If there’s one thing that keeps OET Nursing candidates up at night, it’s the writing section. It might seem hard to believe, but one well-written 180 to 200-word letter can mean the difference between unlocking the gateway to your dream of a career in nursing, and a sorry trudge back to the test preparation drawing board.
Some authorising bodies, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the United Kingdom, have attempted to make the writing a more surmountable challenge. They now accept a lower score for the writing than the other three sections of the OET. We think that this is a brilliant innovation, but still, those niggling doubts remain.
Candidates (understandably!) worry that they are simply not up to the task of writing a letter of referral to a suitable standard. It’s with this in mind that PREP-it for OET has come up with a simple guide for anyone who wants to write the ideal letter of referral in the Occupational English Test.
For the sake of this article, let’s imagine you’re writing to a physiotherapist. The patient you’re referring to is a full-time resident in a care home and has spent the last three weeks recovering from a fall.
Use your time wisely
You’ve only got 45 minutes from start to finish in the writing section of the OET. It’s enough time to get the job done, but not if you don’t get organised. The three-quarters of an hour breaks down to approximately:
i) 5 minutes to read the notes and mentally plan your response (Remember: you cannot write anything yet!);
ii) 35 minutes to note down your plan and write your 3-5 paragraph letter, and
iii) 5 minutes to proofread your work.
Reading and planning
The notes can seem overwhelming. So many words and so much information that apparently needs to be included. As soon as you’re allowed to pick up your pen (i.e.: after the reading time!), start by writing the word “REFERRAL” in big letters at the top of the page. That way you won’t forget what kind of letter you’re writing. It will also help you focus solely on the details which are relevant to the person receiving the letter. During the reading and planning stages keep repeating to yourself “Do they need to know this? Do they already know this?”
It’s vital you get your introduction rightIt should include 3 bits of vital information: a) who is the patient, b) what is their main issue, and c) why am I writing to this person? e.g.: “I am writing this letter of referral for Mrs Brenda Harrison, who is recovering from a fall. She requires physiotherapy for her injured hip.”
Be careful with repetition
You’re going to highlight key information and make a note of details which might be repeated. In this case, an example might be an observation that the patient was uncooperative, and in another that the patient complained repeatedly about being forced to stay in hospital against her will. This information is important but needn’t appear more than once in your letter.
Too much information??
As an OET candidate, we know you want to be thorough. That’s fair enough but, depending on the recipient, this needn’t always extend to including the exact amount of medicine given during the patient’s stay in hospital. It’s usually enough to state what medicine was given, but only if knowing about the medicine is relevant to the reader of this letter. Let’s say that the patient needs painkillers due to the pain in her hip. Is that relevant? Absolutely. e.g.: “The patient was treated with X, Y and Z.” If the medicine is still being prescribed, then quantities should be included. e.g.: “Mrs Smith requires 50ml of liquid laxative every morning and evening for the next seven days.”
You can tell if an OET letter has been effective if, after having read it, the recipient will not think to themselves, “Hang on, what about X? And s/he didn’t mention Y! Oh dear, now I’m going to have to give them a call to clarify. Curses! My time is too precious to waste on people like this!” Spare your imaginary colleagues from such a fate by preparing a letter that they can read in under a minute, and upon which they can act safe in the knowledge that they know all there is to know about the patient you have referred to them.
Some authorising bodies, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the United Kingdom, have attempted to make the writing a more surmountable challenge. They now accept a lower score for the writing than the other three sections of the OET. We think that this is a brilliant innovation, but still, those niggling doubts remain.
Candidates (understandably!) worry that they are simply not up to the task of writing a letter of referral to a suitable standard. It’s with this in mind that PREP-it for OET has come up with a simple guide for anyone who wants to write the ideal letter of referral in the Occupational English Test.
For the sake of this article, let’s imagine you’re writing to a physiotherapist. The patient you’re referring to is a full-time resident in a care home and has spent the last three weeks recovering from a fall.
Use your time wisely
You’ve only got 45 minutes from start to finish in the writing section of the OET. It’s enough time to get the job done, but not if you don’t get organised. The three-quarters of an hour breaks down to approximately:
i) 5 minutes to read the notes and mentally plan your response (Remember: you cannot write anything yet!);
ii) 35 minutes to note down your plan and write your 3-5 paragraph letter, and
iii) 5 minutes to proofread your work.
Reading and planning
The notes can seem overwhelming. So many words and so much information that apparently needs to be included. As soon as you’re allowed to pick up your pen (i.e.: after the reading time!), start by writing the word “REFERRAL” in big letters at the top of the page. That way you won’t forget what kind of letter you’re writing. It will also help you focus solely on the details which are relevant to the person receiving the letter. During the reading and planning stages keep repeating to yourself “Do they need to know this? Do they already know this?”
It’s vital you get your introduction rightIt should include 3 bits of vital information: a) who is the patient, b) what is their main issue, and c) why am I writing to this person? e.g.: “I am writing this letter of referral for Mrs Brenda Harrison, who is recovering from a fall. She requires physiotherapy for her injured hip.”
Be careful with repetition
You’re going to highlight key information and make a note of details which might be repeated. In this case, an example might be an observation that the patient was uncooperative, and in another that the patient complained repeatedly about being forced to stay in hospital against her will. This information is important but needn’t appear more than once in your letter.
Too much information??
As an OET candidate, we know you want to be thorough. That’s fair enough but, depending on the recipient, this needn’t always extend to including the exact amount of medicine given during the patient’s stay in hospital. It’s usually enough to state what medicine was given, but only if knowing about the medicine is relevant to the reader of this letter. Let’s say that the patient needs painkillers due to the pain in her hip. Is that relevant? Absolutely. e.g.: “The patient was treated with X, Y and Z.” If the medicine is still being prescribed, then quantities should be included. e.g.: “Mrs Smith requires 50ml of liquid laxative every morning and evening for the next seven days.”
You can tell if an OET letter has been effective if, after having read it, the recipient will not think to themselves, “Hang on, what about X? And s/he didn’t mention Y! Oh dear, now I’m going to have to give them a call to clarify. Curses! My time is too precious to waste on people like this!” Spare your imaginary colleagues from such a fate by preparing a letter that they can read in under a minute, and upon which they can act safe in the knowledge that they know all there is to know about the patient you have referred to them.
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