Dr Speaking 003 OET Practice Role Play by PASS OET

English training for health professionals by health professionals

CANDIDATE’S CARD NO.3 SETTING

MEDICINE

Emergency department

DOCTOR

The mother of a 21 year old male patient who has been brought in by police in a highly psychotic and aggressive state is very angry with you because he is currently being manually restrained and given an intramuscular medication to sedate him. There are clear clinical grounds for sedating the patient as he has tried to violently strike several nurses and was pointing knives at people randomly in the street just before his admission. It is his first psychiatric presentation at a hospital and his mother has little understanding of mental health. She feels that you, as the doctor in charge of his care, are just being cruel and barbaric towards him.

TASK

* Sympathise with the mother’s concerns but explain his recent behaviour and the the need for manual restraint and sedative medications for his and other’s safety. *Reassure her that the medications given (e.g. midazolam & droperidol) rarely have any long term side effects when given in the short term and that they will help him to become less paranoid and agitated. *Explain that the patient needs to be soon transferred to the mental health unit for safety and assessment reasons, and that he will be given the help he needs there. *When she becomes hostile about him going to a mental health unit, reassure her that staff in mental health facilities are highly trained and accountable health professionals and that patients and their families have many legal rights.

© Copyright 2011 Craig Louey Strictly not for distribution to others without written consent from the author. All rights reserved.  For online OET training and more practice material purchase contact us via www.passoet.com.au

English training for health professionals by health professionals

ROLE PLAYER’S CARD NO. 3 SETTING PATIENT

MEDICINE

Emergency department You are the mother of a 21 year old man brought into emergency by the police as he was highly paranoid and aggressive. You don’t know the exact details about his recent behaviour yet as you haven’t seen him for one week. You are outraged when you arrive as he is being held down by male staff members and being given an injection in his buttocks against his will. You know little about mental health and just feel all this must be a mistake as your son has always been mentally healthy up until now. You approach the doctor enraged about the way he is treating your son. *Angrily demand to know why your son is being restrained and given injections against his will. Eventually – but not too easily - accept the doctor’s rationale for this treatment. *Express shock, especially because your son has never had any mental problems before and was fine when you last saw him one week ago. *Voice concerns about the side effects of what might be strong psychiatric drugs. *Become hostile and defensive again when told that your son will be soon transferred to the hospital’s mental health unit. Insist that your son isn’t ‘one of those crazy people’.

© Copyright 2011 Craig Louey Strictly not for distribution to others without written consent from the author. All rights reserved.  For online OET training and more practice material purchase contact us via www.passoet.com.au