The candidate card
Setting
Emergency department
Candidate
You are a doctor in the emergency department. Mr Fergal Lenihan's 2-year-old daughter has had vomiting and diarrhoea for 24 hours. On your assessment she is alert, playful at times and mildly dehydrated. She has tolerated a trial of small, frequent sips of oral rehydration solution in the department, and she is suitable to go home. Her father has asked to speak to you before leaving.
Task (interlocutor: parent)
- Find out about Mr Lenihan's concerns about taking his daughter home
- Explain why oral rehydration is the recommended treatment for her (rather than a drip)
- Explain how to give fluids and food at home (small, frequent amounts; which drinks to avoid)
- Reassure Mr Lenihan about his worries and explain the warning signs that mean he should return
- Agree a plan for tonight and arrange follow-up
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.
How to approach this card
- Begin with his concerns about going home. A father who asked to speak to you before leaving is likely uneasy, perhaps about the drip or being sent home, but let him say it. Do not start by defending your decision.
- Use what has already happened as your evidence: she is alert, playful at times, and tolerated small sips of oral rehydration in the department. Explain why a drip is not what she needs now, in terms of what you observed, not rules.
- Make the fluid advice practical for tonight: small, frequent amounts, an easy rhythm for offering them, what to do about food, and the drinks to avoid named concretely. Specific, doable steps help a tired parent more than a long explanation.
- Give clear return advice together: return urgently if she cannot keep fluids down, passes much less urine, has green or bloody vomit, blood in her stool, severe persistent tummy pain or is getting worse. Call 000 if she is hard to wake, unconscious or has severe breathing difficulty. Write this down and check his understanding.
- Agree what to do tonight, who to call, and when she will be seen again, then ask him to repeat the key points. If time is short, protect the return signs and fluid technique above all else.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- You know your daughter best, and I want you to feel confident tonight.
- She has taken the fluids well here, which is what I wanted to see.
- If you are ever unsure tonight, bring her back. You will not be bothering us.
- Can you tell me how you will give the fluids when you get home?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| oral rehydration solution | A special drink with the right salts and sugar to replace lost fluid. |
| dehydrated | Her body has lost more fluid than it has taken in. |
| gastroenteritis | A stomach and bowel infection that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. |
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). Grade B usually means 5 on each language criterion and 2 on each clinical one. 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
He insists on a drip. What do I say?
Acknowledge that he wants her to get better quickly. Explain that you are choosing the treatment that suits her condition now, based on how she looks and how she managed the drink. Say you will reassess if things change, and ask what he is most afraid might happen at home.
How do I ask about his concerns without sounding like I doubt him?
Make it clear you value his judgement as her parent, and phrase the question as what would help him feel ready to go home. This invites specifics, such as fear of missing something, rather than a defensive yes or no.
How much do I explain about dehydration?
Keep it to what he can see and do: how she looks, how she plays, and whether she is drinking. Avoid long physiology. Use his own observations as the link to the return signs so the advice feels relevant and easy to remember.
Sources
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