A Dream Deferred: The Weight of an International Ambition
Ms Anjali Radhamani, highly competent Registered Nurse from Alappuzha who completed her Bsc Nursing from Sivagiri Nursing Collage,Varkala, had spent —- years caring for patients in one of India’s busiest hospitals. Her passion was infectious, but she felt a calling for a new environment—specifically, the progressive nursing system of the UK’s NHS. Yet, the bridge to this future was the Occupational English Test (OET).
Anjali’s English was good and conversational. But the OET, with its specific healthcare context, felt like a whole different beast. She had tried self-study, wading through online materials, but the sheer volume and lack of personalized feedback left her feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
The Turning Point: Finding Her Compass at Tiju’s Academy
The cycle of self-doubt ended the day Anjali found Tiju’s Academy’s page on Instagram. She immediately went to the YouTube channel and watched the OET Tip videos provided by subject experts of Tiju’s Academy. She was deeply impressed by their practical advice, prompting her to discuss the academy with her classmates. It was then she realized that Tiju’s Academy was already a familiar and trusted name among them.
She conducted a final check, researching the academy and finding an overwhelming opinion of positive reviews, glowing feedback, and genuinely useful demo classes. This conviction led to her decisive action: she enrolled at Tiju’s Academy. Anjali wasn’t searching for quick-fix tricks or shortcuts; she was looking for a structured path, a reliable mentor, and a supportive learning community that could guide her to success.
Anjali’s Winning Strategies, Custom-Made for Nurses:
450: The dream score in Listening :
The listening section, typically saturated with medical consultations, interactions, presentations initially slowed Anjali down.Fortunately, her dedicated mentor, Ms. Reshma, Department Head of OET Listening, provided strategic guidance, introducing proven techniques such as Prediction, Anticipation, and Elimination strategies.
Anjali quickly realized that consistently securing the 24 marks available in Part A was the definitive turning point for a successful score. Consequently, she intensified her focus on this section, completing more than four Part A practice tests daily, particularly during weekends. Furthermore, Part B became significantly easier to manage through the precise Elimination strategies taught by Ms. Reshma.
While Anjali initially lacked enthusiasm for listening to conventional audio recordings, Tiju’s Academy cleverly introduced engaging medical podcasts, web series, and clinical journals. This innovative approach enhanced her familiarity with a diverse range of English accents, making the test environment feel less intimidating and substantially improving her overall comprehension. Consequently, Anjaly achieved the dream score ,450 in OET Listening and was awarded with a Grade A.
The Scanning while Reading
The reading section, often packed with medical research extracts and hospital policies, initially slowed Anjali down. Tiju’s Academy implemented the Orientation session as a foundation for each module. There, Ms Suchitra, the HOD of Reading department introduced ‘Scanning for Significance’ technique, trained her to quickly isolate key patient data and policy changes, drastically improving her time management and accuracy. And she scored 380- B Grade
Understanding the Nurses’ Reference in Writing:
Anjali initially saw the OET as a hurdle, especially the Writing sub-test “I felt lost,” Anjali recalls. “The writing sub-test was my biggest fear. The grammar, the structure and everything differ from what I have studied in school ” . Unlike doctors, nurses’ referral letters often require a different register—focused on continuity of care, specific discharge planning, and patient history that is relevant to another nurse or allied health professional.
“I could speak perfectly fine in the ward, but when it came to writing that formal referral letter, I froze”
Mr.Tiju Antony, the Founder and Director, and Ms Deepthi Thomas, the Co-founder and Director of Tiju’s Academy, have significantly enhanced her grammar skills. The combination of Tiju Sir’s specialized grammar sessions and Deepthi ma’am’s targeted OET Grammar guidance provided her with the crucial grammatical foundation necessary for OET Writing.
Tiju’s Academy didn’t just correct Anjali’s grammar; they taught her the “Referral Triangle”—ensuring her introduction, main body, and closing perfectly addressed the Recipient, Purpose, and Patient Condition. Her trainer,Ms Aiswarya Layi , provided the foundation of Orientation classes including types of letters, formats nursing care plans and discharge summaries, ensuring her referral letter is perfectly aligned with the band B criteria. She had not just passed; she had excelled with 370! The B in Writing—the score she’d struggled for—was a testament to her perseverance and Tiju’s Academy’s systematic training.
Professional Interaction: Mastering Speaking
The OET Speaking sub-test demands clinical communication excellence beyond simple fluency. Anjali’s success hinged on the highly strategic guidance of her mentor, Ms. Varsha, who focused equally on Linguistic and Clinical Communication Criteria.
Key Strategies :
Relationship Building: Anjali was trained to open empathically, immediately acknowledging the patient’s emotional state to build quick rapport (e.g., “I understand this news must be difficult to hear”).
Structure & Signposting: Ms. Varsha taught Anjali to control the conversation flow using explicit phrases like, “First, I will explain…, and then we can discuss the aftercare.” This demonstrated professional organization.
Handling Difficult Dialogues: Anjali practiced high-stakes scenarios (like addressing anxious relatives) while mastering the skill of simplifying medical jargon and employing active listening.
Additionally, the individual speaking sessions offered by Tiju’s Academy’s speaking team were a major factor, uplifting her confidence to the next level and resulting in a par excellent performance on the speaking part.
“Interacting with different tutors daily was really effective, and she could face her interlocutor with utmost ease,” she stated.
This rigorous, targeted coaching transformed Anjali’s ability to communicate empathetically and professionally under pressure, securing the 360, the essential B score.
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