OET(The Occupational English Test) is an English Proficiency Test for Medical Professions.
It is widely recongised that in order for oversea nurses to obtain nursing license in Australia and New Zealand, the Nursing Board of each country grant the certain scores of OET other than IELTS Because not a lot of nurses know the fact that the OET score can be submitted instead of IELTS scores, we have seen many nurses struggling and giving up the chance to become a registered nurse in Australia and New Zealand. If you are facing same situation, like being stuck on a same score and same English level, why don’t you try to take a higher mark on OET? This is just to tell you that the OET result is likely to be useful when you are applying for permanent residency as a proof of your English skill.
OET is strongly recommended for the following people who:
- Want to study nursing or medical English.
- Dream of working in overseas as a registered nurse.
- Seek for the possibility to become an oversea registered nurse.
- Thinks that it is impossible to achieve an IELTS 7.0 at each band.
The OET course has been taught and developed by the lecturer of the nursing department in an Australian University. The purpose of its course is for the students to prepare for the OET and, as a result, this course is also suitable for the students who would like to study nursing or medical English.
Like IELTS test, the OET consists 4 bands; Speaking, Reading, Writing, Listening. However, unlike IETLS, all the topics on the OET have always been on medical related issues; and this is very different from IELTS.
An example of the above can be easily shown in speaking section. In the speaking section in a real OET situation, the students are usually asked to demonstrate as a nurse on two role plays during the test. Just as the real test, students in the course do the role plays in the classroom to be accustomed to the real OET test situation. It is, of course, for the students’ benefit that the teacher usually implement what one should say at each task of the role play, so the course is very practical for the medical professions.
Just like speaking, the other three sections have each different structure; in the reading section, students will study contemporary medical subjects, such as swine flu, stroke, and pneumonia. In the writing section, the examniee is asked to write a referral letter as if the one is a nurse transferring a patient fro the one’s ward to other community hospital. As for the listening, one will hear the conversation between a doctor and a patient, a and also listen a lecture by a medical profession.
Our OET course of each section is designed specifically for OET, so you will be able to find how it would be like to take an OET exam.
A lot of nurses have been aware that the state nursing board has united together to become one national board. Yet still, it does not give a great deal of impact on the English requirement; oversea nurses wanting to become a registered nurse in Australia are required to have either IELTS “7.0” or OET “B” at all the categories in a single sitting; in fact, we have seen many nurses having been struggling with achieving the point due to having a weakest section on the tests.
When planning to achieve the English proficiency, the OET has been chosen among many oversea nurses because the topics on the OET is always on medical related issues or situations, whereas the topics on IELTS test are various academic subjects such as science, history, or statistics. Apparently, if you are from medical profession background, it is easier for you to guess or infer the answers from your knowledge but not from the context, and thus, you can familialize yourself to the test to take it more comfortably than taking non-professional subjects like IELTS. Furthremore, this is to say that since the test is related to medical industrial matter, you can have practical English in terms of gaining English for useful purposes.
On top of the above, you may have a chance to shortcut to become an Australian or a New Zealand Nurse without graduating from University in Australia if the condition is met with the achievement of the English proficiency.
The lessons provided by the university lecturer in the nursing department
Elias Messaike
He is a current university lecturer in the nursing department in Sydney. He graduated from University of Technology Sydney with Forensic Biology, hournor awarded. He is currently working as a nursing lecturer at one of the universities in Australia, Because at Uni, the life there requires him to talk to non native nurses coming from overseas, he has a good sense of understanding how difficult it is to learn medical subjects in their second language. His strong filed of the OET is Listening and Reading sections. By intergrading what he has seen and heard from the international nurses on the campus, this teacher will be your best figure to help you improve the English for medical situation.
Elle Nelhams
Having had a nursing license in Australia from Sydney Uni, she has worked at few hospitals for more than 5 years as a registered nurse. She mostly belonged to ICU to mostly look after the patients needing acute and stroke care at neurosurgical and cardiovascular wards. What is more surprising is her career; before she became a nurse, she had been a cabin attendant, and she is now an entrepreneur to recruit nurses to big companies to establish a health department to conduct medical checkup to maintain the health standard of the company. She is an ideal woman having experienced the great jobs in her life and surely utilizing the experiences for active works. Her eagerness and passion never goes down and she is currently studying post-graduate course for emergency nursing. You will be able to learn a lot from her in many ways.
Sarah Young
She is an Australian nurse having graduated from University of Technology Sydney. She had been working at a public hospital in Sydney on the ward of neurosurgery and ICU. She is specialized in teaching Writing and Speaking for this course. Not only does she understand the whole concept of the OET, she always intergrades its subject or vocabulary to the practical medical situations.
The other good point of her is that she holds an English teaching certificate other than her nursing license in Australia. She understands the medical industry, so you have a chance to learn more than OET to use English in practical situations. Please do not hesitate to ask her for the professional advice in terms of both nurse and English.
*Currently on leave for the further education in England.
The reason why I started taking this course is that as I work for medical facility, I thought I should have something to prove that I did something more and that is nursing in Australia. I always wanted to view my life in Australia objectively so that I can evaluate myself in Australia. Because I was working as an assistant nurse at medical facility in Australia, I feel to take the test of neither IELTS nor TOEIC, but the OET; this is enough reason for me to make decision on taking this course, apparently.
By actually taking the course, I honestly would like to recommend this course to not only who want to become a registered nurse in Australia but also who help patients in any ways. The reason for this is that I learned how to write the items and abbreviated forms used in medical environment, and even some vocabulary you cannot find in the ordinary dictionary! It is very advantageous that I can ask questions to a professional nurse while I could not ask nurses at where I work since those nurses are not teachers to teach English for an oversea nurse like me at work. More than that, it is very practical learn the English of which actually spoken in the hospital.
In addition to the above, more specifically speaking, the assignments I have from this class is not something that I have bought before for my study, and I can gain new perspectives from them. For example, if I study medical English all by myself, I would not have learned to read the subject “death rate of neonates.” This has covered more than just studying the subject alone, and I believe this experience will support and motivate me to sturdy nursing further.
I am going to take the OET soon, and it is really helpful that all the teachers are trying to provide me lessons all the tips for the OET. The teachers are so passionate, friendly and generous that I can maintain my motivation high enough to tackle on the OET! I appreciate for that!!
In conclusion, this course is strongly recommended for the nurses wanting to obtain a higher mark on the OET as well as the nurses who are interested in medical English.
