The candidate card
Setting
Optometry practice
Candidate
You are an optometrist. Ms Min-ji Hwang, aged 24, has itchy eyes, a stringy mucous discharge and monthly soft lenses that feel uncomfortable and keep moving. You have found enlarged papillae under both upper eyelids and protein deposits on her lenses; her corneas are clear and her vision with glasses is normal, and your diagnosis is contact lens-related papillary conjunctivitis. Your plan is for her to stop lens wear and use an antihistamine/mast-cell stabiliser eye drop to ease the itching and inflammation (one drop in each eye as directed on the label, with clean hands, without letting the tip touch the eye), with a review in about a week.
Task (interlocutor: patient)
- Find out about Ms Hwang's lens wear and care routine (how long she uses each pair, cleaning, storage)
- Explain the diagnosis and its likely cause in simple terms
- Explain why she needs to stop wearing her lenses for now and how to use the eye drops (healing time, risks of continuing, discarding current lenses and case)
- Respond to her concerns about wearing lenses at her friend's wedding
- Agree a plan for safe future lens wear and follow-up (warning signs needing urgent care, hygiene rules, daily disposables, review)
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
- Ask about her lens routine in detail: how long each pair is used, cleaning and storage. Use open questions and avoid sounding accusatory, so she tells you what actually happens rather than the correct answer.
- Explain the diagnosis as inflammation under the upper eyelids linked to her lenses and the deposits on them. Say it is the likely cause, not certain. Mention her corneas are clear, which is reassuring, without saying all is well.
- Explain that she needs to stop lenses so her eyes can heal, and that continuing risks ongoing problems. Cover the drops: one in each eye as directed on the label, clean hands, tip not touching the eye. Discard current lenses and case.
- Her wedding concern is likely about appearance and comfort. Acknowledge it and ask when the wedding is, but do not promise she can wear lenses. Say you will judge at review when it is safe, and glasses are the safe option for now.
- Close by listing the plan in one place: the warning signs needing urgent care, hygiene rules, daily disposables, and the review in about a week. Ask her to repeat the drop technique to confirm she understands.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- Lots of people with lenses get this. It doesn't mean you did something terrible.
- Walk me through what you do with your lenses from morning to night.
- I know the wedding matters to you, so let's plan around it carefully.
- Can you show me how you'd put a drop in?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| papillary conjunctivitis | Inflammation with small bumps under your upper eyelids, causing itching and stringy discharge. |
| protein deposits | A build-up of natural eye substances on your lenses that can irritate your eyes. |
| antihistamine/mast-cell stabiliser drop | An eye drop that calms the itch and inflammation. |
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 Optometry role-play cards
- Raised eye pressure: reluctance to see an ophthalmologist Optometry practice
- Retinal tear: same-day referral before a flight Optometry practice
- Cataract: vision below the driving standard Optometry practice
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Optometry.
Questions about this role-play
What if she asks to keep wearing lenses for the wedding?
Be understanding but clear that she should stop for now and cannot be promised lenses on the day. Explain that review in about a week will show whether her eyes have healed enough. Offer glasses meanwhile and discuss daily disposables for the future.
How do I give warning signs without scaring her?
Give the complete set of urgent signs together, in calm words, and say what to do if any appear, including when to call the practice or seek urgent care. Avoid listing only some of them. Ask her to repeat them back.
Why discuss discarding her case?
Her current lenses have deposits and her case may hold germs, so using them again could bring the problem back. Present it as a fresh start and link it to the future hygiene rules, not as a punishment.
Sources
Last checked 22 Oct 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
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