An eight-week OET study plan for a nurse who is working full time

The hardest thing about OET preparation for most nurses is not the English. It is finding the hours. If you are working full time, often on shifts, the plan has to fit the time you actually have, and it has to spend that time where it moves your score. This is an eight-week plan on roughly an hour a day, with longer sessions on two days off per week, that does that. Adapt it to your rota; the principles matter more than the days.

Two things before you start. First, find out what your regulator requires in each subtest, on its own website, so you are aiming at the right target. For nurses registering in the UK that is the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC); the minimum grades it accepts per subtest are on nmc.org.uk. Second, if you have not yet booked, consider booking a test date eight to ten weeks ahead. A date on the calendar is what turns intentions into sessions.

Week 1: find your starting point

Spend the first week sitting one full practice test in each of the four subtests, under exam conditions: the real timings, no replays in Listening, no dictionary, 180 to 200 words for the letter. This is not the week to study; it is the week to measure. By the end of it you should know, for each subtest, roughly where you are on the 0 to 500 scale and which parts or criteria are losing you marks.

Rank the four subtests from weakest to strongest. That ranking sets the plan for the next five weeks.

Weeks 2 to 6: weakest first, every subtest every week

The principle for the middle five weeks is simple. Your weakest subtest gets the most time, but every subtest gets some time every week, because there is no overall score and every subtest has to clear its own line.

A working week on this plan looks roughly like this:

• Three weekday sessions of about an hour on the weakest subtest. For Writing, that is one letter marked against the six criteria, then a second look at the letter to fix the weakest criterion. For Speaking, two or three role-plays with feedback. For Reading or Listening, one timed part, marked, with the wrong answers understood rather than just noted.
• One weekday session on the second-weakest subtest, in the same way.
• One longer session on a day off, two to three hours, covering the two stronger subtests: a timed Reading or Listening paper, or a letter and a role-play, so that they do not drift while you concentrate on the others.
• One day off from OET entirely. Rest is part of the plan, not a lapse from it.

Review the ranking at the end of each week. If your weakest subtest has moved up, the time moves with it.

What to do in each subtest session

Writing. One letter per session is enough if it is marked properly. Read the case notes in the five minutes of reading time without writing, decide who the reader is and what they need, then write. Afterwards, mark it against the six criteria, or have it marked, and identify the one criterion that is lowest. Next session, that criterion is the thing you are watching as you write.

Speaking. Role-play, do not read. Practising with a colleague who plays the patient from a card, or with a simulated patient, builds the habit of responding to what the patient says rather than delivering the tasks on your card. Record yourself at least once a week and listen back against the nine criteria.

Reading. Timed parts, always. Part A in 15 minutes is the skill most nurses need to build first, because it is fast and exact. Once Part A is reliable, give the time to Part C inference questions.

Listening. Single play, always. Mark the part, then listen again to the sections you missed and work out why: an accent, a paraphrase, a gap you did not predict. Part A note completion is where speed matters most.

Weeks 7 and 8: full tests and recovery

In the last two weeks, switch from parts to whole subtests. Sit one full subtest per session, under conditions, and aim to sit the complete four-subtest test at least once on a day off in week 7, in the order the real test runs. The point is stamina as much as score: a full OET is a long day, and the Writing letter comes after Listening and Reading.

Week 8 is lighter. Two or three sessions on your weakest subtest, one full practice test early in the week, and then nothing demanding in the last two days. Confirm the venue, the start time and what you need to bring, and sleep.

Keeping the plan honest

• Mark everything. An unmarked practice is a wasted hour. The information is in the marking.
• Track one number per subtest per week. A simple record of your practice score in each subtest, week by week, tells you whether the plan is working and whether the ranking has changed.
• Protect the weakest subtest. It is the one you will be tempted to avoid. It is also the one that decides whether you have to sit the test again.
• Do not study on the night shift. Short practice on a quiet night is fine. A timed Reading paper at 3am is a measurement of tiredness, not reading.

Clodia is built for this kind of plan: it asks for your test date, puts your weakest subtest first, and gives you timed tests, marked letters and voice role-plays with a criterion-by-criterion breakdown, so each hour is spent on the thing that most needs it. Whatever you use, the plan above is the plan, and the hours are yours.

The test format and timings are set by OET and published at occupationalenglishtest.org; the grades your regulator accepts are on its own site. Check both before you begin.