Things You Should Know Before Taking the OET Exam

Hi everyone, and welcome. My name is Luciana Da Silva with Connetics USA. This is Onwards and Upwards. Everything a global nurse needs to know to live and prosper in the United States. We have a wonderful show here for you today. But if you are a nurse who is looking to live and work in the United States, please go to our website ConneticsUSA.com/apply . And our recruiters will be right there to help you out and match you with the perfect location in the United States so that you can start your American dream. If you are watching today, please tag your friends put into the chat where you're from your name, say hello to our audiences Well, hi Standen saying Good evening from India. Gigi is saying Good evening from Kerala, also from India as well, thank you so much for saying hello. And for joining us today. The show is going to be all about the OET which is the occupational English test. It is a test that you should pass if you are a foreign educated nurse in order to come to the United States. So today we're gonna be talking about the exam structure, what to expect some tips for studying as well as some myths that may have come across that you may have heard about the OET. Let's introduce our guests for the show today. You guys will join me please. We have Brian from niner, which is a absolutely wonderful company that you might actually know Brian from our Connetics college shell. Also he does the OET prep classes. Jack and Joy are joining us from the OET team. I'm not going to take your introductions away from you. So please introduce yourselves to our audience. Let's start ladies first Joy.

Well, thank you very much Luciana. I'm sorry, it was a little late getting on I had a link problem. But I'm very glad to be here. I am a registered nurse. I've been a nurse for many years. And a good part of my career was associated with teaching nursing in nursing programs. And then the end of my career, I was the Education Consultant for the Oregon State Board of Nursing. So I worked with the schools of nursing and then also with those who were seeking licensure in a unique pathway. Maybe they were educated a long, long time ago, and their school didn't exist anymore. Or maybe they were educated in another country in a unique way that didn't quite match the US. So that was where I first got interested in the international nurse and trying to make that immigration pathway which is challenging. So I'm glad to be here today. We are also glad you're here too. Let's move on to our next OET guest. Jack, please introduce yourself to our audience. Hello, yes, thank you, Luciana My name is Chuck when I was in the US education specialist for OET. So I work closely with our preparation providers and with a variety of recruiting agencies, um, to kind of inform both the agencies and candidates and more about OET and kind of the different sections and how best to prepare for the test. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Jack for joining. And we have Brian from Niner. Welcome back as usual. To our audience, just in case everybody doesn't already know.

I'm super happy to be here. I'm always here. Brian, I'm one of the instructors of 9.0 Niner IELTS review and tutorial center. I've been training and preparing candidates to take their English tests for the past 13 years. And I've personally taken a few of these exams and got perfect marks in those tests. I'm here to help second language English users or foreign educated nurses to succeed in their OET and other English exams as well. And all the English exams that count for the visa screen, be able to come to the United States and you can watch Brian on our Connetics College show. So make sure that you get some more of his tips and how to study for the exam. To our audience today if you have questions About this exam, please put them into the chat. We will be taking questions throughout the show, this is your chance to ask our experts live all about the exam. So let's get started. First, I want to start overview of the exam, the Joy, what is the OET? Thank you. But the OET is a unique exam because it is specially designed for 12 different health professions. And we'll focus on nursing today, since that's mainly our audience, I would assume. And the test is testing your English language ability. But all of the test is going to be completed within healthcare scenarios. So for example, in my role as a subject matter expert, I did review of content for appropriateness to the US market. And I learned a few things as I was going through. So the test isn't testing that you know, something about diabetes, for example, or health or heart failure. But all of that language is healthcare context language. So a lot of the individuals that take our tests say, it feels much more natural to them to study for it, to respond to the questions because it's vocabulary that they're familiar with. It has four parts, just like a lot of the tests do. And each of those is designed to be realistic scenarios that you might face in a healthcare environment.

Thank you so much for giving that information. And we will be going further into those four parts later on in the show. But let's continue on our overview. Jack, why is it important for nurses to take the OET exam? Thank you, that's a really good question. And kind of building on what Joy said, obviously taking OET can help nurses in their registration and the licensure part of their immigration process. But also, because of the clinical communication skills that are a component of specifically the speaking part of the OET exam. It really does help nurses prepare and build the skills that they're going to need in their new working environment in the US, right. So it's not only preparing to take this test just to kind of check off the box and get any of that licensure or registration information that's needed, but you're actually building skills that you're going to use on the job. And a lot of our candidates who have successfully passed EBT have really shared that with us that it really does prepare them and help them feel more comfortable when they're starting their new profession here in the United States. Brian, you've have worked with the OET the IELTS, the PTE, the TOEFL? I mean, it goes on and on. How does the OET compare to these other exams?

