The candidate card
Setting
General practice
Candidate
In this original independent practice scenario, you are a GP seeing Mrs Yvette Miles, aged 47, about recurring episodes of a racing or fluttering heartbeat; she has no palpitations at the start of this consultation, and the cause has not been established. A resting ECG is available today to record the heart's electrical activity, with review of its result before she leaves; an intermittent problem may not appear during a brief recording, so ongoing symptoms may require further assessment or cardiology referral. She fears sudden death after reading online, and relevant general information is that palpitations often have non-serious causes but can also reflect a heart rhythm problem, so neither anxiety nor a harmless rhythm should be diagnosed prematurely. Check associated chest pain, breathlessness, faintness or fainting and relevant heart or family history: ongoing palpitations that do not stop, or palpitations with those associated symptoms, require emergency assessment without self-driving, while episodes with those associated symptoms that have stopped require urgent assessment; a complete ongoing clinical assessment may continue after this focused conversation.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out about Mrs Miles's episodes, associated warning symptoms and relevant heart or family history
- Explore what she read online and what she fears it means for her
- Explain the proposed ECG and the uncertainty that may remain after an initial test, offering proportionate reassurance
- Agree review of today's result and further follow-up if symptoms continue, including when to seek urgent or emergency help
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.
In this original independent practice scenario, you are a GP seeing Mrs Yvette Miles, aged 47, about recurring episodes of a racing or fluttering heartbeat; she has no palpitations at the start of this consultation, and the cause has not been established. A resting ECG is available today to record the heart's electrical activity, with review of its result before she leaves; an intermittent problem may not appear during a brief recording, so ongoing symptoms may require further assessment or cardiology referral. She fears sudden death after reading online, and relevant general information is that palpitations often have non-serious causes but can also reflect a heart rhythm problem, so neither anxiety nor a harmless rhythm should be diagnosed prematurely. Check associated chest pain, breathlessness, faintness or fainting and relevant heart or family history: ongoing palpitations that do not stop, or palpitations with those associated symptoms, require emergency assessment without self-driving, while episodes with those associated symptoms that have stopped require urgent assessment; a complete ongoing clinical assessment may continue after this focused conversation.
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
- Although she has no palpitations at the start, clarify the episodes, all listed associated warning symptoms, and relevant heart or family history before reassurance. This order keeps her fear from distracting you from information that could change the urgency of assessment.
- Ask which online statement frightened her and what she thinks it means for her own health. Her fear of sudden death is given; a diagnosis of anxiety is not. Reflect the fear without confirming the online conclusion or dismissing her reading.
- Explain the ECG as today's recording of the heart's electrical activity, with its result reviewed before she leaves. Establish its purpose before its limitations so uncertainty sounds like a reasoned assessment plan rather than an admission that testing is pointless.
- Offer balanced reassurance: palpitations often have non-serious causes, but a rhythm problem remains possible. Explain that intermittent symptoms may escape a brief recording; avoid calling a normal result proof of a harmless rhythm or treating her current symptom-free state as a diagnosis.
- Agree how today's result will be discussed and how continuing symptoms will prompt further assessment or possible cardiology referral. If time is short, prioritise result review and the complete emergency-versus-urgent advice, checking she understands the driving restriction and the difference between those actions.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- That worry about sudden death sounds frightening.
- We can take this discussion about your heartbeat at a pace that suits you.
- What question would you most like answered before you leave?
- Would you like me to go over any unfamiliar words?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| palpitations | The feeling of your heart racing or fluttering. |
| ECG | A recording of your heart's electrical activity. |
| cardiology | The specialist service for heart problems. |
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.
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All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
Should I challenge the website she read?
Avoid debating a website that you have not seen. Distinguish general online information from an assessment of her, and offer to discuss the material if she can show it. [Healthdirect](https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptoms/heart-palpitations) provides patient information, but a resource should support this conversation rather than replace answers to her specific concern.
What if she asks me to guarantee that she will not die suddenly?
Answer directly and compassionately: you cannot make that guarantee from this consultation. Acknowledge that uncertainty is difficult, and allow her to respond before continuing. Avoid numerical risk estimates because the card provides no basis for one, and do not interpret her silence as reassurance.
What exact urgent and emergency instructions should I give?
For palpitations that do not stop, or palpitations with chest pain, breathlessness, faintness or fainting, call 000 for an ambulance; do not drive yourself. If episodes with those associated symptoms have stopped, seek urgent assessment. Give both pathways together. [Healthdirect](https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptoms/heart-palpitations) supports the associated-symptom ambulance advice.
Sources
Last checked 22 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
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