The candidate card
Setting
Haematology day unit, UK
Candidate
In this original independent practice role-play, you are a nurse seeing Ms Amparo Schumm, aged 43, for a planned sickle cell care review. She is currently pain-free and feels well, but says she may avoid seeking help during another painful episode because she felt dismissed during a previous emergency department visit. For this fictional case, her treating team has documented this individual help-seeking plan: contact the haematology advice service, available day and night, for non-severe pain that is worsening or not settling; if the service cannot be reached, seek urgent medical assessment rather than wait for a routine appointment; call 999 for severe pain, breathing difficulties or vomiting during a suspected crisis, or for a high temperature, without waiting for a callback or driving herself to hospital. The plan also records that staff should listen to her account, ask what treatment she has already used and what has helped previously, assess her promptly and reassess her response to treatment; you can provide a paper copy and save the advice-service contact in her phone today.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out what happened during Ms Schumm's previous encounter, how it affects her willingness to seek help and whether she has any symptoms now.
- Acknowledge the impact of feeling dismissed, apologise for her experience and explain that her knowledge of her own pain matters.
- Explain her team's individual help-seeking and assessment plan, inviting her views about whether it addresses her concerns.
- Explain which symptoms require calling 999 immediately rather than waiting to speak to the haematology service.
- Agree practical steps to make the plan accessible, and check her understanding using a brief example of another painful episode.
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 role-play, you are a nurse seeing Ms Amparo Schumm, aged 43, for a planned sickle cell care review. She is currently pain-free and feels well, but says she may avoid seeking help during another painful episode because she felt dismissed during a previous emergency department visit. For this fictional case, her treating team has documented this individual help-seeking plan: contact the haematology advice service, available day and night, for non-severe pain that is worsening or not settling; if the service cannot be reached, seek urgent medical assessment rather than wait for a routine appointment; call 999 for severe pain, breathing difficulties or vomiting during a suspected crisis, or for a high temperature, without waiting for a callback or driving herself to hospital. The plan also records that staff should listen to her account, ask what treatment she has already used and what has helped previously, assess her promptly and reassess her response to treatment; you can provide a paper copy and save the advice-service contact in her phone today.
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
- Briefly establish whether she has symptoms now, then invite her account of the previous visit before explaining anything. Ask which part makes seeking help difficult; she may worry about being dismissed again, but explore rather than assume that concern.
- After hearing her account, apologise for her experience and affirm that her knowledge of her pain matters. Make the assessment plan tangible: staff should listen, ask about treatments already used and previous benefit, assess promptly and reassess her response. Avoid framing reluctance as non-compliance.
- Make the non-emergency route concrete before discussing access barriers: for non-severe pain that is worsening or not settling, contact the day-and-night haematology advice service. If unreachable, seek urgent medical assessment rather than a routine appointment. Avoid presenting waiting as the fallback.
- For a suspected crisis, call 999 for severe pain, breathing difficulties or vomiting; also call 999 for a high temperature. Do not wait for a callback or drive yourself. Present these as her team's individual instructions, without softening their urgency.
- Close by asking whether the plan addresses what troubled her, then offer the paper copy and save the contact in her phone. Use a brief hypothetical episode to check her decisions. If time is short, prioritise understanding the urgent actions over further background discussion.
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 Schumm, I'm the nurse for your care review today. I understand you're pain-free and feeling well at the moment. Is that right?”
- “When you feel ready, could you tell me about your previous emergency department visit and what happened?”
2. Key questions
- “What happened during that visit that left you feeling dismissed?”
- “How does that experience affect whether you would seek help during another painful episode?”
- “Do you have any symptoms at the moment?”
- “When you have an episode, what treatment do you usually use first, and what has helped before?”
3. Handling the patient's concern
Likely concern: She may fear not being believed again and delay seeking help.
- “I'm sorry you felt dismissed. That's not the care you deserve. You know your pain and your body best, and what you tell us matters.”
- “Your plan records that staff should listen to you, ask what you've already used and what has helped, assess you promptly and reassess how you respond.”
4. Explaining
- “For pain that isn't severe but is worsening or not settling, call the haematology advice service, day or night. If you can't reach them, get urgent medical assessment rather than waiting for a routine appointment. Does that seem workable?”
- “Call 999 for severe pain, breathing difficulties, vomiting during a suspected crisis, or a high temperature. Don't wait for a callback or drive yourself to hospital. Is that clear, and does the plan address your concerns?”
5. Closing
- “Today I can give you a paper copy of the plan and save the advice-service number in your phone. Shall we do that together now?”
- “Let's check with an example: you're at home with pain that's worsening but not severe. What would you do? And what if you were vomiting?”
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Thank you for telling me something that may be difficult to revisit.
- Would you prefer to talk through that visit slowly?
- May I pause to make sure I have understood you correctly?
- Which part would you like us to go over together?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| haematology | Care for people with blood conditions. |
| reassess | Check again how you are responding to treatment. |
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 should I do if she becomes upset while describing the emergency department visit?
Pause your questions and allow her time to speak or be silent. Offer a choice about continuing now or taking a moment. Avoid filling the pause with explanations about the department; that could make her feel she must defend her experience.
How should I answer if she asks me to guarantee that her next visit will be different?
Be honest that you cannot guarantee how a future encounter will unfold. Avoid promises about particular staff, waiting times or treatment outcomes. Ask what a better encounter would look like to her, so you can identify any concern that remains unresolved.
What if she cannot remember which treatment she used during the previous episode?
Do not guess or turn the conversation into a memory test. Give her time and ask whether she remembers any names or what seemed helpful. Clearly distinguish what she recalls from what remains uncertain, without suggesting treatment changes that the card does not provide.
What if she says she would never go back to that emergency department?
Acknowledge it without defending colleagues. Return to the plan: advice service first for non-severe pain, but 999 for severe pain, breathing difficulty, vomiting or high temperature. Invite her to say what would make the plan feel safer and more respectful.
How do I check understanding without it sounding like a test?
Frame it as checking you explained clearly. Offer a short scenario of another painful episode, first non-severe worsening pain, then one with a high temperature, and ask what she would do. Praise correct steps and re-explain any gaps.
Sources
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