That's a very interesting question. And I feel a lot of test takers would want to consider the OET in that it is a healthcare focused examination. So it is very relevant and relatable to a lot of candidates are sitting the test, especially for healthcare workers, like nurses who are about to go abroad, they can actually feel very comfortable and confident taking the examination in just a short time in comparison to other general English tests. So I believe that the OET gives nurses an advantage in that they can actually pass this examination in just a matter of one to two months preparation time, as opposed to other English exams in which the amount of time to prepare for these tests might take a bit longer because of the general nature of the tests. Thank you, Brian. And I'm seeing a question here from Hyers Vanden Singh, who was saying, who's asking I have one question, ma'am, is there we need to clear the NCLEX RN Exam prior to the OET exam? Well, to let you know, yes, you do, you need to pass the NCLEX exam before you before you can start working in the United States, you can apply to Connetics USA, we do have an English scholarship where we pay for you to go through a course with nine or our other partners swish. And then we can you can be doing that while you're doing your visa screen. So the most important thing is to pass your NCLEX first, and then we can help you along the way with the rest. So to answer that question, there is a bus Sam is asking hello from Egypt. How can I improve my speaking section to get 79 plus in the PTE? Thank you. Well, we were talking about the OET. But Brian, if you want to kind of talk about that, that question right there and maybe also use it in the context of the OET.

Yeah, certainly. I think in any English examination preparation is required. It is important for you to understand the test format. And more importantly, how you're graded in the test, because all of these English exams have different parameters by which you're going to be graded. So it's very important that you study all of them so that you know, what the examiners are looking for, or what the examination and itself is looking for, so that you'll be able to deliver that on test day and be able to score high and the test says the eight plus test taker right here. So I want to ask you a little bit more about what's going on with the visa screening and the OET because it was just announced, I think it was, what a year ago, a little bit less that the CGFNS announced that it can be used for licensing here in the United States. Could you explain a little bit more about that? Sure. So I think what sometimes becomes a little confusing is that there are requirements that must be met for immigration purposes. And then in the United States, just to make sure that we keep things confusing. There are separate boards of nursing for every state. So sometimes what allows you to process for word for immigration doesn't translate directly to all the steps you need to do for an individual state where you want to seek a license. But yes, about a year ago at the federal level, so that's across all of the US for immigration purposes, the OET was included as a test that nurses could use as a matter of fact, it's the only test listed that specific to a health care profession. But an individual state may have a different pathway that they expect for you to prove your English proficiency. But since so many states accept CGFNS product, if you will, Visa screen, their certificate program, a lot of times that will translate directly CGFNS might even send proof to the state for you that you've completed those things. And then there wouldn't be additional steps in those states to prove English language proficiency.

Jack give us an overview of the overall test format. What can people expect?  Absolutely, yes. So as Joy was mentioning a little bit earlier on, there are four sections to the OET test. So very similar to other English language exams. There's a listening part, which has three sections and takes about 40 minutes. In addition, there is a reading part, which also has three sections and takes about 60 minutes. And then there's a writing part in a speaking part. And one thing to note to note about the writing and the speaking, is that they are profession specific. So for example, as I was mentioning, there's different profession tests, like the nursing test, for example. So nurses that are taking the speaking and the writing section would have a task specifically for that profession. So for the writing section, for example, they would have to write a discharge letter. For the speaking section, there would be a roleplay between the nurse and a patient where they're really kind of having an exchange and having to explain things to that patient in terms that they would understand. So yes, as I was mentioning, be very specific to that profession. But yes, that's kind of a high level overview is that there's four different sections. And candidates are tested on, obviously, their English language ability, but then as I was mentioning before their clinical communication skills, and being able to kind of translate those more complex medical terminology into lay terms that that a patient would be able to understand.

