OET Listening Part B practice test

Narrator: Question twenty-five. You hear a night nurse handing over a patient to a colleague. Now listen.

Registered nurse (night shift): Okay, bed twelve is Mr Costa, sixty-eight, day one after a right hemicolectomy. Pain's been reasonable overnight. He's got the PCA and he's only used it a handful of times since about two. Wound's dry, dressing's intact, I had a look at five.

Registered nurse (night shift): The thing I'd keep a close eye on is his urine output. He's had a catheter in since theatre, and from about midnight he was only putting out around twenty mils an hour. I flagged it with the night registrar, who gave him a fluid bolus at three, and it picked up a bit, but it's drifted down again in the last hour. Blood pressure's holding. Bloods are due this morning, so chase the kidney function, and let the team know early if the output doesn't improve.

Registered nurse (day shift): Righto. So I don't wait for the ward round on that.

Registered nurse (night shift): Exactly. Don't let it slide till the round.

Narrator: Question twenty-six. You hear a pharmacist phoning a GP. Now listen.

Community pharmacist: Hi, Dr Brooks, it's Arjun from Parkside Pharmacy. Sorry to interrupt your clinic. I've got a script here for Mrs Lena Novak, clarithromycin five hundred milligrams twice daily for seven days. The antibiotic dose itself is fine. But she's also on simvastatin forty milligrams, and the two together aren't recommended. The clarithromycin pushes up the simvastatin level, and there's a risk of muscle damage.

Community pharmacist: Now, I don't think you need to change the antibiotic, given her penicillin allergy. What I'd suggest is that she simply stops the simvastatin while she's on the clarithromycin, and restarts it once she's finished the course. If you're happy with that, I can explain it to her at the counter.

Gp: Oh, good catch, thank you. Yes, that's sensible. And could you tell her to come back if she gets any muscle aches?

Community pharmacist: Will do. I'll note it on her record.

Narrator: Question twenty-seven. You hear a clinical nurse educator talking to ward staff. Now listen.

Clinical nurse educator: Morning, everyone. I'll keep this quick because I know you've got handover. From Monday, the way we use bed rails is changing. Up to now, a lot of us have put both rails up for anyone who's confused or at risk of falling, because it feels safer. The trouble is, our incident data shows patients climbing over raised rails, and that's when we see the worst injuries. So under the new procedure, you'll complete a bed rail risk assessment on admission, and if rails are used at all, you'll document why. For high falls-risk patients, the default is now a low-low bed, a sensor mat, and moving them closer to the nurses' station. I'm not saying rails are banned. They still have a place, during transfers, for example. Any questions, grab me afterwards.

Narrator: Question twenty-eight. You hear a midwife talking to a new mother. Now listen.

New mother: She just seems to want to feed constantly. Like, every hour last night. I'm starting to think I'm not making enough milk, and maybe I should just give her some formula.

Midwife: I hear that a lot on day three, and it's exhausting, isn't it? But feeding often at this stage is actually how your supply builds. Your milk's only just coming in. What I really go by is what's coming out. How many wet nappies has she had since this morning?

New mother: Um, four? And a couple of dirty ones, kind of more yellow now.

Midwife: That's a really good sign. And her weight loss yesterday was well within the normal range, so she's getting enough. I wouldn't start formula top-ups unless there's a medical reason. What might help, though, is a deeper latch, because I noticed you wincing just now. Shall we try a different position together at the next feed?

New mother: Yes, please. It does hurt.

Narrator: Question twenty-nine. You hear an infection prevention nurse briefing ward staff. Now listen.

Infection prevention clinical nurse consultant: Thanks for coming at short notice. As most of you know, we've now got six patients and two staff on Ward 4B with vomiting and diarrhoea, and the lab's confirmed norovirus in two samples, so we're managing this as an outbreak. The ward's closed to new admissions for now. Visitors aren't banned, but we're asking them to keep to essential visits and wash their hands going in and out. The key change for all of you is this: alcohol hand rub doesn't work well against norovirus, so after contact with affected patients or their surroundings, it's soap and running water, every time. Gowns and gloves for symptomatic patients, and cleaning moves to a chlorine-based product twice a day. And if you get symptoms, go home, and don't come back until you've been symptom-free for forty-eight hours.

Narrator: Question thirty. You hear a radiographer talking to a colleague. Now listen.

Radiographer: Meera, quick one about Mr Ferris, the lumbar spine at two o'clock. I've moved him to Thursday morning. It's not that he can't have the scan. I double-checked, and his pacemaker system is MRI-conditional, so we're fine on that front. But it has to be switched into MRI mode just before, and checked again straight after, and the cardiac physiologist who does that is off sick today. There's no cover until Thursday.

Radiographer: Oh, okay. Is he all right about it? He sounded a bit nervous on the phone yesterday.

Radiographer: He's a bit anxious about the scanner, yeah, but he was fine about the change, actually. Said it gives his daughter time to come with him. Could you let the ward know, so they don't send him down at two?