The Occupational English Test (OET) is a pivotal assessment for healthcare professionals aiming to work or study in English-speaking environments. Specifically designed to evaluate language proficiency in medical contexts, the OET ensures candidates can communicate effectively in real-world healthcare settings. 

Among its four subtests—Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking—the Listening section is often cited as particularly challenging due to its diverse accents and the fast-paced nature of medical dialogues. 

Within this section, Part B, which focuses on short workplace exchanges with multiple-choice questions, demands sharp listening skills and quick comprehension. 

This article provides a comprehensive guide to mastering OET Listening Part B, offering practice strategies, sample questions with answers, and expert insights, with a focus on leveraging resources from oetpro.com to achieve success in 2025.

Understanding OET Listening Part B

OET Listening Part B consists of six short workplace-related extracts, each approximately 1–2 minutes long, followed by one multiple-choice question per extract. 

These extracts simulate real-life healthcare scenarios, such as discussions between colleagues, handovers, or briefings, and test candidates’ ability to grasp key details, understand context, and interpret intent. 

According to oetpro.com, Part B targets specific listening skills, including identifying main ideas, understanding implied meanings, and distinguishing between facts and opinions in professional exchanges.

The challenge lies in the variety of accents (British, Australian, American, and, as of 2025, Canadian and Irish) and the rapid pace of medical conversations, often laden with technical terminology. 

For instance, a nurse might overhear a doctor discussing a patient’s medication dosage, requiring the candidate to catch specific details, such as drug names or administration instructions. oetpro.com emphasizes that practicing with diverse audio materials is crucial for adapting to these variations.

Why Practice with oetpro.com?

oetpro.com is a leading resource for OET preparation, offering free practice tests, sample answers, and multimedia features like audio clips that replicate real OET scenarios. 

The platform provides instant feedback for the Listening and Reading sections, enabling candidates to analyze their performance and identify areas for improvement. 

Its practice tests are tailored to the specific language needs of healthcare professionals, making it an invaluable tool for mastering Part B of the exam. 

By simulating the test environment with interactive quizzes and audio-based exercises, oetpro.com helps candidates build confidence and familiarity with the OET format.

Strategies for Excelling in OET Listening Part B

1. Develop Active Listening Skills

Active listening is critical for Part B, where candidates must focus on short, dense exchanges. oetpro.com recommends practicing with audio clips featuring healthcare conversations to sharpen the ability to distinguish between facts, opinions, and inferences. 

For example, in a dialogue between two doctors discussing a patient’s treatment plan, the candidate must identify whether a statement reflects a recommendation or a confirmed decision.

Expert Insight: Dr. Sarah Thompson, an OET preparation coach with 10 years of experience, advises, “Listen for tone and intent. A doctor’s hesitant tone might indicate a suggestion rather than a directive, which is often the key to answering Part B questions correctly.”

2. Familiarize with Diverse Accents

The inclusion of Canadian and Irish accents in 2025 makes accent familiarity essential. oetpro.com offers audio resources with varied accents, enabling candidates to practice listening to different pronunciations of medical terms, such as “paracetamol” or “edema.” Regular exposure to these accents reduces comprehension barriers during the exam.

Example Practice: Listen to a 1-minute clip on oetpro.com featuring an Australian nurse briefing a colleague about a patient’s post-operative care. 

Note key details like the patient’s condition or specific instructions, then answer a sample question: What is the primary purpose of the nurse’s briefing? 

Options might include: A) To request additional staff, B) To update on patient recovery, C) To discuss medication errors. The correct answer, B, would be clear from the nurse’s focus on recovery details.

3. Practice Time Management

A single question follows each Part B extract, but the fast pace requires quick processing. oetpro.com suggests timing practice sessions to mimic the exam’s constraints, ensuring candidates can listen, comprehend, and select answers within the allotted time.

Expert Insight: Dr. Anil Patel, a medical English trainer, notes, “Candidates often lose marks in Part B because they overthink the options. Practice selecting answers quickly based on the main idea of the extract, as hesitation can lead to missing the next audio.”

4. Use Contextual Clues

Part B questions often test understanding of the context or purpose of a conversation. oetpro.com advises candidates to focus on keywords that indicate the speaker’s role, setting, or intent. For instance, words like “handover,” “briefing,” or “consultation” provide clues about the scenario.

Example Practice: Consider an extract where a pharmacist discusses a patient’s medication with a doctor. The question might be: What is the pharmacist’s primary concern? Options: A) Patient compliance, B) Drug availability, C) Dosage accuracy. By identifying keywords like “adherence” or “missed doses,” the candidate can select A as the correct answer.