Tell us a little bit more about that. What is the advantage of taking a test that has medical terms in it healthcare terms in it? This is very specialized, and maybe this seems a little scary if people don't feel comfortable with the English terms from their health care profession. What is the advantage here, Joy? Well, you know, as Jack was talking in, related to your question, I was thinking of a gentleman that was that we talked with a while ago who had successfully immigrated, and he took the OET and he just went on and on about how the speaking section, he just got kind of lost in it. You know, he felt like he was talking to a patient. He felt like he was giving information to that patient. So for him that just felt so comfortable. It was not threatening, whereas in a lot of the general English tests you don't know What you're going to be presented with. Also, if I were a nurse and applying for work in the US, I would use this on my resume to say, I sought out a specific test that will help me be prepared to go directly into the workplace. And help me get a little bit more information about the US healthcare market, how it works, patient centered care approaches. Looking at how the interprofessional team works together, those ideas are part of the test and you pick up on that as you study for it. And as you prepare to take the test, I also think preparing for this test and NCLEX at the same time, will only help you

getting a question here from Annie, I knew there was asking who to consult for placement after clearing OET, Please guide us through it, I want to pull up our success path here. This is the Connetics USA Success Path. And so just if you're asking to be walked through it, let's walk through it really quick. So the first thing is to pass your NCLEX. Now to pass that NCLEX exam, you'll apply to Connetics USA nurses recruitment agency and then we can fast track you will prepare you for an interview will match you with a perfect health care facility here in the United States. We do work with a a min health care, we actually are part of a mn healthcare and I am an international. So this is a We have locations that you can work in anywhere, pretty much. So keep that in mind whenever we're matching you there. Then from there, you're gonna go and you will start working on your immigration paperwork, going through all of that, that's when you can take the OET or other English exams. And then from there, we'll onboard you and welcome you to the United States. So exciting. And actually, it seems a little scary, but pretty easy process at the end of the day, you just have to persevere. Right, Brian? We have we have a question here from Stephen, Stephen. OET or IELTS which is the best? Brian, you're the one to answer this question. Okay. I always say, folks, different strokes. I mean, people have different preferences. But one of the considerations would be the location of the test. Because here in the Philippines in particular, there are not really a lot of testing sites for the OET yet so a lot of people tend to take the IELTS not because it's a test that they want, but because they don't really have a choice much because they're from a faraway, province or territory where OET is not yet offered. But the advantage of VoIP is it's a very relatable English examination. And so the preparation time is significantly shorter for weeks in comparison to General English tests in which the topics can be anything under the sun.

So if you have an opportunity to take the OET in place of a general English examination and you feel you're comfortable with the topics that are going to be coming out in the OET like healthcare topics that you get to encounter on a day to day basis, then it is actually a very good consideration, especially for nurses who are still a little bit confused. But at the end of the day, the best advice I can give to people who are still undecided whether to take the IELTS or the OET is to trial these exams and find the one you're most comfortable with. In my experience teaching IELTS, OET, PTE and all of their English exams for the longest time, many candidates seem to gravitate towards a more healthcare focused examination this compared to something very general. So ultimately, the decision is up to you. But you have to try them out first, and try and see which one works well with you because it's different for everyone. It is different for everyone. And also, it's a different format than other tests as well. Nick is asking I have two questions. Number one, is the test on computer or paper number two? I'm currently living in Taiwan, where can I take the OET test? So question number one is the test on computer or paper? Jack? Do you want to take this one? Absolutely. Yes. So um, so there's actually both options and we have a computer based test and a paper based test. So you would just have to check on our website to see the availability of both of those test formats in the country or in the specific city that you're hoping to to take a look at. But we do have both options. The paper based test is taken completely at the test venue, meaning that you would sit and take all four sections there, the computer based tests you take the reading the writing, and the listening at the end You. And then actually, the speaking section is done later at the candidates home over zoom. So that's the one section that you wouldn't do at the test venue. But both options are available, I would just suggest to take a look at our website to see specifically where the those options are available to you as a candidate.

Is the timing difference in terms of, you know, there's a lot of times that you have to finish each section within a certain amount of minutes. And so is that different from section to section? Is it the same? I'm talking on a zoom camera at some points? Jack, can you explain a little bit more about that for us? Yeah, so the sections are, you know, in the paper base and computer base are essentially the same. The one difference is the speaking section, because there's a little bit of troubleshooting that happens at the beginning, before the speaking section, starts over zoom, to make sure that there's a security check to make sure that the Wi Fi is working correctly, and everything's ready to go. So that's the only difference is that the speaking section, there's a little bit more time provided on the computer based Speaking section done over zoom, in order to allow for that troubleshooting and making sure that everything's up and running before starting that that that portion. Lea is asking, what are the scores for the OET Joy, let's start with how is the OET scored. Each section of the test has a letter grade and a number assigned to it. There are passing scores that were defined at the federal level, but again, that are at the whole United States level. But as I mentioned earlier, different states might have a different requirement. Generally, if you're able to perform at the C plus level, you're going to meet most states benchmarks. Some states have set B A B level score as the passing standard. This states where OET is approved, you can find that on their website quite clearly what's expected what's required. So when you see these scores that say 300, you're talking about a see, when you see 350, you're talking about or excuse me, 350, you're talking about a C, I'm sorry, I'm saying that backwards. 300 is a C, 350 is a C plus. And the 280 is actually in the B category. But again, look at the state that you're interested in licensing with and look for those passing standards, so that you know what you're aiming for. And if I could just tag on to one of the questions earlier that you were talking about, Brian? You know, there's all kinds of preparation materials that are available on the website. And that's an excellent place to go to see, is this going to be the right fit for me? Does this test and the way it's done make sense for me?

