OET - Back Pain
Role Play Cards
Setting：Emergency Ward
Nurse： You are talking to a 38 year old mother of 2 young children. She slipped over this
morning and says she has hurt her back. She now has severe back pain. She took some
painkillers at home but they didn’t work. Her husband drove her in and will be able to drive her
home.
Task：
1. Find out what happened when she slipped over.
2. Find out about the pain – where? what type of pain? How severe? (use a pain scale)
3. Explain what will happen now – examination by doctor / stronger pain relief and antiinflammatories /physio leaflet with suggested gentle exercises (explain these). Reinforce that
pain relief starts as a scale (try the simpler analgesics before moving up the scale and using
stronger ones)
4. Give her discharge advice – take pain killers as directed, NSAIDS with food. Report back to
A&E if pain killers not helping, gentle exercise important (need to keep moving), heat packs can
help too. Avoid heavy lifting. Make sure floor is clear so don’t slip again.
Setting ：Emergency Ward
Patient： You are a 38 year old mother of 2 young children. You slipped over some toys this
morning hurt her back. You now have severe back pain. (It’s an 8, lower back, agonising, like
a knife if you move). You took some Panadol at home but they didn’t work. Your husband
drove you in because you couldn’t drive yourself.
Task：
1. You were rushing, son was crying in another room, Slipped over some toy cars that were left
on the floor.
2. Explain the pain across lower back / agonizing, very painful/ 8 out of 10
3. Sound unconvinced about pain relief and anti-inflammatories - try to insist on stronger pain
relief immediately
4. Explain you have young children at home and need stronger pain relief to be able to cope.
Reluctantly agree to take pain killers nurse offers as long as can ask for stronger painkillers if
necessary.
©Occupational English Test Prep by Virginia Allum 2014
View the sample dialogue on YouTube
at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siOhcYFMYP8 (authentic voices)
Nurse: Hello, my name is Jenny. I’m one of the Registered Nurses on duty today.
Patient: Oh, hello Jenny.
Nurse: I see in your notes that you’ve come in with back pain. Is that right?
Patient: Yes, I’ve got terrible back pain. It’s so sore.
Nurse: I see. Can you tell me how you hurt your back?
Patient: Yes, sure. I’ve got a little boy. He was crying in the next room and I rushed to see
why he was crying. I slipped over one of his toy cars.
Nurse: Oh, that’s a shame. Can you tell me where the pain is?
Patient: Well, it’s mostly in my lower back. You know, right across my back.
Nurse: And, what’s the pain like?
Patient: It’s really awful. It’s so painful.
Nurse: What type of pain is it? Is it a sharp pain or a dull ache for example?
Patient: Oh, I see! It’s a sharp pain. It’s worse when I try to move.
Nurse: OK. How would you rate your pain on a scale between zero and ten? Zero is no pain
and ten is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced.
Patient: Oh. I’m not sure. It’s really bad but I am not sure which number it is.
Nurse: One to three is mild pain. It’s just a niggling pain that is a bit annoying.
Patient: Well, it’s more than that!
Nurse: Four to six is considered moderate pain. That’s when the pain interferes with your
daily activities. I mean, when you can’t concentrate on a book or if you find it difficult to get
dressed or have a wash. Pain that’s worse than that is severe pain. That can be any number
between seven and ten.
Patient: I understand now. The pain is really bad. I would rate it as an eight.
Nurse: OK, I’ll explain what will happen now. The Emergency Doctor will examine you
first. You might have an X-ray. I’ll get you some pain killers and some anti-inflammatories
as well.
Patient: I’ve already had some painkillers. I took some at home but they didn’t do anything.
Nurse: We’ll give you some slightly stronger ones as well as the anti-inflammatories.
Patient: Why do I need anti-inflammatory tablets? My skin isn’t inflamed.
Nurse: The anti-inflammatories are used to reduce the inflammation in the tissues around the
painful area. That, helps ease the discomfort.
Patient: So, you’re saying they work with the pain killers?
©Occupational English Test Prep by Virginia Allum 2014
Nurse: Yes, that’s right. The other thing that may help the pain is to do some gentle
exercise. You should try to keep moving as much as possible. I’ll get you a leaflet which
explains what the exercises are like. The physio can help you too.
Patient: OK. But I really need strong pain killers. Can I just have some extra strong
painkillers now?
Nurse: I understand that it is very difficult when you are in a lot of pain but it’s best to start
with simple painkillers and anti-inflammatories. They work well together. If you find that the
pain killers are not strong enough, you need to come back to A&E.
Patient: I don’t know. That’s going to be no help at all. I’ve got small kids at home. I have
to be able to look after them. I just want the strong pain killers.
