independent with daily activities; no interpreter needed.
Walking group discontinued – fear of leakage.
Embarrassed discussing symptoms with colleagues.
Toilet breaks difficult during busy shifts.
Presenting problem – 18 Sep 2026:
Symptoms since Feb; stress and urgency leakage.
Triggers: coughing, lifting laundry, rushing to toilet.
Approx. three leakage episodes/day.
Two absorbent pads/work shift.
Urgency worse during late shifts.
Restricts drinks before work; often <1 litre/day.
Caffeinated tea: five mugs/day; occasional coffee.
No alcohol during working week.
No dysuria or visible haematuria.
No recurrent UTI history; emptying normally.
GP review: no acute cause identified.
Nursing management:
Three-day bladder diary requested: work/non-work days.
Discussed fluid restriction and gradual caffeine reduction.
Regular toilet access encouraged.
Pelvic-floor exercise leaflet supplied.
Technique not assessed; no supervised training.
Continence referral agreed if difficulties persist.
Progress – 09 Oct 2026:
Diary completed: daytime voiding 9-11 times.
Nocturia once/night.
Exertional and urgency leakage recorded.
Caffeinated tea reduced to two mugs/day.
Other drinks mainly water.
Fluid intake inconsistent on work days.
Breaks still missed when unit busy.
Leaflet exercises stopped after one week.
Unsure which muscles to contract.
Dipstick: blood, nitrite, leucocytes negative.
No urinary infection symptoms.
No continence medication commenced.
Current assessment – 06 Nov 2026:
Leakage most days; no new urinary symptoms.
Skin intact; pads contain leakage.
Pad expense increasingly difficult.
Walking group not resumed.
Has not requested scheduled toilet breaks.
Wants confident work shifts and return to walks.
Motivated for practical support.
Referral plan:
Continence assessment and individual management programme.
Supervised pelvic-floor training if appropriate.
Bladder-training advice; address work-related barriers.
Continue agreed fluid/caffeine measures meanwhile.
Afternoons preferred on non-working days.
Able to attend independently.
Consent to referral and information sharing recorded.
Completed bladder diary enclosed.
GP review for changed symptoms.
Earlier review: new pain, blood or emptying difficulty.
Writing Task:
Using the case notes, write a referral letter to Ms Priya Shah, Continence Nurse Specialist, Westbridge Community Health Centre, 18 Rowan Road, Westbridge. Request assessment and an individual continence programme for Ms Ellis, including support with the difficulties affecting her work and daily life.
In your answer:
- Develop the relevant notes into complete sentences.
- Write in paragraphs rather than note form.
- Use an appropriate letter layout.
The body of your letter should be approximately 180–200 words.
After your attempt: identify the recipient, the purpose, three essential facts and two details you deliberately left out. Then compare your decisions below.
Reveal the model letter
6 November 2026
Ms Priya Shah
Continence Nurse Specialist
Westbridge Community Health Centre
18 Rowan Road
Westbridge
Dear Ms Shah,
Re: Ms Nora Ellis | DOB: 18 March 1968
I am referring Ms Ellis for continence assessment and an individual management programme. Persistent stress and urgency leakage is restricting her work and social activities despite initial advice.
Symptoms began in February, with leakage on coughing, lifting and hurrying to the toilet. Her completed diary records nine to eleven daytime voids and nocturia once. She reports no dysuria, visible haematuria or emptying difficulty. The October dipstick was negative for blood, nitrite and leucocytes.
She has reduced caffeinated tea from five mugs to two daily, but fluid intake remains inconsistent during long shifts. She stopped the leaflet exercises after one week because she was unsure which muscles to contract. Her technique has not been assessed, and she has received no supervised training or continence medication.
Ms Ellis uses pads and has stopped attending her walking group. Although her skin is intact, pad costs concern her. Embarrassment has prevented her from requesting scheduled toilet breaks. Please assess her suitability for supervised pelvic-floor training and bladder training, and help her address these practical barriers. She is motivated to participate and can attend independently on non-working afternoons. Her bladder diary is enclosed with her consent.
Yours sincerely,
Practice Nurse
Model body: 191 words using a space-separated editorial count. This is one possible response; it is not an officially scored letter or a sentence template to memorise.
Why these details were selected
What the reader needs
- Persistent mixed-pattern leakage and its effect on work and participation.
- The diary findings, absence of current warning symptoms and relevant dipstick result.
- What has actually been tried: caffeine reduction and an unsupervised leaflet, not a completed training programme.
- Practical barriers, requested specialist help, appointment preference and enclosed diary.
What can be omitted or condensed
- Remote appendicectomy and daughter’s proximity do not explain this referral.
- Do not reproduce every drink, every visit or all normal background history.
- The recipient needs the current problem and failed implementation, not a transcript of the consultations.
Accuracy traps
- A leaflet is not supervised pelvic-floor training.
- A negative dipstick does not establish the cause of all urinary symptoms.
- Do not invent failed drug treatment, promise cure or prescribe a programme beyond the notes.
Accuracy repair: a fresh exercise
A draft says: She has completed a supervised exercise programme without benefit.
Correct it using the case notes before opening the answer.