Going back to Brian and what you were just mentioned there? So what's how does the student know which exam is best for them? And how would they know that the OET in particular is the best for them? Well, that's actually very easy to measure with objective tests, particularly listening and reading, because there's going to be a numerical score after the test. So they're going to be able to figure out whether they're getting a higher score in say, for example, a general English test or the OET. So if they get a higher mark in the LSAT, in comparison to General English tests, at least for listening and reading, that's a very good indicator that this examination might be the perfect fit for them. But when it comes to the speaking and the writing part, it's very hard to assess the level of performance of the candidates with just the materials that they find online. So guidance might be necessary here. And this is where test preparation might come into play. They might want to watch a few videos or instructional or tutorial, sorry, and Trump's instructional videos or tutorials online, so that they would know if that performance is what they also excel in, or it's something that they can do also in their actual exams. So try to watch videos about the Speaking Test and some samples. I think OET has a number of videos online, that are very helpful for people who are preparing for the test because they can really see how the test is going to go. And if they feel they can also do the same thing since those candidates are performing on video, then that means to say that there's a really high chance that they're going to Also do well in their actual test. So these are some things that people should be doing prior to deciding which examination, they're going to pursue trying out a few listening and reading tests, and also watching some videos of the speaking test and also some samples of the writing tests. They're going to benefit from that immensely.

We're seeing a question here, how do I apply? Very, very easy, you just have to go to our website ConneticsUSA.com/apply. And that's all you need to do, just fill out the form and our recruiters will get in touch with you for you to take the next steps. I'm also seeing here from Prava. I am Elizabeth is OGP, helping to do NCLEX RN OET. So OGP is a O’Grady Peyton International, they are also a part of AMN and the AMN International crew that we have, they actually focus on staffing, whereas Connetics does direct hire. So you have all sorts of options, all sorts of locations between the two of us. And they do have an NCLEX scholarship, that they will help you to pass the NCLEX exam, just as Connetics has an English scholarship. So hopefully that kind of breaks it down for you. But I want to go back to Brian, really quickly on what you were saying, when you are helping students and they're trying to figure out what exam is best. Do you see certain nationalities that maybe tend to struggle with certain sections in these exams more than others, either by accents, or maybe the way they speak? That? You know, have you ever seen that before? That's a very interesting question. Indeed. Here in the Philippines, in particular, candidates actually do well with the listening part. But in other countries, they actually struggle with the listening portion of the test because of the accents. Filipinos are actually trained to listen to various accents of English successfully. But in other places, if they're not familiar with the accent, it can be a struggle. But I think, on the whole, for the reading examination, many candidates actually do well, because it's just print then printed on the sheet of paper or flashed on screen during the OET on computer test. But I think most people struggle with listening, if they are not familiar with the accent. And this can also be the case with the speaking part. Because if they don't understand the accent of the person, particularly the interlocutor, during the test, that can also be a struggle.

Also, I have noticed that there should be clinical communication. And the speaking part. And not all people of different nationalities actually communicate in a very therapeutic manner. Some people are so logical or straightforward. And that might not actually work well, with speaking because you have to be very therapeutic. As a healthcare provider, you have to understand where the person is coming from, like the way you have to understand the feelings and the emotions of the patient. You have to be empathetic when they're speaking. And not all people are like that. And especially in different cultures, they might be very straightforward. So they might struggle with the speaking part, particularly for the OET. So they have to learn their clinical communication skills, so that they will be able to get a good score in the test. And depending on your score has everything to do with where you are applying to work and get your licensing Joy, we were showing that graphic before and showed all the different states that you can get your licensing from. I was just wondering here you see at the top of that graphic, it says license by endorsement and licensed by examination. What is the difference? Oh sorry most people who are listening today will probably seek a licensed by exam. And I know you're there to help people with these steps as far as looking at individual states. But those types of licenses. When you look on a website, it's going to say taking the NCLEX licensing by exam, your first license, something like that. So passing the NCLEX is going to be your first step to being recognized as somebody who has the right nursing education to move forward in the process. And then licensed by endorsement is when you've been licensed in a state. And now let's say you have family in another state and you want to move there, you would endorse that license to Do the other state and those steps tend to be a bit simpler. You don't retake the NCLEX, everybody should know that you don't retake the NCLEX if you move to a different state. So once you've passed that, that's a done deal. And then a lot of states will have an exemption on taking another English test or taking an English test again, if you've been working as a nurse, and using your English. So an endorsement is when you're you've already had your first license in the US. And now you want to move to a different states.

