The candidate card
Setting
Community home visit, England
Candidate
In this original independent practice scenario, you are a community nurse visiting Ms Debolina Sengupta, aged 67, who lives alone and was assessed by her GP after a fall without injury last week; she reports no further falls or new symptoms. Her pendant alarm connects to a monitoring centre day and night, but her daughter is the only listed responder, and Ms Sengupta now says that her daughter cannot always attend. For this case, the provider has confirmed that her existing funded package includes a trained responder service for non-emergency assistance, with no additional charge, but it has not been activated; the coordinator can clarify the response pathway, consent, authorised access using her existing key safe and any interim arrangements. Neither the alarm nor the responder service guarantees immediate attendance, although the monitoring centre can contact emergency services when needed; your task is to agree a joint call with Ms Sengupta and identify what still needs confirmation, with the call taking place after the role-play.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out how Ms Sengupta expects the alarm to work and when her daughter can realistically answer or attend, including any other support she would consider.
- Explain the gap in the current arrangement and the responder option included in her individual package, distinguishing monitoring from someone attending.
- Explore her concerns about changing the arrangement and reassure her that planning reliable help can support her wish to remain independent.
- Explain when emergency help is needed after a fall: call 999 if she cannot get up or may have injured her head, back, neck or hip; use her reachable alarm to summon help if she cannot reach a phone.
- Agree her consent to a joint call to the coordinator after the role-play to clarify the response pathway, responder availability, authorised home access and any interim arrangements needed before activation; summarise what remains unconfirmed and 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.
In this original independent practice scenario, you are a community nurse visiting Ms Debolina Sengupta, aged 67, who lives alone and was assessed by her GP after a fall without injury last week; she reports no further falls or new symptoms. Her pendant alarm connects to a monitoring centre day and night, but her daughter is the only listed responder, and Ms Sengupta now says that her daughter cannot always attend. For this case, the provider has confirmed that her existing funded package includes a trained responder service for non-emergency assistance, with no additional charge, but it has not been activated; the coordinator can clarify the response pathway, consent, authorised access using her existing key safe and any interim arrangements. Neither the alarm nor the responder service guarantees immediate attendance, although the monitoring centre can contact emergency services when needed; your task is to agree a joint call with Ms Sengupta and identify what still needs confirmation, with the call taking place after the role-play.
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
- Start with her picture of what happens after pressing the pendant, then explore when her daughter can answer or attend. This reveals the practical gap without blaming either woman; ask which other support she would feel comfortable considering.
- Separate receiving an alert from someone coming to the house before introducing the funded responder option. Explain that her individual package includes trained non-emergency assistance at no additional charge, while neither monitoring nor the responder service guarantees immediate attendance.
- Before discussing activation, explore what changing the arrangement means to her. A likely worry is losing independence, but ask rather than assume. Frame reliable help as supporting her choices, and seek her consent to telephone the coordinator together after the role-play.
- Give the emergency advice together: after a fall, call 999 if she cannot get up or may have injured her head, back, neck or hip; if she cannot reach a phone, use her reachable alarm to summon help.
- Protect closing time to agree the joint call and summarise what the coordinator still needs to confirm: the response pathway, responder availability, authorised key-safe access, activation and any interim arrangements needed. The call takes place after the role-play; no provider confirmation or completed interim arrangement is required during this conversation. Ask her to explain what remains unresolved, and do not imply that her daughter can cover the gap.
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 Sengupta, I'm the community nurse. How have you been since your fall last week?”
- “I'd like to talk about your alarm. How do you expect it to work if you need help?”
2. Key questions
- “When you press the alarm, who do you expect to come, and how soon?”
- “When can your daughter realistically answer or come to you?”
- “Is there anyone else, or any other help, that you would consider?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: She is likely to worry that changing the arrangement could threaten her independence or bring strangers into her home.
- “That's understandable; staying independent at home matters. Planning reliable help is meant to support that, and you decide what you're comfortable with.”
- “Would you be happy for us to make a joint call to the coordinator afterwards? Please tell me if any option doesn't feel right.”
4. Explaining
- “Your alarm connects to a monitoring centre day and night, but your daughter is the only listed responder and can't always come. Monitoring isn't the same as someone attending.”
- “Your package already includes a trained responder service for non-emergency help, at no extra charge, but it hasn't been activated. Neither guarantees immediate attendance, though the centre can contact emergency services when needed.”
5. Closing
- “So, with your agreement, we'll call the coordinator together to clarify the response pathway, responder availability, authorised access with your key safe and interim arrangements; none is confirmed yet. Does that match your understanding?”
- “If you fall and can't get up, or may have hurt your head, back, neck or hip, call 999; if you can't reach a phone, use your alarm. Is that clear?”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- It sounds as though the current arrangement leaves you with some uncertainty.
- You can tell me if an option does not feel right for you.
- Would it help if I paused there?
- Which part would you like us to go over again?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| pendant alarm | The alarm you wear and press to call for help. |
| monitoring centre | The service that receives your alarm alert, day and night. |
| trained responder service | Trained people who can attend to provide non-emergency help. |
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
What if she declines the responder option?
Find out which part she objects to rather than treating refusal as a failure to understand. Ask whether she would discuss alternatives with the coordinator in a joint call after the role-play. Do not describe an unaccepted service as arranged, and make any unresolved gap explicit before ending the conversation.
Should I revisit the GP assessment after last week's fall?
Use the recorded assessment, absence of injury and her report of no further falls or new symptoms as context. Avoid spending the conversation reconstructing an assessment already described on the card. Equally, do not turn those observations into a claim that future help will be unnecessary.
What if she asks whether accepting help means her daughter is being replaced?
Ask how she would like her daughter to remain involved. Avoid presenting this as a choice between family and professional help. The card does not establish whether the provider can retain particular responder arrangements, so agree to put her preferred combination to the coordinator during the call after the role-play.
What if she declines the responder service?
Respect her decision and explore her reasons. Remind her it is already part of her package at no extra charge and not yet activated, and that relying on her daughter alone leaves a gap. Offer to revisit it, and still agree the joint call.
How do I explain monitoring versus attending without frightening her?
Use a simple contrast: the centre can be contacted and can call people, but that doesn't mean someone arrives straight away. Add that it can contact emergency services when needed, so she hears both the limit and the safeguard.
Sources
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