5. Leverage oetpro.com Resources

The platform’s free practice tests include Part B-specific audio clips with answers and explanations, helping candidates understand why specific options are correct. oetpro.com also offers vocabulary enhancement exercises to familiarize candidates with medical jargon, such as “analgesics” or “contraindications,” which frequently appear in Part B.

Sample OET Listening Part B Practice with Answers

Below are three sample Part B extracts with questions and answers, inspired by oetpro.com’s practice materials, to illustrate the format and provide practical preparation.

Extract 1: Handover Discussion

Audio Scenario: A senior nurse is briefing a junior nurse during a shift handover in a hospital ward. The senior nurse mentions a patient, Mr. Jones, who has been experiencing increased shortness of breath and requires oxygen therapy adjustments.

Question: What is the primary purpose of the senior nurse’s briefing?
A) To assign new tasks to the junior nurse
B) To update on Mr. Jones’s condition
C) To request a doctor’s consultation

Answer: B) To update on Mr. Jones’s condition
Explanation: The senior nurse focuses on Mr. Jones’s symptoms and treatment adjustments, indicating the purpose is to provide an update. Keywords like “shortness of breath” and “oxygen therapy” point to the patient’s condition, ruling out options A and C.

Extract 2: Team Briefing

Audio Scenario: A hospital administrator briefs the staff on a new protocol for managing patient records, emphasizing the importance of digital documentation to reduce errors.

Question: What is the administrator’s primary goal?
A) To train staff on a new software system
B) To improve patient record accuracy
C) To discuss staff scheduling changes

Answer: B) To improve patient record accuracy
Explanation: The focus on “digital documentation” and “reducing errors” highlights the goal of improving record accuracy. Options A and C are incorrect, as no software training or scheduling is mentioned.

Extract 3: Doctor-Patient Discussion

Audio Scenario: A doctor discusses a patient’s discharge plan, emphasizing the need for follow-up appointments and medication adherence.

Question: What is the doctor's primary concern?
A) The patient’s understanding of the discharge plan
B) The availability of follow-up appointments
C) The cost of prescribed medications

Answer: A) The patient’s understanding of the discharge plan
Explanation: The doctor emphasizes explaining the discharge plan and ensuring medication adherence, suggesting concern for the patient’s comprehension. The audio content does not support options B and C.

These samples reflect the style of oetpro.com’s practice tests, which provide simulated feedback with detailed feedback to help candidates refine their skills.

Expert Tips for Using oetpro.com Effectively

1. Regular Practice: Dr. Thompson advises using oetpro.com’s daily practice tests to build stamina and familiarity with Part B’s format. “Consistency is key,” she says. “Even 15 minutes daily on oetpro.com can significantly improve list accuracy.”

2. Analyze Feedback: oetpro.com provides instant results for Listening practice, showing correct answers and explanations. Dr. Patel recommends reviewing mistakes to understand why an answer was wrong, such as misinterpreting a speaker’s intent.

3. Simulate Exam Conditions: Use oetpro.com’s timed audio clips to practice under pressure, mimicking the exam’s pace. This helps candidates adapt to the quick transition between extracts and questions.

4. Focus on Weak Areas: If a candidate struggles with identifying implied meanings, oetpro.com’s targeted exercises can help. For example, practice distinguishing between a doctor’s suggestion and a directive in workplace dialogues.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Challenge 1: Missing Key Details

Candidates often miss critical details due to the speed of the audio. Solution: Practice note-taking with oetpro.com’s Part B audio clips, focusing on keywords like medication names or patient symptoms.

Challenge 2: Accent Variations

Unfamiliar accents can hinder comprehension. Solution: Use oetpro.com’s diverse audio resources to expose yourself to British, Australian, Canadian, and Irish accents.

Challenge 3: Overthinking Answers

Candidates may overanalyze multiple-choice options—solution: Trust initial instincts after listening to the pro—com’s feedback to refine decision-making skills.

Latest Updates for 2025

As of 2025, the OET Listening section, including Part B, has introduced Canadian and Irish accents to reflect the growing diversity of English-speaking healthcare environments. oetpro.com has updated its practice materials to include these accents, ensuring candidates are well-prepared for the exam. 

Additionally, the platform now offers enhanced multimedia features, including video-based scenarios that complement audio practice, making it easier to simulate real-world medical interactions.

Mastering OET Listening Part B requires targeted practice, active listening, and familiarity with the test format. oetpro.com is an essential resource, offering free Feedback tests, instant feedback, and tailored exercises to help healthcare professionals excel.

By leveraging the platform’s audio clips, sample questions, and expert-driven strategies, candidates can build confidence and achieve high scores. 

Regular practice, combined with insights from experts like Dr. Thompson and Dr. Patel, ensures candidates are equipped to handle the challenges of Part B, from diverse accents to fast-paced dialogues. 

Start your preparation with oetpro.com today to take a strategic step toward OET success in 2025.