Thank you so much for explaining that to me and our audience. Jack, we were talking yesterday, we did a little bit of prepare preparation for this show. You were going through some the different segments of the exam, will you give us some of those details? Absolutely, yeah. So we can start out with the listening part of the exam. So the listening part, as I said before, there are three sections to the listening part. The first one is our two separate consultations between a healthcare professional and a patient. So this is something that healthcare professionals are typically very comfortable with. You don't need to change any information that you're hearing in this audio, you're basically hearing a conversation between these two healthcare professionals. And you have to complete the gaps in the information. So you can see here this, the image on the screen is actually an example of the Part A from the listening part. So you see these kinds of case notes, these, these notes of the conversation. And then there's some gaps where the candidate would have to complete those gaps based on what they're hearing. Part B are six short dialogues or monologues in workplace settings. So these are the types of conversations that healthcare professionals might have with a colleague, such as the handover of a patient, a team briefing, or feedback to a healthcare professional from a mentor, for example. And there are six multiple choice questions here, for one for each of the six dialogues or monologues that the candidate would hear. And then the third listening part here is part C. And these are typical professional development content that a healthcare professional might listen to. So presenters might describe the work that they do in their field, or any new developments in the treatment of a condition, for example. So these are kind of longer interview or professional development type questions.

So the next section would be the reading part of the OET exam. So again, this also has three parts. The first part is a an expeditious or a fast reading task. And this is completed in 15 minutes, and it's designed to replicate the workplace, where you don't always have the luxury of time to consider information or check the meaning of words, for example, you have to just read and kind of try to absorb the information as fast as possible. And you'll have to use your skimming and your scanning skills to to find the information from these texts. Part B on the reading is six short workplace extracts. So these are typical of those sent as an email or memo in a workplace setting, or maybe even found in the staff room notice board. So something like policy updates, machine operating instructions, for example. And again, there's one multiple choice question for each of these six texts. And Part C are two long presentation passages, right. So similar to the listening portion, these are typical of professional development content of general interest to all healthcare professionals, right. So something that any healthcare professional would understand. Moving on to the next section, which is writing. So again, this the writing and the speaking, as I mentioned, are professions specific, right. So nurses who take this would be presented with a nursing specific writing task. And the example given here is most often in the case of a referral letter, right. So the candidates would be presented with all the information they need, they'd have case notes, they'd have other things that they need to address in, in the in the letter that they're writing. And then candidates, as you can see, would have about five minutes to read the case notes and read the situation, and then about 40 minutes to actually write that letter.

So what candidates need to make sure that they're deciding is which information is relevant to be to continue care or to be communicated on to another professional and which information maybe isn't relevant. So the candidate kind of has to make some of those decisions when, when writing and more when preparing to write this this letter. And then the last section is the speaking section. But in the speaking section is made up of two role plays. And these role plays are done between the candidate and an interlocutor. And the interlocutor is just there to help you facilitate this conversation, right, the person that you're having this conversation with is not the person that's going to be assessing you, they're not going to be grading you, they're just there to help you to play the role of the of the, of the patient and, and help carry out this conversation. And these for this section, that candidates typically have about three minutes to prepare for each of the role plays. And then each roleplay would last about five minutes each. And this is the section that I was talking about earlier, that typically it takes around 20 minutes for the paper based in around 30 minutes for the computer base. Because there's this ID check and this environment check, there's some added time in there to make sure that everything is up and running over zoom before we get started with that section. So those are the four different main sections of the OET test.

