The candidate card
Setting
Hospital outpatient bone-health clinic
Candidate
You are a doctor in this original independent practice case; the patient history and proposed appointment arrangements are fictional case facts. Ms Yuenyi Hui, aged 39, has specialist-confirmed osteoporosis following a vertebral fracture after a minor lifting movement, with prolonged steroid treatment contributing to her bone-health history. A clinic colleague prescribed alendronic acid, but she has not taken the first dose because she has read online accounts of jaw damage; today's five-minute discussion is to explore her concerns and arrange an individual prescribing review, involving her dentist with permission where appropriate, without deciding whether to start or change treatment or replacing a full prescribing consultation. Clinical briefing: alendronic acid is a bisphosphonate that slows bone breakdown to reduce fractures; jawbone damage with poor healing is a rare recognised complication, less common with osteoporosis treatment than with high-dose treatment for cancer; extractions and prolonged steroid treatment can increase risk, but an extraction does not automatically rule out treatment, and medicine timing requires individual review rather than a blanket stopping rule.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out what Ms Hui has read, whether she has started treatment, and whether she has current dental symptoms or planned dental procedures
- Explain why bone-strengthening treatment was offered in her case and use the clinical briefing to put the reported jaw risk into perspective
- Respond to her concerns without dismissing them or promising that a medicine has no risk
- Explain how any dental plans affect the need for an individual prescribing review rather than applying a general stopping rule
- Agree a review with the prescribing clinician and, with her permission, communication with her dentist before finalising her treatment plan
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 case; the patient history and proposed appointment arrangements are fictional case facts. Ms Yuenyi Hui, aged 39, has specialist-confirmed osteoporosis following a vertebral fracture after a minor lifting movement, with prolonged steroid treatment contributing to her bone-health history. A clinic colleague prescribed alendronic acid, but she has not taken the first dose because she has read online accounts of jaw damage; today's five-minute discussion is to explore her concerns and arrange an individual prescribing review, involving her dentist with permission where appropriate, without deciding whether to start or change treatment or replacing a full prescribing consultation. Clinical briefing: alendronic acid is a bisphosphonate that slows bone breakdown to reduce fractures; jawbone damage with poor healing is a rare recognised complication, less common with osteoporosis treatment than with high-dose treatment for cancer; extractions and prolonged steroid treatment can increase risk, but an extraction does not automatically rule out treatment, and medicine timing requires individual review rather than a blanket stopping rule.
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 she read and which part felt most relevant to her, while confirming that she has not started treatment. A likely concern is exchanging one health problem for another; explore that possibility without assigning it to her.
- Establish current dental symptoms and planned procedures before discussing treatment timing. This order makes the proposed review relevant to her circumstances and avoids giving a general rule about starting, withholding or changing a medicine around dental care.
- Connect the reason treatment was offered to her confirmed osteoporosis, vertebral fracture after minor lifting and prolonged steroid history. Keep the explanation personal and brief; avoid turning her young age into a reason to question the established diagnosis.
- Use the candidate card's clinical briefing to explain the rare jaw complication without inventing a personal frequency or promising freedom from harm. Relate her dental plans to the need for an individual review and check how she feels about that explanation. Give conditional safety advice: if she develops new pain or swelling in her mouth or jaw, loose teeth or mouth sores, she should contact her doctor and dentist straight away. These symptoms need assessment and do not by themselves establish medicine-related jaw damage; she has not taken any doses. Do not add a universal instruction to stop treatment. Safety advice checked on 3 November 2026 against NHS alendronic acid side effects (https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/alendronic-acid/side-effects-of-alendronic-acid/).
- Close with a review involving the prescribing clinician and permission-based dental communication, leaving the treatment decision explicitly unresolved. If time is short, prioritise the unanswered concern and review arrangements over a detailed account of how the medicine works.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Thank you for telling me before making a decision.
- It is reasonable to want a clear explanation.
- We can make space for your questions.
- Does this discussion address what concerned you most?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| osteoporosis | a condition in which bones are weaker and more likely to break |
| vertebral fracture | a break in a bone in the spine |
| alendronic acid | the bone-strengthening medicine you were prescribed |
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
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- Migraine with aura and contraception: discuss a safe contraceptive review Family planning clinic (community clinic, UK)
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
Should I introduce a label for the jaw problem she read about?
Use her wording first and clarify what the online account described. Do not assume that every account of jaw damage concerns the same problem or applies to her circumstances. If discussing recognised jawbone damage, use the supplied briefing in plain language and avoid introducing an unsupported personal risk estimate. NHS osteoporosis treatment information (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoporosis/treatment/), checked on 3 November 2026.
What if she asks whether the prescribing clinician prescribed the wrong medicine?
Avoid defending or criticising a colleague without the necessary prescribing discussion. Explain that raising a concern is a valid reason to revisit a prescription, but does not itself establish an error. Ask what she would need explained to feel that the review was useful.
What if she does not want the clinic to contact her dentist?
Respect that preference and clarify what she is uncomfortable sharing. Offer to let her bring the relevant dental information to the prescribing review herself. Record the communication preference, and do not describe permission to contact her dentist as a condition of receiving further care.
Sources
Last checked 22 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
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