OET Nursing Writing Homework

Today’s lesson was designed to give you a strong understanding of

exactly what the examiner is looking for you to do in your Writing
Test.

Now, you need to develop your Writing skills for OET further by
completing the activities in this Homework Book. These tasks draw upon what
you have learnt so far to further build your confidence and give you an insight
into what to expect in the exam.

Activity 1: Recap Quiz

Please complete this True or False activity based on what you learnt in today’s
lesson. Answers are at the end of the Homework Book:

Statement True or
False?

1. You are required to write a letter to a patient.

2. You are required to address the letter to a specific person and

role.

3. You are allowed to use abbreviations freely without explaining

them.

4. It is acceptable to include personal opinions and anecdotes to

make your letter more engaging.

5. You are expected to use a formal tone throughout the letter.

6. You should begin the task by writing a draft and then carefully
transcribing it to the final answer sheet to ensure accuracy.

7. If you write under 180 words, or over 200 words, you will not
automatically lose marks, as long as the information you have
included is relevant and concise.

8. Using bullet points and numbered lists is encouraged to present

information more clearly.
 Activity 2: Interpreting Case Notes

To be successful in your OET exam, you need to have a strong understanding of

the case notes. This can often be challenging as ‘short-hand’ or ‘abbreviations’
are used throughout. Your job during the exam is to transfer these case notes
into easy to understand sentences. We started doing this in your lesson; let’s
develop your understanding further.

Read through the case notes below and decide what the note means in the box
on the right using the full correct term. Answers are at the end of the Homework
Book.

Case Note What this means…

BP ↑

R/v req by attend. doc

Trauma → internal
bleed

Bad nutri. Diet ↓

3 children <10

Ramipril 5mg/day

Crutches 2 mth.

PHX

+ prog overall

Dx. chest infection

You may also find it helpful to consult the following list of commonly used
abbreviations within the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/nhs-app-help-
and-support/health-records-in-the-nhs-app/abbreviations-commonly-
found-in-medical-records/
 Activity 3: Strengthening Structure

In your lesson, we also looked at a guide as to how to structure your letter. If you
look below, you can see that we have expanded this guide to include examples
which are relevant to the letter which you are going to write regarding Mr
Ramamurthy.

For this activity, please read the information carefully, taking special note of the
examples we have added. Then fill in the gaps in the text with the words from
the box below. Answers are at the end of the Homework Book.

Purpose Lifestyle Address Dates Tasks

Faithfully Age Thank Transfer Paragraphs

Section Information to include Example

Addres Recipient Name Ms Samantha Bruin

s Recipient Position Senior Nurse
Recipient (1) ………… Greywalls Nursing Home
27 Station Street
Greywalls
Date (given in case notes)
07 September 2023

Intro Greeting Dear Ms Bruin,

Subject line – patient name & (2) Re: Gerald Baker, 79 years old
…………

1 Overview of (3) ………… – include: I am writing to discharge Mr

 Patient name
 Reason for writing
 Main medical condition
 Relevant (4) ………… &
places
Baker back into your care. He
has undergone a left total hip
replacement at City Hospital. He
will be discharged on 7th
September 2023.

2 Further details about the DISCHARGE & TRANSFER

patient’s main medical condition. Mr Baker’s surgery was
 DISCHARGE & (5) …………– successfully completed on ….
important details about Following surgery, it should be
 patient’s care during
hospital admission/time in
setting. 1 - 2 paragraphs.
 REFERRAL - timeline of
patient’s symptoms,
treatment, and outcomes
during your involvement.
This may take several (6)
………… .
3 Additional relevant information
which is needed for the recipient
to care effectively for the patient.
Could include info about co-
morbidities, (7) …………, other
medications, social/historical
background. 1 - 2 paragraphs.
4 Clear summary of any (8) …………
that the recipient needs to
undertake as part of the
discharge/transfer plan or upon
referral.
Close (9) ………… the recipient & offer
to be contacted for further
questions.
Yours sincerely/Yours (10)
…………,
Your position (stated in case
notes)
noted that… Additionally, he
experienced… However, he is
now able to… We have been…
REFERRAL
This patient first presented to
me on 17th November 2022 with
symptoms indicative of… , which
I treated with… . He returned
three weeks later with
worsening…
It should be noted that Mr Baker
has been…
Mr Baker is also prescribed…
Upon his discharge to your
facility, please ensure …
Additionally, he will need…
Finally, it is important that…
Thank you for your continued
management of this patient.
Please do not hesitate to contact
me with any queries.
Yours sincerely,
Charge Nurse
 Activity 4: Steps to Success

Step 1: Read the ‘Task’ first. Step 2: Move on to the Case Notes
 The task is always at the  Think about relevance all the
end of the case notes. time as you read through the
 Read it first and read it case notes.
carefully!  Spend time working out the
 Make sure you are clear meaning of abbreviations.
about the recipient and the  Use the sub-headings to help
type of letter you need to prioritise the information,
write.

Step 3: Make a rough plan Step 4: Start writing

 At the end of the answer
booklet, there is space for you
to make notes or a rough plan.
 Spend 2 -3 minutes jotting
down your ideas about how
you are going to structure
your letter.
 Make a note of what the key
focus of each paragraph is
going to be.
 Make sure that your first
paragraph is a strong
introduction to the purpose of
the letter and the patient’s main
medical condition.
 Keep your paragraphs short and
to the point.
 Refer back to the case notes to
ensure the information you are
providing is accurate.

