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OET Letter Writing for Beginners
Are you a beginner? OET Letter Writing is all about writing a letter to a medical professional or someone who has no medical knowledge. The writer is usually a nurse, a doctor or any medical professional and the purpose of writing is discharge, transfer, requesting home-visits or giving information.
Before you submit a letter for a demo / trial class, please read this page very carefully.
Part 1 – OET Letter Writing – Steps
1. Read the case notes and see:
- Who is the recipient of the letter?
- Who is the patient?
- What is the patient’s present condition?
- What is the purpose of writing this letter?
- What should the recipient do for the patient?
NB: Look at THESE case notes for reference. You have to write your letters on these case notes. Be careful not to look at the corrected letters of the cases notes you wish to write on.
2. Start with the date of writing the letter. Look at some sample dates:
| Sample 1 | Sample 2 |
| 12th July, 2020 | 12 July 2020 |
3. Write the recipient’s address. Look at the sample address:
Usually the address starts with the recipient’s name. However, if the name if not provided, you can write the recipient’s address with his / her designation.
| Address with name | Address with designation |
| Ms Petra Charge Nurse Holy Angel’s Hospital Sydney – 4546 |
The Charge Nurse Holy Angel’s Hospital Sydney – 4546 |
4. Write the subject. There are two kinds of subjects. Look at the samples:
| Transfer / Discharge Letter | Information letter |
| Re: Mr Holmes Smith, 66 years (For discharge / transfer letters) | Subject: Information about proper use of mask (For information letters) |
5. Salutation
You can salute the recipient by Dear + Ms / Mr / Mrs / Dr + name or by title like Sir, Madam or Sir / Madam + comma.
| By Name | By Sir / Madam |
| Dear Mr Parker, | Dear Sir, |
| Dear Ms Nancy, | Dear Madam, |
| Dear Dr Khan, | Dear Doctor, |
6. The First Paragraph (Purpose):
| Transfer / Discharge | Information Letter |
| Patent’s name; Purpose of this letter; Discharge status | This is to inform you that / This is to provide you with necessary information about + subject |
| I am writing to refer Mr Baker who needs continued care and support for his speedy recovery. | This is to provide you with necessary information about the spread of corona-virus in schools, especially among smaller kids. |
| Mrs Calton needs assessment and the monitoring of medication as she is recovering from a right ankle fracture. She is ready to be discharged home today. | All the students and their parents are informed that an unidentified virus spread has been reported in the school. |
6. The Second Paragraph (Admission / Social)
In most letters, the second paragraph is about the admission of the patient with the initial findings such as vitals, symptoms along with test results. However, in letters to social worker, occupational therapists and psychiatrists, we mention the social aspects immediately after the admission.
| Transfer / Discharge (Second last Paragraph) | Non Medical Letters (Second Paragraph) |
| Admission – Condition then – Condition Now | Social Circumstances |
| Initially, Ms Tailor came to hospital by herself complaining aggressiveness, agitation, signs of thought block and latency. On the following days her condition continued to improve. She was able to focus on her daily activities and organize her thinking. At present, there is neither hallucination nor thought blocking. | A school teacher, Ms Tabrolin lives alone and follows a sedentary lifestyle. She has two sons and one married daughter. Although her neighborhood is very active, Ms Tabrolin has never shown any interest in activities. |
| On examination, there was evidence of signs of consolidation associated with monophonic wheezes in the right middle zone. The sputum cytology was normal. The chest X-ray and the CT showed atelectasis in the right middle lobe and an enlarged of the right hilum. | An office clerk, Ms Clarke lives with her husband and 20-year-old son. She has a family history of laryngeal carcinoma and mining-related diseases, the former from maternal side.She has been smoking 30-35 cigarettes a day for more than 30 years. She has no known allergies. |
| Past tense – Past perfect – Present perfect – Simple present. | Simple present only! |
7. Treatment, improvement
| Sample 1 | Sample 2 |
| On subsequent visits, Mr Jones’ condition seemed to be responding to the above line of management. Even though he has been regular at physiotherapy sessions, he still experiences stiffness on movements. Currently, the range of movements has improved and he can sit for 20 to 30 minutes without pain. | After an eight-month period, Mr Brihman revisited with worsened symptoms of angioedema; hence, he was advised to test for skin prick test and serum assay. His SPT test was positive to cat dander, which revealed a 3 to 5 mm wheal with flare. Also, his serum immunoassay was positive to IgE antibodies. |
8. Discharge Plan
| Sample 1 | Sample 2 |
| The need for further investigations, along with the possible diagnosis with bronchogenic carcinoma, has been discussed with her. | Today, Mr Jones exhibited concern about his return to work. Since I personally feel he is not physically ready to pursue his previous job, he can work if his job permits regular breaks with no heavy lifting. |
9. Repeat the request (purpose)
In light of the above, Ms Clarke is referred to you for further assessment and management. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
In view of the above, it would be beneficial for Mr Jones if you could conduct an evaluation of his work place in order to ensure his safety.
10. Close the letter with similar lines:
| Saluted with name (Less formal) | Saluted with Sir / Madam / Others |
| For more information about Mr Smith, kindly contact me.
Yours sincerely, |
For more information about Mr Smith, kindly contact me.
Yours faithfully, |
Part 2 – Sample OET Letter Writing
|
23 April 2020 The Nursing Director Dear Sir/ Madam, I am writing to request home visit for Ms Loten for continuing of care as she developed metabolic acidosis following colon polypectomy. On 11 April 2020, Ms Loten was admitted for colonoscopy which found multiple polyps. Post-operatively, she respiratory distress owing to metabolic acidosis for which she was provided oxygen support. Her pain was managed with analgesics. During hospitalization, Ms Loten showed good prognosis as evidenced by her walking with support. She Maintains saturation of 98% at 1 litre of oxygen and her bowels are normal. However, she requires diaper for incontinence. Ms Loten,who is a widow, has an adopted son. She has a habit of drinking beer occasionally and smokes 5 cigarettes a day. She has had COPD, diabetes and hypertension since 2010, 2008, 2007 for which she is on medications. As per the discharge plan, it would be greatly appreciated if you could educate her about the need for transition care program. It ought to be a good idea to continue her dressing and monitoring oxygen consumption. Of note, she is due for follow-up check-up on the 30th of this month. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours faithfully, |
Part 3 – aXYZ method in OET Letter Writing
Read this section before you go to write your first OET Letter:
| Name | Description | Examples |
| A | The super-topic of your Writing questions. This is the kind of letter you are going to write. | Referral letter Discharge letter Information letter |
| X | The main topic of the case-notes | Purpose + patient |
| X¹ | Kinds of X | Other purposes or Other patients (rare) |
| X² | Supporting X | Plan, Request |
| Y | Supporting X | Medical History |
| Y¹ | Supporting Y | Treatment |
| Z | The irrelevant information | Social history (Mostly) Medicine doses (for a patient in terminal stage) |
In OET Writing, you have to exclude Z as 20% of a case notes includes irrelevant information.
A = You can ignore
X = You cannot ignore
Y = You cannot ignore
Z = You should ignore
Now, you know, your case notes have 20% Z elements which you have to exclude.
Check our Youtube Channel for Corrected Letters
Thanks a lot sir .
This would help me a lot to organise…
Thank you sir very helpful
Sir very beneficial method to study easily. If u dnt mind can u share notes regarding grammar parts which needs to take care during oet letter like this way…Thanks in advance