Check the repaired sentence
She stopped the leaflet exercises because she was unsure of the technique and has not received supervised training.
The correction preserves what is known, what has happened and what remains outstanding. Compare the changed words with the relevant dated note.
Review the six Writing criteria
| Criterion | Use it to review your attempt |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Can the reader identify the action or explanation needed from the opening? |
| Content | Are essential facts accurate, including dates, status and remaining needs? |
| Conciseness and clarity | Have you selected and combined information without losing necessary meaning? |
| Genre and style | Does the wording suit this recipient’s role and knowledge? |
| Organisation and layout | Do paragraphs help the reader locate the problem, evidence and next step? |
| Language | Are grammar, vocabulary, spelling and sentence links clear and accurate? |
Choose one factual correction and one language improvement for a second draft. This checklist is for learning; it does not calculate an OET grade.
Speaking · One paired role play
Practise the professional conversation
Use 3 minutes to prepare the professional card, then about 5 minutes for the conversation. The candidate stays in the professional role. A partner plays the patient, parent or animal owner. This is one role play; the OET Speaking sub-test contains two.
Read only your own card before starting. The partner should open their card privately and reveal information in response to the conversation. These cards are a separate scenario from the Writing case.
Candidate card · Nurse
Setting: Community continence clinic
You meet Maya, aged 54, for an initial continence appointment. She reports leakage when coughing and occasional urgency. Her GP has referred her for assessment; she reports no new pain, visible blood or difficulty passing urine. She seems embarrassed and says she almost cancelled. Today’s purpose is to understand the impact, explain the assessment and agree a manageable first step. No individual exercise programme has yet been prescribed.
Tasks
- Explore the reason she nearly cancelled and acknowledge her concern without minimising it.
- Ask about leakage patterns, fluid habits and the effect on work or social activity; respond to what she tells you.
- Explain why a three-day bladder diary can help: drinks, toilet visits, urgency and leakage across ordinary days.
- Discuss how the assessment guides individual support; distinguish a leaflet from checking pelvic-floor technique and tailoring a programme.
- Agree a practical way to start the diary, check her understanding and invite remaining concerns.
Partner card — Patient only
Role-player card · Patient
You are Maya, 54, a shop assistant. You worry that leakage means you have become “old” and that the nurse will judge you. You avoid walks with friends and drink very little before work. You have seen exercise advice online but are unsure whether you are doing it correctly.
- At the start, say you nearly cancelled because this is embarrassing.
- If asked about impact, explain that you plan your day around toilets and avoid walks.
- If asked about fluids, reveal that you often avoid drinking during shifts.
- When the diary is explained, say: “I cannot measure everything at the shop.”
- If a realistic approach is agreed, ask whether the diary alone will fix the problem; then explain back the agreed first step.
Respond naturally to what is asked. Do not give every detail at once or create an unrelated medical quiz. If the explanation is unclear, ask for clarification.
Review selected exchanges and explanations
These are selected teaching exchanges, not a full five-minute transcript. Compare how the response changes with the concern. Several different responses could work.
Patient: “You must think this is silly.”
Nurse: “It sounds as though this has been affecting much more than you have been able to tell people. What has been hardest for you?”
Why this helps: Acknowledges impact, then opens space for her priorities. It does not label the symptoms trivial.
Patient: “I cannot measure everything at work.”
Nurse: “What would be manageable on a working day? We can talk through how to record the information and include days that reflect your usual routine. The aim is a useful picture, rather than a diary that is impossible for you to keep.”
Why this helps: Negotiates the practical obstacle before repeating instructions.
Patient: “Will the diary stop the leakage?”
Nurse: “The diary helps us understand the pattern; it is not the treatment itself. We will use the assessment to discuss suitable support, including checking exercise technique where appropriate. How would you describe the next step in your own words?”
Why this helps: Separates assessment from treatment and checks understanding without promising a cure.
Repeat with a changed response
Partner changes the barrier: “My partner must not see the diary.” Explore privacy and agree how the patient can keep and bring it securely; do not assume permission to involve the partner.
Keep your professional role, listen to the changed information and adapt the next step. Do not repeat a memorised answer when the situation has changed.
Review all nine Speaking criteria
| Criterion | Use it to review your attempt |
|---|---|
| Intelligibility | Can your partner follow your speech without repeated effort? |
| Fluency | Can you keep the exchange moving while allowing natural pauses? |
| Appropriateness of language | Does the register and explanation suit this person? |
| Resources of grammar and expression | Can you express time, uncertainty, reasons and choices accurately? |
| Relationship building | Do you show attention to the person’s particular concern? |
| Understanding and incorporating the patient’s perspective | Does the plan respond to their priorities and constraints? |
| Providing structure | Do you signal changes of topic and explain information in manageable stages? |
| Information gathering | Do you ask, listen and clarify rather than assume? |
| Information giving | Do you explain clearly and check what the person has understood? |
Ask your partner for one example of something clear and one moment that needed clarification. If you record yourself on your own device, review only with everyone’s agreement. The website does not record speech or generate an OET score.
Format and clinical background references
Exam format: OET test handbook. These original cases were written for language practice after reviewing official task formats. The following sources inform clinical plausibility; the fictional patient records are not copied from them.