The candidate card
Setting
Geriatric outpatient clinic, UK
Candidate
In this original independent practice role-play, you are a doctor speaking with Ms Ruby Olivera, aged 60, whose 82-year-old mother has consented to this separate discussion; her mother was assessed after two falls without serious injury, one involving a garden hose and the other occurring while turning indoors. In today's private consultation, her mother demonstrated capacity for the garden-access decision, understood the injury risk and expressed a wish to continue visiting the garden bench independently because it is an important daily pleasure. Her mother is willing to discuss carrying a phone and addressing hazards, has been offered falls-service and home-safety assessments that have not yet occurred, and is available afterwards to confirm proposals; Ms Olivera initially wants every trip supervised but will consider alternatives if her worry is acknowledged. For another fall, advise calling 999 if her mother cannot get up or may have injured her head, neck, back or hip, keeping her warm and comfortable without lifting her, and using NHS 111 for other pain, injury or illness.
Task (interlocutor: relative)
- Find out Ms Olivera's main worry and what she understands about her mother's reasons for independent garden access
- Explain her mother's expressed preference and right to make this decision, acknowledging Ms Olivera's fear and allowing her to respond
- Discuss up to two practical safeguards linked to her concern, inviting her views without promising complete safety
- Agree proposals to confirm with her mother, including support Ms Olivera can offer and help arranging the offered assessments
- Explain the supplied after-fall help advice and check understanding of the agreed next steps
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 role-play, you are a doctor speaking with Ms Ruby Olivera, aged 60, whose 82-year-old mother has consented to this separate discussion; her mother was assessed after two falls without serious injury, one involving a garden hose and the other occurring while turning indoors. In today's private consultation, her mother demonstrated capacity for the garden-access decision, understood the injury risk and expressed a wish to continue visiting the garden bench independently because it is an important daily pleasure. Her mother is willing to discuss carrying a phone and addressing hazards, has been offered falls-service and home-safety assessments that have not yet occurred, and is available afterwards to confirm proposals; Ms Olivera initially wants every trip supervised but will consider alternatives if her worry is acknowledged. For another fall, advise calling 999 if her mother cannot get up or may have injured her head, neck, back or hip, keeping her warm and comfortable without lifting her, and using NHS 111 for other pain, injury or illness.
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
- Use the supplied falls history and focus your questions on the daughter's main worry and her understanding of her mother's priorities. Ask only the practical follow-up needed to select a useful safeguard.
- Acknowledge her fear, then explain her mother's capacity for this particular decision and her stated daily pleasure. Allow a response before moving on; avoid implying that age or family disagreement transfers the decision to someone else.
- Select up to two safeguards with the daughter, linked to her main concern and what her mother is willing to discuss. Carrying an accessible phone and addressing a relevant hazard are options. Invite her views and respond to any remaining question without promising that precautions will prevent every fall.
- Frame the discussion as proposals to check with her mother, who is available to confirm them. Clarify what support the daughter can offer and who will help arrange the offered falls and home-safety assessments; neither the daughter's agreement nor an appointment establishes her mother's acceptance.
- Close with the after-fall help advice supplied on the candidate card and check understanding of the next steps. Keep the discussion focused enough to preserve the mother's opportunity to confirm, change or reject the proposals.
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 Ms Olivera, thank you for coming. I'm the doctor who saw your mother, and she has agreed that we can talk today.”
- “Before we start, I'd like to hear how you've been feeling about her falls. What's on your mind?”
2. Key questions
- “What worries you most when you think about your mother going out to the garden bench on her own?”
- “What is your understanding of why sitting on that bench matters so much to her?”
- “What would help you feel more comfortable if she carries on going out alone?”
- “What do you already do to support her, and what more could you offer?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: She likely fears another fall with serious injury and wants every trip supervised.
- “It's clear how much you care, and it's natural to be frightened after two falls. Your worry makes sense, and I'd like it to shape what we plan.”
- “I'm not dismissing your fear. Your mother understands the risks and has made a choice, so may I explain it and hear how it sounds to you?”
4. Explaining
- “Your mother, who has capacity for this decision, understands the risk of injury and wants to keep visiting the bench independently because it's an important daily pleasure. It's her decision to make. How does that sit with you?”
- “Two safeguards might ease your worry: she could carry a phone, and we could address hazards such as the garden hose. Neither makes it completely safe. What do you think of those?”
5. Closing
- “To confirm: I'll put the phone and hazard proposals to your mother, and you'll offer support and help arrange the falls-service and home-safety assessments. Is that what you'd like?”
- “After a fall: call 999 if she can't get up or may have hurt her head, neck, back or hip; keep her warm and comfortable without lifting. NHS 111 for other pain, injury or illness.”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- What would you most want your mother to understand about your concern?
- Where do you think your views and hers overlap?
- How would you feel about putting that proposal to her?
- What remains unresolved for you?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| capacity | Being able to understand, remember, weigh up and communicate this particular decision. |
| falls-service assessment | A review of her falls and what support might help. |
| home-safety assessment | A check of the home and access areas for hazards and possible changes. |
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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All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
What if the daughter asks me to forbid independent garden visits?
Do not turn her concern into a clinical prohibition unsupported by the card. Her mother has demonstrated capacity for this decision and understands the injury risk. Explore what the daughter would need to feel heard, then seek a proposal her mother can consider without making family permission a requirement.
Does consent to this discussion let me agree a plan for her mother?
No. Permission to speak with the daughter is distinct from agreement to a particular arrangement. Record the discussion as proposals, then invite the mother to confirm, change or reject them. Do not describe supervision, phone use or either assessment as agreed before that confirmation.
What help should I advise after another fall?
Call 999 if she cannot get up or may have injured her head, neck, back or hip. Keep her warm and comfortable; do not lift her yourself. Use NHS 111 for other pain, injury or illness. Inform her GP even without apparent injury. Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/falls/ , checked 4 November 2026.
What if Ms Olivera still insists on supervising every trip?
Acknowledge her fear again and explain that you cannot override her mother's capacitous choice. Ask what supervision would protect against, then return to the two safeguards. Offer to put her concern to her mother and suggest a time when they can talk together.
How do I avoid sharing too much from the mother's private consultation?
Share only what her mother has agreed to: her preference, her understanding of the risk and her willingness to discuss a phone and hazards. Say openly that you are sharing this with consent, and invite Ms Olivera to raise anything else with her mother directly.
Sources
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