OET (Occupational English Test)
Healthcare English for NMC and GMC registration: reading, clinical writing language, format and scoring
Jump into a topic All 8 topics ↓
- Reading Part B: Workplace Extracts14 questions
- Reading Part C: Healthcare Articles14 questions
- Healthcare Vocabulary & Collocations13 questions
- Grammar & Style for Clinical Writing13 questions
- Writing & Speaking: Task and Criteria13 questions
- Test Format, Scoring & Registration13 questions
- Reading Part A: Expeditious Reading8 questions
- Listening: Format & Strategies8 questions
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PassNova offers free OET (Occupational English Test) practice — 96 exam-style questions and 3 timed 25-question practice tests with a clear explanation for every answer. It's 100% free with no sign-up, works on any device, and covers the OET (Occupational English Test) syllabus topic by topic. Updated for 2026.
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- Reading Part B: Workplace Extracts14 questions
- Reading Part C: Healthcare Articles14 questions
- Healthcare Vocabulary & Collocations13 questions
- Grammar & Style for Clinical Writing13 questions
- Writing & Speaking: Task and Criteria13 questions
- Test Format, Scoring & Registration13 questions
- Reading Part A: Expeditious Reading8 questions
- Listening: Format & Strategies8 questions
Who needs OET
OET is the healthcare English test the NMC and GMC accept for registration from overseas.
Internationally trained nurse or midwife (NMC registration)
Required by law or a regulatorNMC: OET grade B in listening, reading and speaking and C+ in writing is accepted as evidence of English competence.
Official sourceInternational medical graduate (GMC registration)
Required by law or a regulatorGMC: OET (Medicine) with at least grade B in every sub-test, all in one sitting (the most recent), is accepted as evidence of English.
Official sourceRequirements are checked against the National Careers Service, the relevant regulator or the awarding body — follow each source for the current rules.
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OET explained for nurses and doctors
The Occupational English Test is the English test written for healthcare. Instead of essays about tourism, you read ward policies and journal extracts, write a referral letter from case notes and take part in role plays with a patient. It is accepted by the NMC and the GMC alongside IELTS, and many candidates find its familiar clinical context makes it the easier route.
The four sub-tests
- Listening — about 40 minutes, 42 questions: consultations, presentations and workplace extracts.
- Reading — 60 minutes, 42 questions: Part A is a fast, timed 15-minute task across four short texts; Parts B and C test careful reading of workplace extracts and two longer articles.
- Writing — 45 minutes: one letter of 180 to 200 words, usually a referral, based on case notes.
- Speaking — about 20 minutes: two role plays with an interlocutor playing a patient or carer.
Scores and what the regulators want
Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 and mapped to a grade: A (450 to 500), B (350 to 440), C+ (300 to 340), C, D and E. The NMC requires B in listening, reading and speaking and at least C+ in writing, and will combine two sittings taken within 12 months if all four sub-tests were sat each time and no score in either sitting falls below C+ (grade C, 250, for writing). The GMC requires B in all four in a single sitting. Results are valid for two years.
How to revise
Reading Part A is a race: find the text that holds the answer, copy the exact words, spell them correctly, and use no abbreviation the texts do not use — the papers are collected after 15 minutes. Part B rewards finding the one condition or exception in a short policy; Part C rewards reading for the writer’s attitude, not just the facts. Listening is heard once only, so you write as you listen, and Part A must use the words you hear. Writing is marked on purpose, content selection, conciseness, genre, organisation and language — the commonest failing is copying every case note instead of choosing what the reader needs. PassNova’s practice covers all of that with a worked explanation on every question, 100% free with no sign-up; use OET’s official sample tests for listening and speaking themselves.
Guides for this exam
Free official practice & past papers
Straight from the exam body — official free practice and past papers for OET (Occupational English Test). PassNova's own questions are original exam-style practice; these are the awarding body's materials.
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Where the real exam comes from
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OET (Occupational English Test): your questions answered
What jobs can I do with OET (Occupational English Test)?
OET is the healthcare English test the NMC and GMC accept for registration from overseas. Internationally trained nurse or midwife (NMC registration): NMC: OET grade B in listening, reading and speaking and C+ in writing is accepted as evidence of English competence. International medical graduate (GMC registration): GMC: OET (Medicine) with at least grade B in every sub-test, all in one sitting (the most recent), is accepted as evidence of English.
Is PassNova's OET (Occupational English Test) practice free?
Yes — OET (Occupational English Test) practice on PassNova is 100% free. There's no paywall and no sign-up needed to start. A free account is optional and only saves your progress and badges.
Do I need an account or have to pay?
No. You can start practising OET (Occupational English Test) instantly with no account, no email and no card. 104 courses are fully free; every Premium question bank has a free 15-question taster.
How many OET (Occupational English Test) practice questions does PassNova have?
PassNova has 96 exam-style OET (Occupational English Test) questions and 3 timed 25-question practice tests, each with a clear explanation, plus topic-by-topic study mode.
Is the OET (Occupational English Test) practice up to date for 2026?
OET is the healthcare-specific English test that the NMC and GMC accept alongside IELTS. Checked September 2026: the NMC's accepted-tests page (updated March 2024) requires grade B (350 or above) in listening, reading and speaking and at least C+ (300 or above) in writing, accepts scores combined across two sittings taken within 12 months of each other provided all four sub-tests were sat each time, each domain reaches its pass score in one of the sittings and no score in either sitting falls below C+ (or below grade C, 250, in writing), and treats a result as valid for two years; applicants sit the Nursing version. The GMC requires at least grade B in every sub-test of the Medicine version, all in the same, most recent sitting — it does not combine sittings. OET's published format: Listening about 40 minutes with 42 questions; Reading 60 minutes with 42 questions, of which Part A is a timed 15-minute task; Writing 45 minutes for one profession-specific letter of about 180 to 200 words; and Speaking about 20 minutes with two role plays. Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 and mapped to grades A to E. PassNova covers what can be practised on screen — Reading Part A style location questions across four short texts, Parts B and C, the vocabulary and grammar the Writing sub-test is marked on, and the format, marking criteria, Listening rules and registration requirements — with every answer explained. Listening and Speaking themselves need audio and an interlocutor, so use OET's own sample tests for those.
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