Thank you so much for going through that with us, Brian. Let's back up. Let's start with the first segment that Jack had just described, I want to ask you give us some tips on what students should be thinking about whenever they do each of these sections? And what do they what are some of the challenges? And what's usually kind of easy? I'm looking at one of the questions here from the chat. And it says spelling mistakes acceptable in listening part A? And the answer there is yes, in a way, because as long as the answer is phonetically identical to the real answer is going to be correct. But I'm going to just go through some tips for each of the parts of the examination. And this is going to actually be applicable not only for listening, but for other parts of the test. The first one is you have to know the test format, it is very important for you to know what the test is all about and how it's going to go so that you don't end up panicking during the test. So oftentimes candidates actually take the examination without knowing what the test format is. And they're surprised during the examination and to get really low scores. So that's one thing that you need to know about the listening examination. And since the listening examination is composed of 42 question items, it is very important for you to answer as many easy questions as you can, if one question is actually very difficult, and you missed the answer to that question, it will not be repeated because the recording will only be played once. So you have to let go and move on. Move forward if you miss an answer. And also, in part A of the examination, particularly the fill in the blanks portion of the examination, use the reading time to not only read the questions, but also the sub headings, it's very important that you know that the third headings there so that you will be redirected, just in case you get lost, it's very easy to get lost in the test. So to get your way back.

And to get back on track. It's very important that you read and highlight or perhaps underline or encircle the key words, key phrases, and also the subheadings. And yeah, right. So these are just some tips for the listening examination. Now Parts B and C are actually very difficult parts of the examination. So you have to focus on comprehending the message and not just the keywords because oftentimes all of the keywords are going to be mentioned in the recording. So you will be very confused if you're just expecting a key word to pop out of the recording. So try as much as you can to comprehend or to understand the recording, and make a decision based on your comprehension of the recording. Now heading on to the reading examination, just like in other parts of the examination, it's very important for you to be familiar with a test format. And Part A is actually separate from Parts B and C, you will have 15 minutes only for part aids expeditious you have to read very fast. So I suggest that you do everything in order there are some people would say oh, you start with question number eight first before you go to question number one and stuff like that. But you have to do the questions in order because that's how the examination is designed. And as much as possible. You try to answer as many easy questions as you can. If one question is very difficult, don't spend one or two minutes answering that question. You move on and try to go back to it later when you still have spare time. Also, for Parts B and C of your exam nomination since all of these are going to be multiple choice questions, the way you're going to read the questions and the passage would be like this, you read first the questions, study the questions carefully in circle or underline the important key words in the questions, and then go to the passage and start hunting for the answers.

That's the correct order by which you're supposed to do this. And apart from this, it is also critical that when you're doing the reading examination, you pay attention to as many clues as you can, you should improve your vocabulary. If there's one word that's very hard for you to understand you try to guess the meaning of the word and try your best to just carry on with the reading. Don't stop just because you saw a word that you're not familiar with. Oftentimes, in the reading examination, you will see a lot of those words that you're not familiar with. So just use context clues so that you will be able to find the answer to the questions. Okay. So also, don't focus too much on finishing the tasks. Instead, try your I'm sorry, we're talking about the speaking examination here. Use the three minutes prep time wisely. And during this time, there are certain things that you can do. What you can possibly do is number one, you can read the questions or the tasks on the roleplay card. And number two, you can ask questions only for this speaking examination, you can ask questions during the three minute preparation time, just in case, there's something that is unfamiliar or something that you're confused about. You can ask your interlocutor some questions, so you can clarify those things. Okay. Also Just sorry to interrupt you there. Yes, whatever you're saying you can ask the interviewer later. Some questions. Are there any questions that you want to kind of not ask because it may make you look bad somehow?

Well, most of the questions that you would want to ask are related to the roleplay card. Of course, you don't want to ask trivial questions. But you can probably ask, for example, what the DCS condition is, if you're not really familiar with it, or you could probably ask whether it's your first contact with this person, or you have actually met the person before, these are going to give you context, which will help you to perform better during the test. Okay, thanks for clearing that up. Let's move on you were doing so well here. Okay, let's, let's pick it back up where we were. All right. Okay, so let's, where was I? Okay, so now, we are going to talk about the actual conversation. So what are the tips that I can give you during the actual conversation in speaking, do not just focus on being able to answer all of the tasks because in the test, it's not actually whether you will cover all of the four bullets or five bullets that matters, it's actually your communication. And sometimes, because you want to finish all of the tasks you're rushing, and it doesn't really sound very therapeutic, it doesn't really sound as if you're interested in the person in person's condition, it just wants to skip to the next part. So try your best to communicate. If you don't finish all of the three or four tasks, that's fine, as long as you're able to demonstrate evidence that you're able to communicate in English in the healthcare setting effectively. Okay. And I guess we still have one more section, which is the writing part of the examination. So well, it's actually just a health care letter. Usually for nurses, you will be writing to fellow healthcare professionals. So it is important for you to practice writing for various types of tests. Because you can be writing especially for nurses, you will be writing to different professionals.

