Read time: 4 minutes
You can know the medicine.
You can have the right diagnosis.
You can even manage time well.
And still fail.
Not because of knowledge.
Because of the words you choose.
Four habits quietly destroy otherwise strong candidates.
Most don’t realise until it’s too late.
In the AMC Clinical Exam, language is not decoration.
It is a safety signal.
Examiners are scoring whether you sound: safe, structured, clear, appropriate.
Every phrase either reinforces trust or erodes it.
Under the 8-minute clock, examiners don’t guess your intent.
They score what they hear.
And what they hear must align with Australian professional communication.
We’ve reviewed hundreds of failed performances.
We’ve sat with clinical examiner feedback.
The pattern is consistent:
- They copy phrases from home country systems.
- They soften language to feel kind.
- They apologise to manage their own anxiety.
- They memorise scripts instead of listening.
- They aim to be polite instead of precise.
- They mistake empathy for reassurance that dismisses concern.
- They sound uncertain when certainty is expected.
The exam doesn’t punish kindness.
It penalises ambiguity.
Language reveals competence under pressure.
These are the four patterns I see most often.
I’ll walk you through each one.
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Euphemisms and slang
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“Don’t worry” reassurance
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Excessive apologising
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Rote scripting without listening
