The candidate card
Setting
Home nursing visit
Candidate
In this original independent practice scenario, you are a community nurse visiting Mr John Boetet, aged 46, who cares for his father at home following a stroke; his father cannot change position independently, and Mr Boetet believes the newly supplied pressure-relieving mattress makes repositioning unnecessary. Fictional service arrangements: with his father's agreement, you can assess skin, pressure-injury risk and moving needs during this visit, develop an individual written prevention plan, and contact the community care coordinator to request additional assistance, although extra visits are not yet confirmed. Clinical information: the mattress helps reduce pressure but does not replace regular changes of position or daily skin checks; the positioning method and frequency must suit the individual assessment, and Mr Boetet should not attempt lifting or moving that he cannot safely manage. New discolouration, soreness or broken skin needs prompt assessment, while associated heat, swelling, pus, fever or severe or worsening pain needs urgent medical advice; a complete ongoing assessment and support planning may continue after this focused conversation.
Task (interlocutor: relative)
- Find out how Mr Boetet is managing his father's care, what he understands about the mattress and whether he has noticed any skin problems.
- Explain why the mattress supports rather than replaces changes of position and skin checks.
- Acknowledge his exhaustion and discuss an individual assessment and shared support without expecting unsafe lifting.
- Agree the immediate assessment and request for practical help, including which skin changes need prompt or urgent advice, and check 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 Mr John Boetet, aged 46, who cares for his father at home following a stroke; his father cannot change position independently, and Mr Boetet believes the newly supplied pressure-relieving mattress makes repositioning unnecessary. Fictional service arrangements: with his father's agreement, you can assess skin, pressure-injury risk and moving needs during this visit, develop an individual written prevention plan, and contact the community care coordinator to request additional assistance, although extra visits are not yet confirmed. Clinical information: the mattress helps reduce pressure but does not replace regular changes of position or daily skin checks; the positioning method and frequency must suit the individual assessment, and Mr Boetet should not attempt lifting or moving that he cannot safely manage. New discolouration, soreness or broken skin needs prompt assessment, while associated heat, swelling, pus, fever or severe or worsening pain needs urgent medical advice; a complete ongoing assessment and support planning may continue after this focused conversation.
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 how Mr Boetet is managing and what he understands the mattress to do. A likely concern is whether essential care is manageable; ask which parts feel difficult before correcting his understanding, so the discussion does not sound like criticism.
- Explain that the mattress helps reduce pressure but does not replace regular position changes or daily skin checks. Describe it as one part of prevention, avoiding either a guarantee of protection or wording that makes the supplied equipment seem pointless.
- Move from general advice to an assessment of his father's skin, pressure-injury risk and moving needs, with his father's agreement. Positioning methods and frequency must follow that individual assessment; do not invent a schedule or expect movement Mr Boetet cannot safely manage.
- Keep the escalation advice together: new discolouration, soreness or broken skin needs prompt assessment; associated heat, swelling, pus, fever or severe or worsening pain needs urgent medical advice. Do not shorten either list or minimise changes because a mattress is present.
- Close by separating what can happen during this visit from the request for additional assistance. Acknowledge exhaustion, agree the individual written plan and coordinator contact, and check understanding without presenting requested extra visits as confirmed support.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Your observations about your father's skin are useful.
- What would make caring for him feel more manageable?
- May I pause so you can tell me your concerns?
- Which part would you like us to talk through again?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| pressure injury | Damage to the skin or tissue underneath from pressure. |
| repositioning | Helping your father change position. |
| pressure-relieving mattress | A mattress designed to help reduce pressure on the body. |
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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Next step for Australian nursing: if your pathway requires OBA after OET and NCLEX-RN, explore OSCE practice for Australian nurses at OSCE Australia, run by the same company as OETAce.
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Questions about this role-play
How should I discuss his father's involvement when speaking to the son?
Keep the father visible as the person receiving care rather than treating the relative's participation as a substitute for his agreement. Address questions to Mr Boetet about caring, while making clear whose agreement is needed for the proposed assessment.
What if Mr Boetet asks me to demonstrate a particular lifting technique immediately?
Do not turn a request for practical help into an unassessed demonstration. Explain that the visit includes examining moving needs, so you can establish what assistance is appropriate before proposing a technique. Avoid implying that a brief explanation establishes his ability to perform it.
How can I make the written plan useful rather than merely handing it over?
Invite Mr Boetet to identify any wording or instruction he cannot put into practice. Use his response to clarify the agreed arrangements and identify unresolved support needs. The plan should make the discussion usable, rather than simply record that advice was given.
Sources
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