OET Exam for Nurses 2024: Eligibility, Exam Dates & Fees

If you are someone who is interested in studying or working in the healthcare profession, the OET Exam is for you! Do you know OET, or the Occupational English Test, is the only global English assessment test designed and developed specifically for healthcare professionals? 

The OET exam was developed to evaluate healthcare professionals' English language proficiency. It uses vocabulary and language from the healthcare sector, making it a perfect way to assess English skills for future nurses and medical professionals. 

The OET exam for nurses is critical for everyone looking to work as a nurse at major organizations in English-speaking countries, such as the National Health Services in the UK. Clearing an OET exam proves that the individual has the right skills needed to work in English-speaking hospitals and clinics. 

Who Should Take the OET Exam?

OET exam has been designed explicitly for 12 healthcare professions as mentioned below:

1. Occupational Therapy
2. Dentistry
3. Nursing
4. Radiography
5. Veterinary Science
6. Medicine
7. Speech Pathology
8. Physiotherapy
9. Dietetics
10. Podiatry
11. Pharmacy, and
12. Optometry

Which Countries Accept OET Exam for Nurses?

The exam is accepted in numerous countries, such as:

• Australia
• Canada
• Egypt
• Ireland
• Maldives
• Malta
• Namibia
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Singapore
• Spain
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United Arab Emirates, and
• United States of America 

Continue reading to know more about the OET exam eligibility for nurses, its syllabus, and 2023 OET exam dates.

Exam Details for OET Exam for Nurses

The OET exam has four sections- listening, reading, writing, and speaking. All sub-tests have their designated timeline, and it is important to clear each sub-test separately. In the OET exam for nurses, there is no one overall grade; you get a separate grade for individual sub-tests on a scale of 0-500 in a ten-point increment. Furthermore, the numerical scores are mapped to a different letter grade, with A being the highest and E being the lowest for each sub-test. A student needs to obtain a minimum of 350 out of 500 to clear their OET exam.

OET Exam Fees

Candidates appearing for the OET exam for nurses have to pay a fee of AU$ 587 or US$ 455. The US fee is only for people taking the computer-based exam in the US.  

OET Exam Syllabus for Nurses

Each sub-test in the OET exam has different content and format. You can prepare for the exam with OET books for nurses, online resources, mock tests, etc. The OET official website also provides various preparatory materials like the Official OET Preparation Nursing book, sample tests, free master classes, preparation articles, and more. Below is the gist of the OET exam syllabus for nurses for each sub-test to give you a better idea.

OET Exam Fees

Candidates appearing for the OET exam for nurses have to pay a fee of AU$ 587 or US$ 455. The US fee is only for people taking the computer-based exam in the US.  

OET Exam Syllabus for Nurses

Each sub-test in the OET exam has different content and format. You can prepare for the exam with OET books for nurses, online resources, mock tests, etc. The OET official website also provides various preparatory materials like the Official OET Preparation Nursing book, sample tests, free master classes, preparation articles, and more. Below is the gist of the OET exam syllabus for nurses for each sub-test to give you a better idea.

Listening Section

The exam is approximately 45 minutes, with three parts and 42 questions. 

You will have to hear some recordings and answer the questions while listening. The recordings can be related to patient consultations, workplace extracts, and recorded presentations. The purpose is to test various listening skills, like identifying specific details, gist, speaker’s central theme, etc. The questions can be in the form of note-completion and multiple-choice questions.

Reading Section

This section covers questions from generic healthcare-related subjects. You get approximately 60 minutes to complete this test. The test is divided into three parts with  42 questions. It examines your ability to locate specific information after a glance at a longer paragraph and understand the text's explicit or implied meaning.

To prepare for this section, you must read different medical text types like hospital guidelines, manuals, internal communications, policy documents, etc., to better understand numerical and textual information.

Writing Section

This section includes a 45-minute writing task based on the demands of a specific profession. One can prepare by writing referral letters, letters of transfer, letters of discharge, etc. It is marked independently by a minimum of two trained assessors on six main criteria: purpose, content, conciseness & clarity, genre & style, organization & layout, and language.

Speaking Section

The time allotted for this sub-test is 20 minutes, and it uses material specific to your profession to assess your speaking communication skills. Here, you will have to perform different role-plays of approximately 5 minutes. You will play the part of your professional role and the other dialogist will act as a patient/ client/ patient’s relative. The tasks are recorded, and the audio is marked (independently by a minimum of two trained OET assessors) on factors like fluency, language appropriateness, relationship-building, empathy, listening skills, information-giving, etc.

Eligibility for OET exams

The OET authorities have not laid down any specific academic or age requirements to appear for the OET exam for the nurses. Any candidate willing to work in the healthcare department can appear for the OET exam. 

How to Register for OET Exam for Nurses?

1. Go to the OET official website and click the ‘Book a Test’ tab.
2. Select the location and venue where you want to take the exam. You can search for the nearest location by entering the city name.
3. Click on the ‘Book Now’ option. It will redirect you to the booking portal.
4. Log in to the booking portal and click the ‘Apply for the Test’ tab. If you are a new user, you must first complete the registration process by entering the required details. 
5. Select the time, location, and profession for which you want to give the OET exam.
6. Proceed to checkout and enter the payment details to complete your test booking.

OET Latest Information: 2023 Exam & Result Dates