The Official Guide To OET, by the experts at Kaplan Test Prep

For those who live in foreign countries and wish to work in an English speaking country, there are some options when it comes to tests. The IELTS is a general test that allows for people to seek education abroad as well as work, but for medical professionals, there is a specialized test that one can take that focuses on the sorts of English skills one needs as a medical professional. Interestingly enough, the OET (the Occupational English Test), has a variety of test options for different medical professionals, but this particular book focuses on what seem to be the most popular options, for physicians and nurses, which makes it a pretty practical book for people in either profession who want to get information on the material that is included on this test. Given that there are much fewer books for the OET than for the IELTS, for example, it is good that this particular book seeks to be both a book that contains more general test-taking tips and information about the theory of studying for the test as well as practice for the test.

This book is a short and well-organized book of around 230 pages or so that is focused on the OET. The book begins with a short guide on how to use this book, and then the first part of the book discusses the basics of the exam, with the first chapter giving an overview of the exam (1) and the second chapter providing a study planner and tips and strategies for the candidate to prepare for the test day (2). The second part of the book then contains preparation for the listening section, beginning with an overview of the section and then containing chapters that focus on part A (3), B (4), and C (5) of this part of the test. Each of these chapters includes strategies, a practice set, answers, and a transcript for the exam. Part three of the book discusses part A (6), B (7), and C (8) of the reading section, which contains related readings on health-related matters that a medical professional would be expected to understand about diseases, treatments, and the like. Each of these chapters contains strategies, a practice set, and answers. Part Four of the book contains the writing section, which consists of a single exercise which involves the candidate writing a referral or discharge letter about a patient based on provided patient notes, and this chapter (9) contains strategies, a writing practice set, and answers for both doctors and nurses. The fifth part of the book then contains the speaking section, which mostly involves roleplay as well as conversation, and this chapter (10) contains strategies, a practice set, and answers. The sixth and final part of the book then contains an additional practice test, beginning with the three part listening test, then containing the three part reading section, then the writing section, closing with the speaking section, answers, and listening scripts.

In reading this particular book, I was struck by the way that the book seeks to give candidates exactly the sort of experience they would need for a medical job. While for some people, the more general academic knowledge tested in the IELTS may be a bit of a struggle, those people who have experience in the medical profession and have competence in English will be able to demonstrate it pretty thoroughly in this exam. There are likely some people who will see the existence of an exam like this as a means of facilitating the brain drain in the medical profession where doctors and nurses and other medical professionals leave their native countries and seek more remunerative lives in the USA, UK, or Australia–all of which are acceptable dialects of English for candidates to use in taking this exam, it should be noted. For such people, though, who do long for a better life and have the skills in English to be able to achieve that life, this exam is certainly a way that people can demonstrate credentials for finding a good job abroad in an English-speaking nation.