Step 5: Keep it simple Step 6: Read your letter like an

 Avoid unnecessary mistakes
by keeping your language
simple. This is not the time to
show off exciting and
adventurous vocabulary!
 Likewise, with grammar, keep
it simple in terms of your use
of tenses and sentence
structure. Think about how
you can express your idea as
clearly as possible.
examiner would
 Proof-reading for 5 to 10
minutes before the test finishes
is essential.
 Focus on the assessment
criteria – Purpose; Content;
Conciseness and Clarity; Genre
and Style; Organisation and
Layout; and Language.
 Consider the key question:
Does the recipient have all the
information they need to care
 for this patient?

Activity 5: Write Letter

You now need to write a letter which will be submitted to your teacher via the
Student Area for marking. Read the case notes overleaf and complete the Task
given. You should write your letter out by hand and then take a picture of it for
submission. Do not worry about completing your letter in 45 minutes if it is your
first time, but be mindful of the time.

After you have completed your letter, complete this checklist:

Purpose
 Is it clear why you are writing this letter?
 Is the type of letter clearly stated in the first paragraph?
 Will the recipient have a clear understanding of what they are required to
do for the patient?

Content
 Is all the information you have included from the case notes relevant?
 Have you prioritised the information appropriately?
 Is all the information included accurate, e.g. check dosages of medication,
check relevant dates?

Conciseness and Clarity

 Is your letter between 180 - 200 words?
 If your letter is shorter than this, have you included enough information?
 If your letter is longer than this, is all the information included relevant?
 Have you thought about whether the recipient already knows the patient,
or if it is the first time they have been introduced to the patient?

Genre and Style

 Is your letter professionally presented?
 Do you use vocabulary which is appropriate for a medical context?
 Do you write about the patient respectfully?

Organisation and Layout

 Have you used the correct letter format (address, date, etc.)?
 Are your paragraphs distinct? I.e. leave a gap after each paragraph.
 Is your information organised into paragraphs effectively?
Language
 Check for mistakes relating to vocabulary and grammar.
OCCUPATIONAL ENGLISH TEST

WRITING SUB-TEST: NURSING

TIME ALLOWED: READING TIME: 5 MINUTES

WRITING TIME: 40 MINUTES

Read the case notes below and complete the writing task which follows.

NOTES

Assume that today’s date is 6 September 2023.

Mr Gerald Baker is a 79-year-old patient on the ward of a hospital in which you

are Charge Nurse.

Patient Details

Marital Status: Widower (8 years)

Admission Date: 3 September 2023 (City Hospital)
Date of Surgery: 4 September 2023
Discharge Date: 7 September 2023

Admission Reason: Left total hip replacement (THR)

Social Background: Lives at Greywalls Nursing Home (GHN) (4 years)

No children
Employed as a radio engineer until retirement aged 65
Now aged-pensioner
Hobbies: chess, ham radio operator
Sister, Dawn Mason (66), visits regularly; v supportive
- plays chess with Mr Baker on her visits
No signs of dementia observed

Medical Background:
2018 – Osteoarthritis requiring right hip replacement surgery
1999 – Hypertension (ongoing management)
1995 – Colles fracture, ORIF

Medications: Aspirin 100mg mane (recommenced post-operatively)

 Ramipril 5mg mane
Panadeine Forte (co-codamol) 2 qid prn

Nursing Management and Progress:

Daily dressings surgery incision site
Range of motion, stretching and strengthening exercises
Occupational therapy
Staples to be removed in two wks (21/9)
Also, follow-up FBE and U&E tests at City Hospital Clinic (also
21/9)

Assessment: Good mobility post-operation

Weight-bearing with use of wheelie-walker; walks length of
ward without difficulty
Post-operative disorientation re time and place during
recovery, possibly relating to anaesthetic
Dropped Hb post-operatively to 72 → 3 units RBC
transfused; Hb stable (112) on discharge – ongoing
monitoring required for anaemia

Discharge Plan: Monitor medications (Panadeine Forte)

Preserve skin integrity
Continue exercise program
Continue observation re. disorientation
Equipment required: wheelie-walker, wedge pillow, toilet
raiser. Hospital to provide walker and pillow. Hospital social
worker organised 2-wk hire of raiser from local medical
supplier.

WRITING TASK

Using the information given in the case notes, write a letter to Ms Samantha
Bruin, Senior Nurse at Greywalls Nursing Home, 27 Station Road, Greywalls. This
letter will accompany Mr Baker back to the nursing home upon his discharge
tomorrow.

In your answer:
 Expand the relevant notes into complete sentences.
 Do not use note form.
 Use letter format.
The body of the letter should be approximately 180-200 words.

Reminder – How do I do my homework?

1. Read the case notes 2. Write your 3. Upload your letter in the
letter Student Area
 Answers

Activity 1

1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. False

Activity 2

Case Note What this means…

BP ↑ Blood pressure increased/has risen.

R/v req by attend. doc Review required by attending doctor.

Trauma → internal Trauma caused an internal bleed

bleed

Bad nutri. Diet ↓ Bad nutrition. Dietary quality has decreased.

3 children <10 3 children under 10 years old.

Ramipril 5mg/day Ramipril 5mg per day.

Crutches 2 mth. Crutches for 2 months.

PHX Patient history.

+ prog overall Positive progress overall.

Dx. chest infection The diagnosis is a chest infection.

Activity 3

1. Address
2. Age
3. Purpose
4. Dates
5. Transfer
6. Paragraphs
7. Lifestyle
8. Tasks
9. Thank
10. Faithfully