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June 1, 2026
Before you write a single word of your OET letter, the marks you earn are already being shaped by how well you read the case notes in front of you. In the Medicine Writing sub-test, everything — selecting the right information, structuring your letter, hitting the right purpose — depends on understanding what those notes are really asking you to do.
This video lesson walks you through the full process of reading OET Medicine case notes — from finding the task and understanding your role, to deciding what goes in your letter and what to leave out. SLC tutor Jo uses real OET sample case notes to show you exactly how each decision is made.
In the video, Jo covers:
You can follow along with the notes below, or read on for a full written summary of everything covered.
In the OET Medicine Writing sub-test, you are given a set of case notes about a single patient. You have five minutes of reading time, followed by forty minutes to write a letter of approximately 180–200 words. Most of the time this is a referral letter, though discharge and transfer letters also appear.
The case notes are your only source of information — you should not add any extra details not present on them. But here is the important part: the notes are deliberately written to include information you don’t need. A significant part of what the test is assessing is your ability to recognise what to leave out.
A typical set of Medicine case notes includes: patient details, social and family background, a dated medical history, the presenting complaint, current medications, and a future care plan. At the top and bottom of the notes, you will also find your task — who you are, who you are writing to, and why.
Always find the task notes first — at the top and bottom of the page. These tell you your role, your reader, and your purpose. Everything else follows from there.
Before selecting any information or drafting a single sentence, it helps to see the writing task as a five-step process:
Steps 1 and 2 — reading and selecting — come before you write anything at all. They are where a significant number of marks are won or lost, and they are the focus of this lesson.
Before you begin selecting information from the case notes, you need to establish the context. Ask yourself four questions — and find the answers in the notes before you do anything else.
Where do you find these answers? Your role is explained in the notes at the top of the page. The patient and the main medical issue appear in the patient details and medical history. The reader and the purpose of the letter are set out in the task at the bottom, with any additional specifics often found in the future care plan.
Using the Eleanor Bennet case notes as an example, the answers look like this: you are her GP of two years; the patient recently had a heart attack and has been fitted with a stent; you are writing to a consultant cardiologist, Dr Banerjee; and your purpose is to outline her recent history, request advice, and ask for a review of her medications and lifestyle changes. Once those four things are clear, selecting relevant information becomes much more straightforward.
With your context established, the next step is to go through the notes and decide what belongs in the letter. The question to keep in mind throughout is: what does the reader need to know in order to carry out this patient’s care? If a note helps them do that, it goes in. If it doesn’t, it stays out.
One approach is to sort every note into one of three categories: essential (the heart of the letter — it must be included), useful (it supports the purpose and helps the reader), and irrelevant (it doesn’t serve the purpose and should be left out). If you prefer something simpler, try a plain yes / maybe / no system. Yes and maybe both go in; no stays out.
Returning to the Eleanor Bennet case, a cardiologist being asked to review medications and lifestyle changes would need to know about the patient’s smoking history and lack of exercise (both cardiac risk factors directly relevant to lifestyle), the stent placement (central to her cardiac history), the family history of heart disease (useful clinical context), and the captopril side effects (the very reason for writing). Her marital status and her brother’s mental health history, on the other hand, are not relevant — the cardiologist does not need them to complete the requested review.
Social and family details are frequently included in OET case notes as distractors as well as medical details not relevant ot this letter. They are there to test whether you can distinguish clinically relevant information from background noise. Always check whether a detail actually serves the purpose before including it.
Specialist Language Courses (SLC) are dedicated to helping healthcare professionals excel in the OET. Our expert-led courses focus on the specific language skills and test strategies needed to succeed. With personalised coaching, practice tests, and targeted exercises, we ensure you build the confidence and competence required for each OET sub-test. Join SLC to boost your chances of achieving the scores you need and advancing your healthcare career
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