The candidate card
Setting
Neurology outpatient clinic
Candidate
You are a doctor in this original independent practice scenario; the patient details and assessment below are fictional case facts. Mr Reynaldo Fortun, aged 52, has gradually developed shaking of both hands when writing or holding a cup, and today's neurological assessment supports essential tremor with no findings suggesting Parkinson's disease. The proposed approach is to identify the activities he most wants help with, discuss practical support or an individual medicine review according to his preferences, and arrange follow-up; no medicine has been selected. He assumes that any tremor inevitably means Parkinson's disease and is worried about losing his independence.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out how the tremor affects Mr Fortun's activities, what he believes it means and which difficulty he most wants addressed
- Explain today's assessed diagnosis and respond to his Parkinson's disease concern without guaranteeing that symptoms or findings can never change
- Discuss practical support and the option of an individual medicine review, explaining that treatment aims to reduce the impact of tremor
- Agree a next step reflecting his preferences, check understanding and explain how to seek reassessment if symptoms worsen or change
In the test you get 3 minutes to read the card and plan, then about 5 minutes to talk. This card is original, written for this site; the interlocutor's card is not shown.
Prepare this card, then say it out loud.
Plan your opening and the tasks below. Keep these notes when you move to the AI role-play.
You are a doctor in this original independent practice scenario; the patient details and assessment below are fictional case facts. Mr Reynaldo Fortun, aged 52, has gradually developed shaking of both hands when writing or holding a cup, and today's neurological assessment supports essential tremor with no findings suggesting Parkinson's disease. The proposed approach is to identify the activities he most wants help with, discuss practical support or an individual medicine review according to his preferences, and arrange follow-up; no medicine has been selected. He assumes that any tremor inevitably means Parkinson's disease and is worried about losing his independence.
Getting your plan ready…
Preparation is free without an account. AI conversation and marking need sign-in; your first role-play is free. Notes are saved on this device when available. This checklist is your plan, not a score.
How to approach this card
- Ask what losing independence would mean in his everyday life, then identify the activity he most wants help with. This makes the conversation concrete without assuming that writing or holding a cup is his greatest concern.
- Address his Parkinson's belief before discussing treatment, because otherwise he may interpret every option through that fear. Anchor reassurance to today's neurological assessment and its findings; avoid converting current evidence into a guarantee about all future symptoms.
- Explain essential tremor in relation to the shaking he has described during activities, without adding a prognosis or unprovided causes. Check what he now understands the diagnosis to mean before moving into choices about support.
- Present practical support and an individual medicine review as options guided by his priorities. Keep the aim realistic: reducing tremor's impact. The common error is promising normal function or implying that accepting medicine is necessary to preserve independence.
- Agree a next step tied to his chosen activity, arrange follow-up and explain how to contact the clinic for reassessment if symptoms worsen or change. If time is short, prioritise his main fear and a clear, preference-based next step.
Model route: what a strong candidate might say
Example lines in a workable order for about 5 minutes: opening, key questions, the patient's concern, explaining, then the close. Use them to plan, not to memorise: the patient's replies are not scripted here, and your next line should follow what they actually say.
1. Opening
- “Hello, Mr Fortun. I'm one of the doctors in the neurology clinic, and thank you for coming. I'd like to talk about your hands and what matters most to you.”
- “Could you tell me how the shaking has been affecting your day-to-day life?”
2. Key questions
- “Which activities, such as writing or holding a cup, are hardest, and which would you most like help with?”
- “What have you been thinking might be causing the shaking?”
- “How do you feel the tremor is affecting your independence?”
- “Would you like to hear about practical help, a medicine review, or both?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: He is likely to fear that the tremor means Parkinson's disease and that he will lose his independence.
- “Many people worry about exactly that, and it's understandable. Let's go through what today's examination showed.”
- “Your examination did not show findings that suggest Parkinson's disease. I can't promise things will never change, so if they do, we will look again.”
4. Explaining
- “Today's assessment supports essential tremor, which causes shaking in the hands, for example when writing or holding something. It did not show findings that suggest Parkinson's disease. How does that sit with what you expected?”
- “Treatment aims to reduce how much the tremor affects you. We can look at practical support, and also an individual medicine review if you wish. No medicine has been chosen. Which would you prefer?”
5. Closing
- “So we'll start with the help you've chosen for the activity that matters most to you, and arrange a follow-up to see how it's going.”
- “If the shaking gets worse or changes in any way, please contact the clinic or your GP to be reassessed. Could you tell me in your own words what we've agreed?”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Which part of your independence feels most important to protect?
- There is room to talk about the fear as well as the shaking.
- Would you like a moment before we discuss support?
- Does that answer the question you came in with?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| essential tremor | The assessed condition associated with your hands shaking during activities such as writing or holding a cup. |
| neurological assessment | An examination of how your nervous system is working. |
How this card is marked
Two assessors mark the recording on nine criteria: intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness of language and resources of grammar and expression (each 0–6), then relationship building, understanding and incorporating the patient's perspective, providing structure, information gathering and information giving (each 0–3). See the AI Speaking practice guide for what each criterion looks for.
More Medicine role-play cards
- Delirium after an acute illness: explain uncertainty and follow-up Hospital follow-up clinic, UK
- Changing skin lesion: discuss specialist assessment General practice, UK
- New hypothyroidism: explore expectations about prescribed treatment Endocrine outpatient clinic, UK
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
Should I describe the tremor as worsening because it developed gradually?
No. Gradual development describes the history given, but it does not establish continuing deterioration. Use the recorded description and ask about his experience rather than supplying a trend. The option of reassessment if symptoms worsen does not mean worsening is expected.
What if he asks me to choose a medicine now?
No medicine has been selected, and the card offers an individual medicine review according to his preferences. Do not name a drug, dose or expected response. Establish what he would want treatment to help him do and use that to inform the review.
How can I check whether reassurance has addressed his concern?
Ask what he now takes away from today's findings and whether anything still makes him think of Parkinson's disease. This checks the meaning he has understood without demanding agreement. Do not treat a quiet response or a nod as proof that his fear has resolved.
How do I handle it if he asks for a medicine to be started today?
Acknowledge his wish, then explain that no medicine has been chosen and that an individual review would look at what suits him. Offer to arrange that review and a follow-up rather than selecting a drug in this conversation.
What if he becomes upset when Parkinson's disease is mentioned?
Pause, name the feeling and let him set the pace. Repeat the key point simply: today's assessment did not show findings suggesting Parkinson's. Offer a moment before moving on to support, and ask what he fears most.
Sources
Last checked . Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
OETAce is an independent practice site. OET is a registered trademark of Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA); we are not affiliated with or endorsed by CBLA. All practice material here is original.