TYPICAL ORGANISATION OF A REFERRAL LETTER
1. Name and address of recipient 2. Date (The date in the case notes, which will be the date of your OET test) 3. Salutation (Dear Dr Smith....) 4. Name and age of person referred (e.g. Re: John Watson, aged 71 years) 5. Introduction. Must be short. It summarises 1. The patient’s chief complaint and 2. What you want the recipient to do about it. It often begins with the words: I am writing to refer (name of person referred).... 6. Further information of chief complaint / Recent medical history relevant to the referral 7. Secondary complaint / Current medical condition 8. Discharge plan / Treatment plan 9. Concluding sentence (e.g. Please do not hesitate to contact me... etc.) 10. Sign off (Yours sincerely) 11. Your job title (e.g. Nurse/Dentist/Doctor) *NOTE: This is only a suggested typical structure. On test day you must remain flexible and use whatever structure works best for the case notes in front of you.