The rule, stated carefully
In Listening Part A you write the words you hear, and spelling counts. Common medical words must be spelt correctly. British or American spelling are both fine, as long as you spell the word correctly in one of them.
Markers may tolerate a small slip when the meaning is still completely clear. That is a judgement made by the marker, not a promise to you. Never rely on it. Treat every misspelling as a possible lost mark.
British and American pairs
Both spellings are accepted. Pick one system and stay with it, so you do not end up with half of each. A form that belongs to neither system, like 'oesofagus' or 'diarhoea', is simply wrong.
| Pattern | British / Australian | American |
|---|---|---|
| haem / hem | haemoglobin, haemorrhage | hemoglobin, hemorrhage |
| oe / e | oedema, oesophagus, diarrhoea | edema, esophagus, diarrhea |
| ae / e | anaemia, paediatric, anaesthetic | anemia, pediatric, anesthetic |
| -ise / -ize | immunise, stabilise | immunize, stabilize |
| -tre / -ter | centre, litre | center, liter |
| -our / -or | behaviour, tumour | behavior, tumor |
| double l | travelling, labelled | traveling, labeled |
Plurals and word forms
A word can be spelt perfectly and still be the wrong form. Listen for endings, and check the grammar of the line.
Patient: 'Both my knees ache in the mornings.' Notes: 'aching in ____ on waking'.
knee
knees
Why: The patient said both knees. The final sound is short but it changes the answer.
Patient: 'I've been getting really dizzy when I stand up.' Notes: 'feels ____ on standing'.
dizziness
dizzy
Why: 'Feels' needs an adjective, and 'dizzy' is the word said. 'Dizziness' would fit 'complains of ____'.
- Irregular plurals: one diagnosis, two diagnoses; one vertebra, several vertebrae.
- Past forms: swollen (not swelled) for a joint; bled (not bleeded).
- breath (noun) and breathe (verb): 'short of breath' but 'can't breathe lying flat'.
- -ing forms: lying (not lieing), swimming (double m), walking.
Word families that cause most mistakes
Learn words in families. When you know the pattern, you can spell a new word in the same family more safely.
| Family | Examples | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Double letters | occasionally, accommodation, necessary, inflammation, haemorrhage, tonsillitis | Say the word slowly and count consonants: ne-ce-ss-ary has one c, two s. |
| Silent letters | phlegm, pneumonia, psoriasis, rheumatoid, asthma, numbness, knuckle | Silent g, p, h, th, b and k. You will not hear them, so you must know them. |
| -itis and -osis | arthritis, bronchitis, gastritis, osteoporosis, thrombosis | -itis usually means inflammation; -osis a condition or process. Do not write -itus or -oses for a single condition. |
| ph sounds like f | physiotherapist, emphysema, diaphragm, lymph | Never 'fisio'. Diaphragm also has a silent g. |
| Drug-name endings | paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin, morphine, prednisolone, ramipril, atorvastatin | -ol, -en, -in, -ine, -one, -pril, -statin. Learn the drugs that patients name most often. |
| Vowels you cannot hear | separate, temperature, abdomen, cholesterol, appendicitis | Unstressed vowels sound alike. Link them to a related word: 'separate' contains 'a rat'. |
The patient says she has stopped drinking coffee because of palpitations.
caffine
caffeine
Why: Easy to hear, easy to misspell. 'Caffeine' breaks the usual 'i before e' pattern, so it needs to be memorised.
Everyday words count too
Many Part A answers are not medical at all. Social history and daily life produce words like fortnight, colleague, business, independent and recommend. These are easy to understand and surprisingly easy to misspell under time pressure.
- fortnight (two weeks): one word, with -ght.
- colleague: -eague at the end.
- business: the i after s is silent in speech.
- independent: -ent, not -ant.
- recommend: one c, two m.
How to practise spelling
- Do short dictations: hear a word in a sentence, write it, then check it against the correct spelling.
- Keep an error log. Write each word you got wrong three times, correctly, and note which family it belongs to.
- Review the log every few days. Retest only the words you got wrong.
- Write by hand if you are taking the paper test; type if you are taking the computer test. Both use slightly different muscle memory.
- In a full practice test, leave 30 seconds at the end of Part A for a spelling check of medical words and plurals.
Check yourself
4 quick questions. Tap an answer to see why.
1 A candidate writes 'haemorrage' (missing the h after r). What is the safest view?
2 Which pair shows two accepted spellings of the same word?
3 Notes: 'unable to ____ when lying flat'. Patient: 'I just can't breathe if I lie down.' What do you write?
4 Which word belongs to the silent-letter family?