The candidate card
Setting
Home visit
Candidate
You are a community occupational therapist. Last week you assessed an 82-year-old woman with moderate dementia who lives with her daughter, Mrs Sina Kereama, aged 54, who is her main carer. Her mother has twice left saucepans burning on the gas stove in the past month. You recommended that she cook only when someone is with her in the kitchen, and that a licensed gasfitter assess the stove and fit a timer-controlled gas shut-off valve, which cuts the gas supply after a set time but cannot detect whether a burner is lit or whether anyone is in the kitchen. Mrs Kereama has asked to see you again because she is unhappy with these recommendations.
Task (interlocutor: relative)
- Find out about Mrs Kereama's concerns and how her mother currently uses the kitchen (daily routine, times she is alone)
- Explain in simple terms why the recommendations were made and what the shut-off valve can and cannot do (risk of fire, gas left on, memory and attention changes)
- Reassure Mrs Kereama that the aim is to keep her mother cooking safely, not to stop her (shared cooking, adapted tasks, checking which appliances she can use safely)
- Agree a plan for the kitchen, including what will happen while her mother is alone before the valve is fitted, and arrange follow-up
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.
How to approach this card
- Begin with what troubles Mrs Kereama about your recommendations. Her unhappiness may reflect guilt, practical strain or worry about her mother's dignity, so find out what is behind it. Then ask how her mother uses the kitchen now.
- Ask about the daily routine and exactly when her mother is alone at home. You need this for the interim plan, and it lets Mrs Kereama see you are working with her real life rather than imposing rules.
- Explain the reasons in plain terms: twice leaving pans burning shows how memory and attention changes put her at risk of fire or gas left on. Be precise that the valve cuts gas after a set time only.
- The valve cannot tell whether a burner is lit or anyone is present, so do not present it as a complete answer. Stress that the aim is to keep her mother cooking, with shared tasks and safe appliances.
- Do not close until the period before the valve is fitted is covered: who is present when she is alone, and what happens otherwise. Make the arrangement specific, book follow-up, and check Mrs Kereama can manage it.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- It sounds like you're carrying a lot. Tell me what feels wrong about the advice.
- I don't want to take cooking away from your mother. I want her to keep doing it safely.
- The valve helps, but it has limits. Let me explain what it can't do.
- What would be realistic for you while we wait for the gasfitter?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| timer-controlled gas shut-off valve | A device that turns the gas off after a set time, even if someone forgets. |
| moderate dementia | Memory and thinking problems that now affect everyday tasks like cooking safely. |
| adapted tasks | Jobs in the kitchen changed so she can still help without the main risks. |
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). Grade B usually means 5 on each language criterion and 2 on each clinical one. See the AI Speaking practice guide for what each criterion looks for.
More Occupational Therapy role-play cards
- Wanting to drive home after a stroke Inpatient rehabilitation ward
- Handwriting difficulties: is my son just lazy? Paediatric occupational therapy clinic
- Refusing a shower chair before discharge after hip replacement Orthopaedic hospital ward
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Occupational Therapy.
Questions about this role-play
What if Mrs Kereama says the valve alone is enough?
Acknowledge that it is a helpful step, then explain what it cannot do: it cannot detect a lit burner or whether anyone is in the kitchen. Say it reduces risk but does not replace someone being present, and link that to the two burnt pans.
How do I handle her saying she cannot supervise all the time?
Take it seriously and do not push guilt. Ask when she is out and for how long, then work out together what her mother can safely do alone and when someone else could help. Leave with a specific arrangement she believes she can manage.
How do I keep it positive when the advice involves restrictions?
Lead with what her mother can still do: shared cooking, simpler tasks and appliances that are safe for her. Present restrictions as keeping her involved in the kitchen. Ask Mrs Kereama which tasks matter most to her mother.
Sources
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