OET or IELTS - Which one should you take as a medical professional moving abroad?

Are you a doctor or a nurse planning to go abroad to work at a hospital, clinic, or care home? It might be hard to choose between OET or IELTS - which one could be the best bet to advance your medical career abroad.

Firstly let's look at what each of these language tests is:

OET (Occupational English Test) is an international English language test that assesses the language communication skills of healthcare professionals who seek to register and practice in an English-speaking environment. It is conducted by the Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Trust.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is jointly conducted by British Council and IDP.

To help you decide which language test would be the best for you, let's compare the main differences between IELTS and OET.

1.  Test Acceptance & Recognition

Since OET is the English language specifically for healthcare professionals, it is accepted by medical councils and institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, and more. You can check here whether your target institution accepts OET. OET is more niche and focuses on recognizing the language proficiency of medical practitioners like doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, and more.

IELTS is the world's most popular English language test with over 5 million test-takers annually and is accepted in over 140 countries. The organizations that accept IELTS are much broader and whether you are moving abroad for study, work, or permanent residencies (PR), you can attempt IELTS regardless of the industry that you are in.

Our advice is to go to your desired country's medical council website and check whether they accept OET or IELTS. If both of them are recognized by the council, then you can base your decision on the factors discussed below.

2. Test Format

Both OET and IELTS assess you based on four subtests: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. But OET assesses your proficiency in using medical English while IELTS assesses your proficiency in academic English. Each module in OET is related to real-life workplace scenarios and understanding and comprehending clinical texts and talks. Each module in IELTS requires you to understand a broader range of vocabulary and comprehend academic texts and lectures. The core idea behind listening and reading modules of both OET and IELTS are the same. However, the preparation and approach needed for the Speaking and Writing modules in OET and IELTS are different.

The Speaking module in OET would be to assess your proficiency level to communicate effectively in a clinical environment - like the conversation between a doctor and a patient regarding a medical condition. However, the speaking modules in IELTS would be much more general - like the discussion on your favorite movie or travel destination. The Writing module in OET would assess your competence in written text -like writing a medical referral or a diagnosis report. The writing module in IELTS would assess your skills in academic English - like writing an essay or a summary on a broad range of academic topics.

OET is scored from A (best) to E while IELTS is scored from 0 to 9. Before you start your preparation, please be advised to check the minimum IELTS or OET score required by your desired organization or medical council.

3. Test Types

The OET test has 12 different versions depending on your profession. The test type is different for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, optometrists, dieticians, physiotherapists, etc. The reading and listening parts of the OET remain the same regardless of the version, however, the Speaking and Writing sections are different based on the job type.

The IELTS test has two versions - Academic and General. The Academic IELTS is primarily for non-native English students looking to pursue higher education in an English-speaking country. The General IELTS is for individuals who would like to work or migrate to an English Speaking country. You can check here to see which type is right for you!

4. Test & Preparation Costs

The test fee for IELTS is between 13000-15000INR depending on whether it is an Academic/General or Computer-delivered or Pen-and-paper based exam.
The test fees for OET are on the slightly higher-end costing between 30,000-32000INR (AUD587), particularly because OET is more specialized.

You can choose to prepare for both IELTS and OET yourself depending on your language skills and test-taking abilities. However, if you chose to go for paid coaching, it could cost you anywhere between 5-10,000INR depending on your tutor for IELTS. The coaching fees for OET classes are usually 20-30% more expensive than that of IELTS since OET examiners are in particularly higher demand.

5. Test Difficulty

Both OET and IELTS require a decent command of English to score your desired bands. However, the level of difficulty is highly subjective depending on the student. If you are a person who enjoys reading medical text and is thorough with having clinical conversations in English, choosing to take OET might be the best bet for you. If you are a person who likes academic text and having conversations in an academic setting, IELTS could be the right choice.

However, if you are still confused, try attempting a mock test of both IELTS and OET to find out which would be the best for you to achieve your desired scores. You can find the links to practice tests for both IELTS and OET below.

Link to OET Mock test: Click here

Link to IELTS Mock test: Click here

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to us anytime!

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Published on Feb 5, 2022