OET vs IELTS

Why OET is way better then IELTS

4 min readMar 13, 2021

I Personally did’t want to waste time on IELTS(International English Language Test) so i gave OET(Occupational English Test) in Dec 2019 at Dubai Wollongong University
Allah um Dolilah i passed in 1st attempt with great Scores
Now to tell you whats best,lets get on with it

The IELTS and OET are both used to test the English language of doctors, nurses,other healthcare professionals and not only Healthcare people but Professionals of all the other fields including Engineering as-well around the world.

Both of these examinations are chosen by regulatory bodies to make sure that healthcare workers have sufficient language skills to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues and deliver adequate medical care.

Difference between OET & IELTS

Both the IELTS and the OET exams are accepted by the GMC(Also for Registration & Foundation Programs-Required Grades Vary), NMC, Medical Council of Ireland and AMC. However, OET tests your ability to communicate in English in a healthcare setting, whereas the IELTS tests your overall ability to communicate in the English language.

OET is easier than IELTS

People think that OET is easier to pass than IELTS Academic. This is true. The level required from each examination by Regulatory Authorities in the UK is the same however what make OET easy is what they require from you in exam and how strict they are about English language mistakes in OET. It is because OET assess the skills that they we, Medical Professional are more familiar with.

Example; let’s look at the writing paper: when was the last time you wrote an Academic essay in English (like you need for IELTS exam) compared to the last time you wrote a letter of referral ( like you would need for the OET writing)? OET assesses the skills you already use in the healthcare profession and assesses how well you can communicate these skills in English.

Whats Common:

Both exams contain four sub-tests: reading, listening, writing & speaking
Students receive a graded score rather than ‘pass’ or ‘fail.’ For example, the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom requires doctors to score B in OET with a B in each separate paper or an IELTS 7.5 with a minimum score of 7 in each paper. NMC requires C+.
Both a ‘7’ in IELTS and a ‘B’ on the OET is considered C1 or advanced level of English by the Common European Framework of Reference.

Differences

Content: The IELTS exam generally tests academic English whereas the OET tests your knowledge of medical English. This includes your ability to understand patients, conduct medical consultations and write discharge and referral letters.
Varieties: While there are two versions of the IELTS exam (Academic & General Training) there are 12 versions of the OET for different healthcare professions including nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, podiatrists, occupational therapists, vets, speech pathologists, dieticians, physiotherapists, and radiographers.
Grading: IELTS is marked out of 9 with a separate score for each paper. OET is marked from A to E with an accompanying numerical score to show your precise grade.
Recognition: OET is recognised by healthcare regulatory bodies in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Dubai, Ukraine and Namibia. Meanwhile, IELTS is recognised by universities, healthcare regulatory bodies, immigration authorities and companies across the world.

Comparing OET & IELTS

Regulatory Bodies that Accept OET

The Occupational English Test (OET) is an English Language Test for healthcare professionals. It is recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK and Ireland. Visit the OET website for a full list of bodies that recognise the OET. The NMC and GMC accept OET and IELTS Academic in the UK and Ireland.

STUDY Material is Available on Official Website of both OET and IELTS, Kindly stick to the Official material as its Difficulty level is what they expect from you in Exam whereas some outside material is either too difficult or too easy
For Marking; Both OET and IELTS Reading/Listening can be cross checked from keys and marked accordingly
However
You can Use Benchmark/E2 for marking both Speaking(1 Online Session) and Writing(Packages of 4/8 Letters).Same is for IELTS.
I Used Benchmark,Did only 5–6 Reading and Listening Test,12 Speaking(1 Online with Benchmark),8 Letters (6 Referral,1 Tranfer,1 Discharge).
Don’t rely on the times i practiced check your grades and plan accordingly(i would get 37–38/42 in reading and Listening,i was good in speaking, and got B’s in Writing) duringPractice

For Further Details Visit

IELTS official website https://www.ielts.org/

OET official website https://www.occupationalenglishtest.org/

Also

The savvy IMG has written a very good post summarising which exam can be used for different pathways to the UK.

https://thesavvyimg.co.uk/ielts-vs-oet-plab-gmc-uk-visa/

It seems that nowadays both exams are equally acceptable for most routes to UK employment. However, always check directly and don’t just rely on a posts before making a decision