If you're looking to improve your English proficiency for career advancement or further education, it’s important to select the test that suits your specific needs. While both OET and IELTS Academic are widely accepted, the OET Test is often the better and easier choice for healthcare professionals. Here’s why:
1. Easier and more familiar content
In IELTS, you might be tested on anything from coal mining to animal extinction. This wide range of topics means you’ll have to study a broader set of vocabulary that doesn’t relate to healthcare and might be unfamiliar. The OET Test is focused on familiar healthcare content, reducing the amount of vocabulary you’ll need to learn, making preparation easier and faster.
Sanjith Kumar, a Clinical Governance & Risk Manager, shared: “I took IELTS three or four times but couldn’t pass. The topics for the writing assessment were obscure things like art or drama, which were not my field of expertise. But with OET, if you ask me about work, I don’t need to imagine.”
2. Faster to prepare and more affordable success
OET’s focus on healthcare language means that candidates often achieve their required scores more quickly than those preparing for IELTS Academic. Because the OET Test concentrates on familiar healthcare topics, you’ll spend less time learning unrelated academic vocabulary, speeding up the process and reducing preparation time.
More affordable: Even though the OET Test may seem more expensive upfront, the time saved during preparation often means fewer retakes and less overall cost.
As one former candidate shared: “Even if it’s more expensive, I felt I’ve got more advantage taking OET rather than an English test that just asks questions about anything in the world.”
Another candidate echoed this sentiment: “With OET, you just do it once, but for the other English tests, you may have to take it twice, so eventually the price is the same.”
3. Each OET sub-test tests real-world healthcare scenarios
Each sub-test reflects the type of work you already do, so the tasks are familiar and relevant:
- Listening sub-test: the OET Test will assess you on healthcare-related audio examples, such as a discussion between a doctor and patient. IELTS will assess you on audio from academic scenarios, such as a university lecture.
- Reading sub-test: the OET Test focuses on healthcare-related texts such as workplace communications. IELTS, however, includes texts on diverse academic topics like astronomy or economics.
- Writing sub-test: in the OET Test, you’ll write referral letters or case notes to other healthcare professionals. IELTS will require you to analyse and describe charts and write essays on subjects unrelated to healthcare.
- Speaking sub-test: in the OET Test, you'll take part in role plays simulating real healthcare situations, such as talking to a patient. In IELTS, you might need to discuss unrelated topics like art or history.
As Marina Miotello, a nurse from Brazil, noted: “I started to study for OET and felt way more comfortable because I had knowledge about what the test and questions were about, which is nursing.”
4. OET helps you communicate confidently in the workplace
IELTS Academic is designed to measure whether your language level is suitable for university or college study. Unlike IELTS Academic, which tests general academic English, the OET Test focuses entirely on the healthcare sector. Each part of the test is tailored to real-world medical scenarios, meaning the vocabulary and tasks are directly relevant to your job.
Whether you’re a nurse, doctor, or dentist, you’ll be tested on language and situations you’re already familiar with.
The OET Test uses the medical terminology you deal with daily, which helps build your confidence in English. According to research undertaken by Cambridge English, many clinical educators and recruiters note that nurses who take the OET Test often communicate better and feel more confident in their roles.
5. Global recognition in the healthcare sector
OET Test results are trusted and recognised by more healthcare organisations around the world as the preferred test for healthcare professionals. This includes the NMC, GMC, AHPRA, ECFMG, CGFNS, and FMRAC.
For international medical graduates (IMGs), key organisations such as ECFMG in the United States only accept OET Test results; other English tests like IELTS are not accepted. Many countries including the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand also accept OET Test results for Visa purposes.
Choosing the OET Test not only provides you with a relevant, healthcare-focused test but also offers faster, more affordable success, saving you both time and money.
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