Free OET Listening sample · Medicine
OET Listening sample for doctors, with answers
OET Listening is the same for every profession: about 40 minutes and 42 questions, and you hear each recording once. In Part A you often hear a doctor taking a history. This sample has a GP consultation, a handover between doctors and part of an interview with a GP, written out as transcripts so you can see how the questions work.
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Part A · 2 consultations · 12 gaps each in the real test
Part A: a consultation with note completion
In the real test you have a short time to read the notes before the recording starts, then you fill each gap with the words you hear, in the order they come up. This sample has four gaps.
A GP talks to Mr Wolstenholme, 58, who has come in about chest tightness.
GP: So tell me about this tightness. When does it come on?
Mr Wolstenholme: Only when I'm walking, really. Mostly on the hill up to the station. I stop for a minute or two and it goes off. It's been happening for about a month now.
GP: And does the feeling stay in your chest, or does it spread anywhere?
Mr Wolstenholme: Down my left arm, usually. And once it went up into my jaw, which frightened my wife more than me.
GP: Has anyone in your family had heart problems?
Mr Wolstenholme: My dad had a heart attack. He was only fifty-two. My brother's fine, as far as I know.
GP: And do you smoke?
Mr Wolstenholme: I gave up cigarettes five years ago. I use an e-cigarette now, though, if I'm honest.
Presenting complaint
- chest tightness, about 1 month
- brought on by walking, mainly on (1) ______
- settles after stopping for (2) ______
Radiation
- usually down left arm; once to jaw
Family history
- father: heart attack aged (3) ______
Smoking
- stopped cigarettes 5 years ago; now uses (4) ______
Show the answer to gap 1
Answer: the hill up to the station (or the hill). "Mostly on the hill up to the station." The note already says walking, so the gap is where.
Show the answer to gap 2
Answer: a minute or two (or 1 or 2 minutes). "I stop for a minute or two and it goes off." The month is how long it has been happening, already in the notes.
Show the answer to gap 3
Answer: fifty-two (or 52). "He was only fifty-two." Digits are fine for numbers.
Show the answer to gap 4
Answer: an e-cigarette (or e-cigarette). "I use an e-cigarette now." Write the word you hear, not "vape".
Part B · 6 short extracts · 3 options each
Part B: a workplace extract
Part B has six short recordings from healthcare workplaces, about 45 seconds each, with one question each. Listen for why the person is speaking, not only what they say.
A foundation doctor hands over a patient to the night doctor.
Foundation doctor: Bed twelve, Mr Tregoning. He came in with pneumonia, he's on IV antibiotics and he's much brighter than this morning. The only thing outstanding is his sodium. It was 128 at lunchtime, down from 132 yesterday, so I've stopped his IV fluids and the registrar has seen him. It doesn't need checking again tonight unless he becomes confused or drowsy. Otherwise it's on the morning bloods.
Question 25 · Multiple choice (3 options)
What does the foundation doctor want the night doctor to do about Mr Tregoning's sodium?
- AAsk the registrar to review him about it tonight.
- BRecheck it tonight only if he becomes confused or sleepy.
- CRestart his IV fluids if he becomes confused.
Show the answer
Answer: B. It is checked tonight only if he becomes confused or drowsy; otherwise it waits for the morning bloods (B). The registrar has already seen him (A). The IV fluids were stopped, and nothing is said about restarting them (C).
Part C · 2 recordings · 6 questions each · 3 options
Part C: part of an interview
Part C is two longer recordings, about five minutes each: a presentation or an interview. The questions test opinion and attitude, and the right option usually paraphrases the speaker rather than repeating their words.
An interviewer talks to a GP about seeing patients by phone first.
Interviewer: Your practice now speaks to most patients on the phone before booking them in. Has it saved time?
GP: Not really, and I think we oversold that at the start. Across a day I spend about as long with patients as I did before. What's changed is who I see in the room. The person who needs examining, or the one I'm worried about, gets a proper twenty minutes, because the repeat prescription query was sorted in three minutes on the phone. If I'm honest, the phone calls didn't make the job shorter. They made the face-to-face time go to the right people.
Question 31 · Multiple choice (3 options)
What does the GP say has been the main effect of speaking to patients by phone first?
- ADoctors now spend less time with patients each day.
- BAppointments in person go to the patients who most need them.
- CSimple queries now take longer to sort out by phone.
Show the answer
Answer: B. The face-to-face time goes "to the right people" (B). Across a day the GP spends about as long with patients as before, so it did not save time (A). The repeat prescription query was "sorted in three minutes on the phone" (C).
Six recordings, each played once, as in the test, and marked straight away. No account needed.
OET Listening questions
Is OET Listening different for doctors?
No. Every profession sits the same Listening paper. The recordings are set in healthcare, often a doctor with a patient in Part A, and use a range of English-speaking accents.
How long is OET Listening?
About 40 minutes, with 42 questions in three parts: two consultations with note completion (24 questions), six short workplace extracts (6 questions) and two longer presentations or interviews (12 questions).
Is the OET Listening audio played twice?
No. Each recording is played once, with short pauses to read the questions before each part. That is why practising with one hearing only matters.
Do I write medical terms or the patient's words in Part A?
Write the words you hear. If the patient says "my jaw", the answer is jaw, even if you would write a medical term in real notes.