Sometimes you will be writing to doctors, or you will be writing to other nurses and different specializations. For example, sometimes we will be writing to a warden or sometimes you're going to be writing to a nursing care home or nurse or maybe a community nurse. So it's different. Try your best and try as much as you can never to use templates in the test. Because these are recognized by your examiner's if they ever see something that feels very rehearsed, that's going to take away points from your total score. And most importantly, you have to and this is something that I usually advise my students so that they will know how to select the correct case notes. You have to take or keep your reader in mind. Because when you write things, you have to make sure it's relevant to the person that you're writing to. If it is a dietitian, for example, you wouldn't want to talk about physical therapy with that person, or maybe one dressings because that is certainly not the occupation of that person and it's going to be very insulting on the part of that person. If you're asking that particular professional like a dietitian to do wound dressings, because that's beyond the scope of his or her obligations or responsibility at work, so you have to take into account what the duties and the responsibilities of the person you're writing to are, and you only have to write those that are relevant to the work of that person. And that's going to help you to select your case notes more appropriately and accurately.

That is amazing information, I hope everybody at home was taking notes. And also you can get more information about all of these tips in the different formats and the structure of the exam on our website, the OET team was so graciously gracious that they wrote us a blog that we actually have on our website, you can go to our resources page. And it'll be right there with all of this information for you to join, I want to come back to you, when you hear Brian talking about all of these tips and the different ways to study for the exam. What are your comments about that? What are your thoughts? Well, I think I saw a little reference to this on one of the slides. But I know one thing that I heard for many years that nurses don't like is the time pressure when they're doing a test. And we all have time pressures that we live under working in the field of nursing, but I saw it tip to practice without the time pressure first, then start setting a clock and matching it to what the exam is going to expect from you. And then you can start to see, where am I spending a little too much time? Where can I shift my focus a little bit so that I fit within the timeframe? And then I think also, Brian, like you said, just like on the NCLEX, you're gonna run across a word you don't know, you're gonna run across a medication you haven't heard of. And spending tons of time on that kind of question is not going to benefit you take your best approach based on the context and then move on. So those are some things that I think apply to our wiki and also to the NCLEX.

Any examination, I know whenever I was in school taking standardized tests, I'm always the last person in there. And there's always that one person that's just done so fast. And you're like how, what is happening here, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to do better than you or not just because they're faster, but you do have to take your time. Jack, what are some tips that you can give as well, let's focus on that speaking conversation there. How does that go? Yeah, so I mean, in terms of the speaking conversation, I think that Brian, you know, addressed a lot of the main tips, but I would say definitely talking about the clinical communication, which Brian also mentioned, and how, you know, there are some cultural differences around what is maybe appropriate clinical communication from one country to the next. So I think definitely honing in on that would be really important. Because you know, these role plays are meant to be a real conversation between the healthcare professional and the patient, right. So as the test taker, you should not be dominating the conversation, you should really be engaging the interlocutor who's playing the role of the patient, and replying based on the information that they give you. So you should be having a natural conversation that really focuses on the patient, and just really practicing and learning as much as you can about those clinical communication skills. And actually, the speaking section of OET is scored 60% on English proficiency. And there is a 40% focus on that clinical communicate those clinical communication skills. So it is really important. And we actually have some resources on our website that talk more about clinical communication, and you can learn more about it. So if you have more further questions on what clinical communication is and how you can kind of practice and learn more about it, I would definitely refer people to our website.

Thank you, Jack. Brian, you guys do so many courses have such an amazing success rate for helping nurses pass this exam? What are your tips in terms of self studying? Do you think that that's a good idea? It do nurses sometimes do. Okay that way. Tell us about that. Okay. Well, some people actually do well preparing by themselves if they're very disciplined, and they know what they're doing. But in most cases, especially for the writing and speaking components, it can be a struggle, if they do not have someone who's checking their work, was giving them feedback about their performance. moments, because it's hard to see your mistakes, if you're just looking at yourself all the time, and nobody, like you don't have a second pair of eyes looking at your writing, or maybe another set of ears listening to how you're speaking. So it is, I think something that is recommended by not only us, the test preparation providers, but also the test itself, like OET. Other examinations would always emphasize the need for preparation, because these exams want you to take the exams, once only. And if you don't prepare, there's a very high chance that you might not succeed in these tests, because these are not exams that are just intended to test your language skills, but also your ability to comply with the requirements of the test, which you would actually learn when you're preparing with a test preparation provider, or maybe the right resources from the OET website. Thank you so much. Now, I received some questions about this exam, before we came on the air. And they're actually based on misconceptions. So I'm going to go through them really quick ask each of you one at a time, it can be yes or no, if you want to give a little explanation. Question number one. And this by the way to our viewers, this is an insider look at the tests, do these things matter? Or not? Joy, I'm going to start with you does it matter which version of the test you take paper or computer?

