The candidate card
Setting
General practice, UK
Candidate
You are a GP in this original independent practice scenario, seeing Mr Alton Brakus, aged 46, who has treated hypertension and is worried about variable home readings. Today's assessment has established that he feels well, needs no urgent treatment, has continued his prescription as directed without taking extra tablets, and has a validated upper-arm monitor with an appropriate cuff. A written plan for urgent and emergency help has already been explained and understood; he has a copy to take home, so you do not need to repeat its detailed instructions. He is considering taking extra medicine when a reading worries him; your proposed individual plan is to collect a complete seven-day record, continue his existing prescription unchanged and review him with his monitor in one week.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Explore his checking and recording habits and what worries him about higher readings
- Explain how to collect a useful record: sit quietly with the arm supported, follow monitor instructions, and record both readings taken at least one minute apart each morning and evening for seven days
- Advise him to continue his existing prescription unchanged and explain why individual readings should not prompt extra tablets
- Acknowledge his fears and negotiate one practical way to resist repeated checking between planned measurements, referring to his existing written safety plan
- Agree review in one week with his complete record and monitor, and check his understanding of the measurement and medicine plans
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 GP in this original independent practice scenario, seeing Mr Alton Brakus, aged 46, who has treated hypertension and is worried about variable home readings. Today's assessment has established that he feels well, needs no urgent treatment, has continued his prescription as directed without taking extra tablets, and has a validated upper-arm monitor with an appropriate cuff. A written plan for urgent and emergency help has already been explained and understood; he has a copy to take home, so you do not need to repeat its detailed instructions. He is considering taking extra medicine when a reading worries him; your proposed individual plan is to collect a complete seven-day record, continue his existing prescription unchanged and review him with his monitor in one week.
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
- Begin with what the readings mean to him: ask what he fears when they differ and what prompts another check. Symptoms and actual medicine use have already been established in today's assessment, leaving time to explore his checking and recording habits.
- Use today's assessment to explain that urgent treatment is not currently needed, without promising future readings cannot matter. Describe the record as information for a prescribing decision; avoid blaming language such as cherry-picking when discussing why every reading belongs.
- Combine the recording explanation with the routine: sit quietly, support the arm and follow monitor instructions; take two readings at least one minute apart, morning and evening for seven days, recording both. Explain that the complete pattern helps review treatment more than selecting the lowest results.
- Respond to his concern about staying safe between checks by confirming that his previously explained written safety plan still applies. Agree one practical way to manage the urge to repeat measurements. Keep the existing prescription unchanged pending prescribing review and explain that extra tablets could lower his blood pressure too far.
- Protect closing time for him to describe the measurement routine and medicine plan in his own words. Confirm review in one week with his complete record and monitor. The detailed urgent and emergency instructions have already been explained and understood; refer to his written copy without turning the closing discussion into another safety-net lesson.
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 Brakus, I'm the GP. Thank you for coming in. I'd like us to work out together how to make your home readings as useful as possible.”
- “To start, could you tell me how you usually check your blood pressure at home and how you keep a record?”
2. Key questions
- “How often do you check, and at what times of day?”
- “What do you do when a reading looks higher than you expected?”
- “What worries you most when you see a higher number?”
- “Do you ever check again straight away, and how do you feel when you do?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: He is likely to fear that a high reading means danger and that taking an extra tablet might be the safe response.
- “It's understandable that a higher number is frightening, and you don't need to apologise for being worried. Thank you for being open about what you've been considering.”
- “I'd like to explain why extra tablets aren't the answer, and then we can find a way to make the checking feel calmer.”
4. Explaining
- “For the next seven days, sit quietly with your arm supported and follow the monitor's instructions. Take two readings at least a minute apart, every morning and evening, and write down both. Is that clear so far?”
- “Please keep taking your tablets exactly as prescribed, with no extra doses. One reading on its own doesn't give the whole picture, so we'll decide using your complete seven-day record. What questions do you have?”
5. Closing
- “Would it help to check only at your set morning and evening times, and to write the readings down rather than recheck between them? If you feel unwell or very worried, please follow your written plan.”
- “So: a complete seven-day record, your tablets unchanged, and a review with your monitor in one week. Could you tell me in your own words how you'll do that?”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- It sounds unsettling to see different results.
- You do not need to apologise for being worried.
- Which part would you like me to explain differently?
- Does this feel manageable alongside your usual day?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| hypertension | high blood pressure |
| validated upper-arm monitor | an upper-arm blood pressure machine tested for accuracy |
| prescribing review | a discussion with a prescriber about whether your medicine needs changing |
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
- Child with suspected sleep apnoea: explain referral and observation Paediatric clinic, Australia
- Advanced illness and treatment preferences: discuss a patient-led care conversation Palliative outpatient clinic, UK
- Repeat blood testing after a confirmed sample-labelling error: explain an acknowledged care error and rebuild trust General practice, UK
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
What if he asks for an exact blood pressure target?
No individual treatment target is supplied, so do not invent one. Explain that it will be clarified at his prescribing review. Distinguish a treatment target from the supplied safety threshold: a top number of 180 or higher, or bottom number of 120 or higher, requires immediate practice or NHS 111 advice under his existing written plan. Symptoms may require help at lower readings. This threshold does not need to be retaught as a routine task.
Should I suggest buying another monitor?
The card already establishes that his upper-arm monitor is validated and its cuff is appropriate. There is no supplied reason to recommend replacing it. Avoid implying those checks guarantee every result is correct; ask him to describe how he uses the equipment.
What emergency advice fits this UK scenario?
His written safety plan has already been explained and understood, so detailed repetition is not required. For reference, it directs him to call 999 immediately for sudden persistent chest pain, severe breathlessness, a sudden extremely painful headache or suspected stroke, including sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, vision changes or loss of balance. Stroke symptoms still require emergency help if they stop. Emergency symptoms take priority over any reading: do not wait for another blood pressure measurement or drive yourself; follow the ambulance service's instructions. Other new headaches, blurred vision or dizziness without emergency features need same-day practice or NHS 111 advice under his individual plan. See NHS chest-pain guidance, NHS breathlessness guidance, NHS stroke guidance and NHS headache guidance, checked 5 November 2026.
How do I handle it if he insists on keeping the option of an extra tablet?
Stay calm and don't argue. Acknowledge the fear, then restate that your plan is to continue the prescription unchanged until review. Ask what would make him feel safer, and point him to the written plan he already holds for anything urgent.
How can I fit the measurement instructions into the time without overloading him?
Give them in two or three short chunks: position, timing, recording. Pause after each to check he's following, then invite him to repeat the routine back. Leave the extra-tablet discussion until the measurement steps are settled so each message lands clearly.
Sources
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