The candidate card
Setting
General practice
Candidate
You are a GP in this original independent practice case; all patient measurements, history and proposed care arrangements are fictional case facts. Mr Buck Perkins, aged 40, has unintentionally lost five kilograms over three months during a stressful period at work, and the assessment so far has not established a cause. Your proposed individual plan is to complete the clinical assessment and arrange a full blood count, thyroid function and blood glucose tests; the practice can offer blood sampling this week and a GP telephone review the following week, with further investigations guided by the findings. He wants reassurance that stress explains everything; use this five-minute conversation to explore that expectation and agree investigation and safety-netting, with the complete clinical assessment continuing afterwards.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out briefly about changes in eating or activity and any swallowing difficulty or bowel change; leave the fuller history for the continuing assessment
- Explain that stress may contribute but that unintentional weight loss has other possible causes which need assessment
- Explore why Mr Perkins thinks stress explains the weight loss and what worries him most; respond sensitively and encourage him to accept initial investigation without promising a diagnosis
- Explain the proposed blood tests briefly in simple terms: a full blood count for anaemia, thyroid function for an overactive thyroid, and blood glucose for diabetes; explain that findings guide further care
- Agree blood sampling this week and a telephone review next week, including contacting the practice if the call is missed; check understanding of two routes for earlier help: contact the practice promptly for further weight loss, swallowing difficulty or bowel change; call 999 for vomiting blood with faintness or feeling unwell
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 case; all patient measurements, history and proposed care arrangements are fictional case facts. Mr Buck Perkins, aged 40, has unintentionally lost five kilograms over three months during a stressful period at work, and the assessment so far has not established a cause. Your proposed individual plan is to complete the clinical assessment and arrange a full blood count, thyroid function and blood glucose tests; the practice can offer blood sampling this week and a GP telephone review the following week, with further investigations guided by the findings. He wants reassurance that stress explains everything; use this five-minute conversation to explore that expectation and agree investigation and safety-netting, with the complete clinical assessment continuing afterwards.
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
- Explore changes in eating or activity and ask briefly about swallowing difficulty or bowel change before asking what links the weight loss to work stress in his mind. Find out what he hopes reassurance would resolve; the complete assessment continues after this conversation.
- Acknowledge the stressful period without treating timing as proof of cause. Use the documented five kilograms over three months without implying acceleration; explain that the assessment has not yet established why the weight loss occurred.
- Explain the three named initial blood tests briefly: a blood count for anaemia, thyroid testing for an overactive thyroid, and a blood sugar check for diabetes. Present these as selected starting points whose findings guide subsequent decisions, rather than a guaranteed answer or comprehensive clearance.
- Respond to requests for certainty by separating what is known from what remains unanswered. The usual trap is either agreeing that stress explains everything or listing frightening diagnoses that the history has not established.
- Agree blood sampling this week and a telephone review the following week, including what happens if the call is missed. Check his understanding of the two earlier-help routes on the card: contacting the practice for continuing weight loss or new swallowing or bowel symptoms, and calling 999 for vomiting blood with faintness or feeling unwell. Keep the recap brief and invite him to describe the plan.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Waiting for answers can feel unsettling.
- Thank you for explaining what you were hoping to hear.
- Let me pause so you can ask questions.
- Would a brief recap be helpful?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| unintentional weight loss | losing weight without trying to |
| clinical assessment | asking about your health and examining you |
| further investigations | additional checks guided by what we find |
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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- Gestational diabetes: discuss a shared care plan Antenatal clinic (UK)
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Medicine.
Questions about this role-play
What if he asks whether blood tests can rule out everything serious?
Explain that the proposed tests are an initial step, not a promise that every possible cause will be excluded. Avoid predicting normal or abnormal results. Ask which concern he wants the tests to resolve, so that the eventual results discussion can address it directly.
How should I explain when to seek help before the results appointment?
Give the two routes on the card: contact the practice promptly for further weight loss, new swallowing difficulty or bowel change; call 999 for vomiting blood with faintness or feeling unwell, without driving himself. If asked about vomiting blood that has stopped without other symptoms, advise an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. These are future warning signs, not current symptoms. Sources checked on 3 November 2026: NHS unintentional weight loss (https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/unintentional-weight-loss/) and NHS vomiting blood (https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/vomiting-blood/).
What if he says that no news about results will mean everything is fine?
Correct that assumption explicitly. Agree the proposed telephone review for the week after blood sampling and confirm the contact number; he should contact the practice if the call does not happen. Explain that results requiring earlier action will be addressed sooner. The appointment is a fictional case arrangement, not a guarantee that every result will be available together; any outstanding results need an explicit follow-up plan.
Sources
Last checked 22 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
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