No, it shouldn't matter at all. I think like Brian mentioned earlier, think about what you're comfortable with. If you're in a place, you don't have good Wi Fi, you have trouble with the computer, then probably doing that last section, the speaking via zoom might not be the best for you. Maybe you want to be at the computer center doing the paper based. Jack does it matter the nationality of the nurse when they're taking this exam to pass it. It doesn't know that that's not something that that is that we've seen to be, you know, impactful in terms of passing. Obviously, as Brian was mentioning earlier, there might be some nationalities that naturally have exposure to different types of, of accents and English. That's something to keep in mind. But obviously, even if you don't have that exposure, there are ways to familiarize yourself with different accents, right, you can listen to podcasts, you can watch TV shows, you can watch videos on YouTube, there's a lot of free resources out there that can give you exposure to the UK accent or the Australian accent or the American accent if you're not familiar. So there's a lot of different resources out there. All this to say that no, the nationality doesn't really, it doesn't really matter as long as you're preparing adequately for the exam. For IN does it matter which country you take the exam in.

Now it's a standard English examination. So no matter where you're taking the examination, the standard will be identical. And the your chances of fascinating examination will still be determined by your performance during the test and not where you're taking it. And in fact, your speaking examination is assessed in Melbourne, Australia. So no matter where you are, it's centralized. Joy, what if a nurse has a situation that perhaps they have a stutter? Whenever they get very nervous? Does that affect the score? Well, I can see that it might link in to things where there's a time limitation. But I think that, especially in the speaking portion, I think that there would be consideration maybe to let the person stop a minute, and regroup before they moved on. And that portion of the test. The other sections of the test that shouldn't matter at all. Jack, do you have more to add to that? Yeah, the only thing I would say is that we do have accommodations available for test takers with that meet certain conditions. So there's more information about that on our website as well. But in the case of someone with a stutter, there are some workarounds in terms of different accommodations. So that's definitely something that that could be discussed. Wonderful. Thank you all so much for those tips and for debunking those myths for us and for all of our audience there. And to our audience. Please make sure that you apply to ConneticsUSA.com/apply so that you can get started on your journey and that we can get started to help you with your OET exam, right with Niner, and Swoosh as well, so we can absolutely help you. I want to thank our guests so much for joining us today.

What an amazing conversation. Joy Jack and Brian, we'll see you soon. And thank you all so much for joining us. Now let's move on to the  show. Just to kind of wrap some things up here. I want to take a look at the future schedule of our shows that we have coming up. Next week Immigration Q&A, I saw some questions here in the chat about immigration, we are going to have our immigration lawyers live to give a Q&A. That's your chance to ask all of your immigration questions to our lawyers directly to our partner lawyers. On June the 21st is June the 23rd. It is our state side show we're going to be focused on Southern live in that is how they speak in many parts of the south. So we're gonna be talking about all kinds of states that are all located in the south and what it's like to live there. On June the 30th. We'll be doing a client showcase and focusing on our clients here at Connetics USA so that you can learn about a healthcare facility that you might want to work at and ask your questions directly to the employer during the show. Of course we have our love for a talk show happens once a month on June the 13th is coming up work life balance is actually mental health month. So figuring out work life balance, and how is the best way to make that a part of your life.

We're here to help you. And we have Connetics College coming up as well. We have our show every Monday and it's a different show every Monday. So you're gonna have Aspire RN the NCLEX class as well as Swoosh. During the English classes. IPass also an NCLEX class and of course, Brian in urban from Niner English classes, so we rotate everybody out. So you can always join us to get all of the free information and free courses and free test tips every Monday, right here with Connetics USA, thank you so much for joining us today. We also would love to get your ideas on what our next show topics should be. Because we want to give you the information that you are looking for. So please put in the chat if you have any ideas for future shows. And if you would also like to participate. Do you have a story that you want to share? Do you have a success that you would like to share? We invite you to be a part of our show. Please write in the comments. And we will definitely be getting in touch with you. Thank you so much everyone for joining us and like we always say, Onwards and Upwards. Take care!