The candidate card
Setting
Community heart-failure clinic, England
Candidate
This is original independent practice material; the patient history, individual care plan and equipment availability are fictional case facts. You are a nurse seeing Ms Eve Sharpe, aged 49, who has heart failure and has brought an empty weight record despite her team's agreed daily-monitoring plan. Her existing response plan is to contact the heart-failure team promptly for sudden weight gain or new or worsening breathlessness or swelling, seek an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 advice if the team cannot be reached, and call 999 for severe difficulty breathing, such as gasping or being unable to get words out. A talking scale is available to try and borrow today, and you can provide an audio version of her response plan.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Explore Ms Sharpe's experience of weighing and recording, what has made this difficult, and whether she has any new symptoms.
- Explain how weight monitoring can help identify fluid build-up and guide her care, responding to her concerns without judgement.
- Discuss accessible ways to obtain and record readings, offering a trial of the talking scale and asking what she would prefer.
- Clarify her team's existing response plan, including how to obtain urgent help without waiting for a weight reading.
- Agree a feasible daily routine, an accessible record and response plan, and how the clinic will check whether these arrangements work; check her understanding.
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.
This is original independent practice material; the patient history, individual care plan and equipment availability are fictional case facts. You are a nurse seeing Ms Eve Sharpe, aged 49, who has heart failure and has brought an empty weight record despite her team's agreed daily-monitoring plan. Her existing response plan is to contact the heart-failure team promptly for sudden weight gain or new or worsening breathlessness or swelling, seek an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 advice if the team cannot be reached, and call 999 for severe difficulty breathing, such as gasping or being unable to get words out. A talking scale is available to try and borrow today, and you can provide an audio version of her response plan.
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
- Begin with a brief check for new symptoms before discussing the empty record. Then ask her to describe what happens when she tries to weigh and record; a likely concern to explore is feeling judged.
- Before explaining the purpose or suggesting equipment, use open questions to explore what she thinks weight changes mean and how she thinks the readings will be used. Explain that readings can help identify fluid build-up and support care, responding without judgement to the concerns she expresses. Avoid describing entries as good or bad.
- Separate obtaining a reading from recording it, because each may present different difficulties. Offer a hands-on talking-scale trial before seeking agreement to borrow it, then ask which recording format she could actually use each day.
- Give her existing response plan verbally before offering the audio version, so access to a recording never becomes a prerequisite for help. If time runs short, prioritise current symptoms and every response route over detailed equipment discussion.
- Close by linking her preferred method to a daily activity she identifies, then agree how the clinic will review its usefulness. Ask her to demonstrate recording and explain her response choices; avoid treating a polite yes as evidence of understanding.
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 Sharpe, I'm the nurse seeing you today. Thank you for coming. I see the weight record is empty, and I'd like to understand how things have been.”
- “How have you found weighing yourself each day, and how have you been feeling generally?”
2. Key questions
- “What has made weighing yourself and writing the weight down difficult?”
- “Have you noticed any new or worse breathlessness or swelling?”
- “We have a talking scale you could borrow today. Would you like to try it, and how would you prefer to record readings?”
- “If you felt unwell at the moment, what would you do and who would you contact?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: She may feel embarrassed or frustrated about the empty record, or find the current routine hard to use.
- “Thank you for being honest. You're not in trouble, and the aim is to find something that works for you, not to judge.”
- “If the weighing is hard, that's something we can change. Let's work out what would make it easier and what you'd prefer.”
4. Explaining
- “Daily weights can show when fluid is building up in your body, so your team can guide your care. I'd like to find a way of doing this that works for you. Does that make sense?”
- “Ring the heart-failure team promptly for sudden weight gain, or new or worsening breathlessness or swelling; if unreachable, seek an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 advice. Call 999 for severe breathing difficulty: gasping, or unable to get words out.”
5. Closing
- “You'll borrow the talking scale today and record readings the way we agreed, and I'll give you an audio copy of your plan. You don't need a reading before asking for help.”
- “We'll agree when to check how this is working for you. Could you tell me in your own words what you would do if you became breathless or noticed swelling?”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Thank you for telling me what has been difficult.
- Would you like a moment to try that yourself?
- Which part would you like me to explain differently?
- What still feels awkward about this arrangement?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| heart failure | Your heart is not pumping blood as well as it should. |
| fluid build-up | Extra fluid collecting in your body. |
| daily monitoring | Checking and keeping a record each day. |
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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Questions about this role-play
Does the talking scale mean I should assume she has sight loss?
No. The card does not identify a disability or explain the difficulty. Ask about reading the display, using the scale and accessing records without assigning a diagnosis. Present the available equipment as an option, and let her experience establish whether it helps.
Should I provide a numerical weight-gain threshold or advise treatment changes?
Neither is supplied. Use sudden weight gain as stated in her existing plan, without inventing a kilogram threshold. Do not suggest changing medicines or fluid intake. If she requests an individual threshold or treatment adjustment, explain that this needs clarification with her heart-failure team.
Exactly what help-seeking advice belongs in this England-based scenario?
Contact the heart-failure team promptly for sudden weight gain or new or worsening breathlessness or swelling. If unreachable, seek an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 advice. For severe difficulty breathing, such as gasping or being unable to get words out, call 999. Do not wait for a weight reading before seeking help.
What if she doesn't want to use the talking scale?
Accept that, ask what she would prefer, and explore what still feels difficult. Don't pressure her to take it. Offer the audio response plan anyway and agree on a time to review, so she keeps support whichever method she chooses.
How do I raise the response plan without frightening her?
Present it as a safety net she can use at any time, not a prediction. Go through it calmly in order, stress that she doesn't need a weight reading to ask for help, and ask her to say it back in her own words.
Sources
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