What Do You Need?

IELTS or OET - What is right?

Oct 19 2023

Wondering why you need to take an English exam to work as a nurse abroad? Here is what a hiring director says

Here is the story

What areas of English should I be familiar with?

As a hiring director for nurses in an English speaking country, I would expect the nurses to be familiar with the following areas of English:

Grammar: Nurses should have a good grasp of English grammar, including tenses, prepositions, and articles. This will help them communicate effectively with patients and colleagues.

Vocabulary: Nurses should be familiar with medical vocabulary, including terms related to anatomy, physiology, and medical procedures. They should also be familiar with common medical abbreviations.

Pronunciation: Nurses should be able to pronounce medical terms correctly to avoid confusion and miscommunication.

Slang and idioms: Nurses should be familiar with common slang and idioms used in English-speaking countries to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues.

Do I need anything else?

In addition to these areas of English, I would expect the nurses to be familiar with the following medical terminologies:

Anatomy and physiology: Nurses should have a good understanding of human anatomy and physiology, including the names of different body parts and their functions.

Medical procedures: Nurses should be familiar with common medical procedures such as blood tests, X-rays, and CT scans.

Medications: Nurses should be familiar with the names of common medications, their dosages, and their side effects.

Diseases and conditions: Nurses should be familiar with common diseases and conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.

Medical equipment: Nurses should be familiar with different types of medical equipment such as ventilators, ECG machines, and infusion pumps.

So, which is better? IELTS or OET?

Both IELTS and OET will test you on English. In that respect, both are the same, and by and large most organisations do not really differentiate between IELTS and OET. They have a certain score criteria that you will have to match, and as long as you match, it does not matter.

Opportunities

But if you are someone who already has experience as a nurse, are are comfortable with English, IELTS will give you a wider range of opportunities than OET does. From universities to countries to organisations, more of them accept IELTS. So, if you want a change in profession, or are looking to study then IELTS will be the best for you.

Ease of Understanding

If you are unfamiliar with English and find the language a little difficult, but are comfortable with language that is needed for your profession and if you understand things that are work-related, then OET might actually be easier for you since some areas of OET are related to you understanding language from a medical perspective. You will not need more than basic medical knowledge to successfully answer some section of the test.

Writing

This one is easy - the writing section of OET is certainly a lot easier than what you encounter in IELTS. What's even better is that in the OET, there is only one writing task, while in IELTS you have to content with both the writing tasks.

Listening

This is also easy, the listening is more complex in OET than in IELTS. In the words of our hiring manager, your will need to understand the slang and idioms that are commonly used by patients - and most areas of OET listening have these areas covered and many non-native students really struggle with this part of listening.

What to do?

The easiest way to understand is by talking to trainers and attending a session. First Academy gives you the opportunity to attend both the session free of cost. Attend the session and talk to our trainers - our trainers are also authors of OET and IELTS books, so they will be able to give you a clear of idea of the pros and cons of each test.

Where Can I attend a session?

You can express your interest in attending a session right here. Attend both session and see how you like the session and understand which one is better for you.