All 12 OET Professions · Last updated: 11 May 2026

OET for Medical Professions —
All 12 Professions Covered

The OET is the English-language test designed exclusively for healthcare. Twelve professions sit it; one Writing sub-test, six marking criteria, profession-specific case notes. Since 2014 we have marked 11,000+ letters across every OET profession — from the biggest cohorts (nursing, medicine) to the smallest (veterinary, speech pathology).

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Twelve healthcare professionals representing all OET professions

Quick answer

The OET tests English proficiency across 12 healthcare professions: medicine, nursing, dentistry, dietetics, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, speech pathology, and veterinary science. The Writing sub-test format is identical across all 12 — a 250-word professional letter marked against six criteria — but case notes and expected letter types differ by profession. Most regulators require Grade B (350) across all four sub-tests; the NMC accepts Grade C+ (300) in Writing when combined with Grade B in the other three.

Key takeaways

  • 12 OET professions: Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography, Speech Pathology, Veterinary Science.
  • Same six criteria, different case notes: Purpose, Content, Conciseness & Clarity, Genre & Style, Organisation & Layout, Language.
  • Grade B (350) standard: Required by most regulators across all four sub-tests; the NMC accepts C+ in Writing if combined with B elsewhere.
  • Writing is the bottleneck: Across our 11,000+ letters, Writing is the most-retaken sub-test in every profession.
  • 2026 ECFMG rule: Doctors targeting US registration must achieve all four B grades in a single sitting. More for doctors.

Choose Your Profession

Each profession-specific page covers the regulators that accept OET, the letter types most often tested, the criterion candidates lose marks on, and how our correction process is tailored.

Doctors (Medicine)

Most common cohort

Regulators: GMC, ECFMG, AHPRA

Letter types: Discharge, transfer, emergency

Nurses

Most common cohort

Regulators: NMC, AHPRA, NMBI

Letter types: Referral, discharge, transfer

Pharmacists

Most common cohort

Regulators: GPhC, PBA, PSI

Letter types: Counselling, referral

Physiotherapists

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Transfer, discharge

Dentists

Regulators: GDC, ADC

Letter types: Referral, discharge

Radiographers

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Referral, report

Optometrists

Regulators: GOC, AHPRA

Letter types: Referral, follow-up

Podiatrists

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Referral, transfer

Dietitians

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Referral, advice

Occupational Therapists

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Transfer, assessment

Speech Pathologists

Regulators: HCPC, AHPRA

Letter types: Referral, assessment

Veterinary Science

Regulators: RCVS, AVBC

Letter types: Referral, transfer

Why Profession-Specific Practice Matters

The OET Writing format is identical across professions — one 250-word letter, marked against the same six criteria. But the case notes given to a nurse and the case notes given to a dentist look nothing alike. A nurse might write a referral letter to a community team. A pharmacist might write a counselling letter to a patient's GP. A radiographer might write a procedure follow-up. The format converges; the content diverges.

That's why we run profession-specific correctors. A senior corrector with nursing-focused expertise will notice a missed contraindication on a paediatric referral; a corrector with dentistry expertise will catch the wrong tooth notation system. Generic correction can flag grammar — only profession-aware correction catches the things that move your Content and Conciseness & Clarity scores.

Profession-aware correctors

Correctors are matched to your profession — not assigned at random.

Profession-specific case notes

Practice on case notes that match the kind you'll see in the real exam.

Six-criteria scoring

Per-criterion feedback, not a single grade — so you know what to fix.

Pass-grade Requirements by Regulator

Most regulators require Grade B (350) across all four sub-tests. The notable exception is the NMC, which permits Grade C+ (300) in Writing when combined with Grade B in the other three.

Regulator
Profession
Required Writing grade
Combine sittings?
NMC (UK)
Nurses
B (C+ acceptable*)
Yes (6 months)
GMC (UK)
Doctors
B (350)
Yes
GPhC (UK)
Pharmacists
B (350)
Yes
GDC (UK)
Dentists
B (350)
Yes
HCPC (UK)
Physios, OTs, Speech
B (350)
Yes
AHPRA (Australia)
All
B (350)
Yes
NMBI (Ireland)
Nurses
B (350)
Yes
ECFMG (USA)
Doctors
B (350)
No — single sitting (2026)

*NMC: Grade C+ (300) in one sub-test acceptable if other three are Grade B in the same or combined sittings (within 6 months).

The Criterion Every Profession Loses Marks On

Across 11,000+ corrected letters, the single criterion candidates lose marks on most frequently is the same regardless of profession: Conciseness & Clarity (0–7).

The mechanism is consistent. Candidates feel they must include every detail from the case notes. The exam rewards the opposite: select only what the addressee needs to know, omit the rest, write directly. A 250-word letter that omits five irrelevant facts scores higher than a 250-word letter that includes them all.

Profession-specific correction matters here too — what counts as "relevant" depends on who the addressee is and what they will do next. That's the judgement call a profession-aware corrector helps you build.

Try the free Writing Checker

The AI Writing Checker flags Conciseness & Clarity issues against the OET criteria — useful between corrections to spot the pattern in your own writing.

Try the free Writing Checker

Frequently Asked Questions

Which medical professions can take the OET? +

The OET is available for 12 healthcare professions: Medicine (doctors), Nursing, Dentistry, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography, Speech Pathology, and Veterinary Science. Each profession's Writing sub-test uses case notes specific to that field.

Is the OET Writing sub-test the same for every profession? +

No. The Writing format is identical — a 250-word professional letter, marked against the same six criteria — but the case notes and expected letter type differ by profession. Nurses typically write referral or discharge letters; doctors write transfer or discharge letters; pharmacists write counselling letters. Profession-specific practice is essential.

Do all regulators require Grade B in OET Writing? +

Most regulators (GMC, AHPRA, NMBI, GPhC) require Grade B (350+) across all four sub-tests. The NMC for nurses is more flexible — Grade C+ (300) is acceptable in Writing if combined with Grade B in the other three sub-tests, taken within a 6-month window.

Does Writing Correction Service cover all 12 OET professions? +

Yes. We provide profession-specific case notes and corrector expertise across all 12 OET professions. Our team has marked 11,000+ letters since 2014 from nurses, doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dentists, and the smaller cohort professions.

Which OET profession has the highest failure rate in Writing? +

Across our corpus of 11,000+ corrected letters, Writing is consistently the sub-test where candidates of all professions are most likely to fall short of Grade B on their first attempt. The most common criterion lost across all professions is Conciseness & Clarity — candidates over-include irrelevant case notes.

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OET guides by country and profession

Profession-specific OET writing correction for candidates targeting regulators in the UK, Australia, the Middle East, and beyond. Each guide covers the regulator pathway, the writing standard expected, and the criteria most often missed by candidates from that region.