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Practice cases
Original case notes written for Kurippu, in the style of the OET nursing Writing test. Pick a case, write your letter, and see how it compares with what the reader needs. Each case also has a model answer.
Foundation
Shorter notes and one clear request. Start here to get the basics right: purpose first, full sentences, only what the reader needs.
- Discharge · District NurseWound infection after gallbladder surgeryDischarge home after keyhole gallbladder surgery with an infected wound. Letter to the district nurse.
- Discharge · Practice NurseLeg cellulitis and a new blood test resultDischarge after IV antibiotics for leg cellulitis, plus a new finding of pre-diabetes. Letter to the practice nurse.
- Referral · Asthma Nurse EducatorPoorly controlled asthma in a 7-year-oldNight cough, daily reliever use and a poor inhaler technique. Refer to the asthma nurse educator.
- Transfer · Nurse Unit ManagerTransfer to rehabilitation after a strokeRight-sided weakness and swallowing difficulty after a stroke. Transfer letter to the rehabilitation unit manager.
- Discharge · General PractitionerGoing home after a birth with gestational diabetesA new mother whose gestational diabetes needs follow-up testing after the birth. Letter to her GP.
Exam standard
Exam-length notes with several requests and more details to leave out.
- Discharge · Care ManagerBack to her care home after a hip fractureA resident returns to her aged-care home after hip surgery, with a new blood thinner and a pressure area. The care manager already knows her.
- Referral · General PractitionerUrgent: a swollen calf after knee replacementOn a home visit after knee surgery, you find signs of a possible blood clot. Urgent same-day referral to the GP.
- Discharge · Child and Family Health NurseA newborn with jaundice, and a mother with low moodMother and baby go home after jaundice treatment and feeding problems, and the mother's mood score is raised. Letter to the child and family health nurse.
- Referral · Community Mental Health NurseLow mood and weight loss after losing his wifeAn older man admitted after a fall is low in mood and losing weight since his wife died. Referral to the community mental health nurse.
- Referral · Cardiac Rehabilitation CoordinatorCardiac rehabilitation after a heart attackA smoker with diabetes had a heart attack and a stent. Referral to the cardiac rehabilitation programme, choosing which of his seven medicines to mention.
- Letter to a carer or family member · daughter and main carer of Mr Frank DoyleHome oxygen: advice for a carerA man with lung disease goes home on oxygen. Write to his daughter, who is not a health professional, about safety, his inhalers and when to get help.
Challenging
Longer, messier notes: urgency, several visits, or a reader who isn't a health professional.
- Discharge · Community Palliative Care NurseGoing home to die: a syringe driver and a family disagreementA man with advanced cancer goes home for end-of-life care with a syringe driver whose doses have changed, while his family disagree about where he should be cared for.
- Advice / information · School NurseBack to school with new type 1 diabetesA 9-year-old with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes returns to school. Write to the school nurse, who will brief his teachers, and request a care plan meeting.
- Referral · Community Social WorkerDementia, an exhausted carer and an unsafe homeA woman with dementia was found wandering at night, and her husband can no longer cope. Urgent referral to a social worker, who is not a health professional.
- Referral · General PractitionerA hand burn that won't heal, now infectedFive wound-clinic visits over ten weeks: a burn that stopped healing and today looks infected. Update the GP and request an urgent review.