The candidate card
Setting
Podiatry clinic
Candidate
You are a podiatrist. Ms Gemma Ellingham's 14-year-old son plays football and has had a painful ingrown toenail on his right big toe for three months. The GP has treated it with two courses of antibiotics, but it keeps becoming red and swollen again. You have examined him and recommend a partial nail avulsion with phenol under local anaesthetic. He is waiting outside, and his mother has asked to speak to you first because she is worried about the procedure.
Task (interlocutor: parent)
- Find out about Ms Ellingham's concerns and what she already understands about the procedure
- Explain why the procedure is recommended (repeated infections, antibiotics do not correct the nail edge)
- Explain what the procedure involves (local anaesthetic injection, removing the side of the nail, phenol to stop regrowth, main risks)
- Reassure her about pain and safety, and be realistic about when her son can return to football
- Agree a plan for the next steps and aftercare (talking with her son, dressings, review, when to seek help)
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 by asking what she already knows and what exactly worries her. Her fear is likely about pain, the needle or how safe it is for a teenager, so find out which it is before explaining.
- Explain the reason first, then the procedure. Parents accept a procedure more easily once they see that antibiotics settle the infection but do not change the nail edge that keeps causing it.
- Describe the procedure in the order it happens, keeping the main risks proportionate and honest. Use plain words for phenol so she understands it is applied to the nail edge to stop that part growing back.
- Be realistic about football: do not promise a date. Say recovery depends on how the toe heals and that you will advise at review. Reassure about pain by explaining the numbing step.
- Agree that her son will be included in the decision, since he is waiting outside. Close by checking she is happy with dressings, review and who to contact if the toe looks worse.
Phrases to adapt
Use your own words; these show the register, not lines to memorise.
- What have you heard about this procedure so far?
- Many parents worry about the injection. Is that part of it for you?
- I will not promise a date for football, but I will be honest.
- Would you like me to explain this to your son with you?
Medical words in plain English
| Term | How you might say it to the patient |
|---|---|
| Partial nail avulsion | Removing just the sore edge of the nail, not the whole nail. |
| Phenol | A liquid put on the nail edge so that part does not grow back. |
| Local anaesthetic | An injection that numbs the toe so he should not feel the procedure. |
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 Podiatry role-play cards
- Aged care resident – overgrown nails and heel redness Aged care facility
- Peripheral neuropathy – unsafe hot foot soaks Home visit
- Plantar heel pain – marathon in 3 weeks Podiatry clinic
All sets: nurses, doctors, other professions. Your profession's guide: OET Podiatry.
Questions about this role-play
How much detail on risks should I give the mother?
Give the main risks from your department's usual list in plain words, without frightening her. Say how likely each is only if you know it. Avoid inventing figures. Pair each risk with what you would do about it.
Should I talk to the mother alone about a 14-year-old's treatment?
She asked to speak first, so listen to her, but make clear the plan includes her son. Offer to explain it to him in front of her, so he understands and has a say in what happens.
What if she asks whether antibiotics could simply be tried again?
Acknowledge that it is a reasonable question. Explain that two courses have been tried, the toe keeps flaring up, and the antibiotics cannot change the nail edge pressing into the skin. That is why you are recommending a different approach.
Sources
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