Nurse: I know it’s hard when you have small children to look after but it’s not possible to
start with the strongest painkillers. Would you be willing to try the medication for a day and
see if it helps?
Patient: I suppose so. So, if the tablets are not strong enough I can get different ones?
Nurse: Yes, but it’s important to start with the tablets we are giving you now. There are a
few things I need to tell you about the medication. First, you should always take the tablets
with food. That’s to stop you feeling sick. Also, make sure you don’t take more than the
recommended dose. The maximum number of tablets per day is on the label on the box.
Patient: All right. I understand. Take the tablets with food and only as many as it says on the
box.
Nurse: That’s right. It would be very helpful if you did the exercises on the leaflet I gave
you. You can also use heat packs on your lower back to relieve the pain.
Patient: OK. I’ll try that.
Nurse: That’s great. I’ll get your medication for you before you go home.
Dialogue: Back pain
Nurse: Hello, my name is Jenny. I’m one of the Registered Nurses on duty today.
Patient: Oh, hello Jenny.
Nurse: I see in your notes that you’ve come in with back pain. Is that right?
Patient: Yes, I’ve got terrible back pain. It’s so sore.
Nurse: I see. Can you tell me how you hurt your back?
Patient: Yes, sure. I’ve got a little boy. He was crying in the next room and I rushed to see
why he was crying. I slipped over one of his toy cars.
©Occupational English Test Prep by Virginia Allum 2014
Nurse: Oh, that’s a shame. Can you tell me where the pain is?
Patient: Well, it’s mostly in my lower back. You know, right across my back.
Nurse: And, what’s the pain like?
Patient: It’s really awful. It’s so painful.
Nurse: What type of pain is it? Is it a sharp pain or a dull ache for example?
Patient: Oh, I see! It’s a sharp pain. It’s worse when I try to move.
Nurse: OK. How would you rate your pain on a scale between zero and ten? Zero is no pain
and ten is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced.
Patient: Oh. I’m not sure. It’s really bad but I am not sure which number it is.
Nurse: One to three is mild pain. It’s just a niggling pain that is a bit annoying.
Patient: Well, it’s more than that!
Nurse: Four to six is considered moderate pain. That’s when the pain interferes with your
daily activities. I mean, when you can’t concentrate on a book or if you find it difficult to get
dressed or have a wash. Pain that’s worse than that is severe pain. That can be any number
between seven and ten.
Patient: I understand now. The pain is really bad. I would rate it as an eight.
Nurse: OK, I’ll explain what will happen now. The Emergency Doctor will examine you first.
You might have an X-ray. I’ll get you some pain killers and some anti-inflammatories as well.
Patient: I’ve already had some painkillers. I took some at home but they didn’t do anything.
Nurse: We’ll give you some slightly stronger ones as well as the anti-inflammatories.
Patient: Why do I need anti-inflammatory tablets? My skin isn’t inflamed.
Nurse: The anti-inflammatories are used to reduce the inflammation in the tissues around
the painful area. That, helps ease the discomfort.
Patient: So, you’re saying they work with the pain killers?
Nurse: Yes, that’s right. The other thing that may help the pain is to do some gentle
exercise. You should try to keep moving as much as possible. I’ll get you a leaflet which
explains what the exercises are like. The physio can help you too.
Patient: OK. But I really need strong pain killers. Can I just have some extra strong
painkillers now?
Nurse: I understand that it is very difficult when you are in a lot of pain but it’s best to start
with simple painkillers and anti-inflammatories. They work well together. If you find that the
pain killers are not strong enough, you need to come back to A&E.
©Occupational English Test Prep by Virginia Allum 2014
Patient: I don’t know. That’s going to be no help at all. I’ve got small kids at home. I have to
be able to look after them. I just want the strong pain killers.
Nurse: I know it’s hard when you have small children to look after but it’s not possible to
start with the strongest painkillers. Would you be willing to try the medication for a day and
see if it helps?
Patient: I suppose so. So, if the tablets are not strong enough I can get different ones?
Nurse: Yes, but it’s important to start with the tablets we are giving you now. There are a
few things I need to tell you about the medication. First, you should always take the tablets
with food. That’s to stop you feeling sick. Also, make sure you don’t take more than the
recommended dose. The maximum number of tablets per day is on the label on the box.
Patient: All right. I understand. Take the tablets with food and only as many as it says on the
box.
Nurse: That’s right. It would be very helpful if you did the exercises on the leaflet I gave you.
You can also use heat packs on your lower back to relieve the pain.
Patient: OK. I’ll try that.
Nurse: That’s great. I’ll get your medication for you before you go home.
©Occupational English Test Prep by Virginia Allum 2014