Competency Exam MS

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Reinforce a dressing.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Apply a hot pack.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Give an enema.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Administer medication.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Change a sterile dressing.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Assist with change of a colostomy bag.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Give a rectal suppository.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Give a tubal feeding.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Give insulin.

T/F – As a home health aide you may legally perform the following duty: Cut Nails.

As a home health aide, you:

When you work in the home, you will be:

As home health aide, it is your responsibility to:

T/F – In the home, it is important to be a good listener.

T/F – Always tell the patient what you are going to do before starting a procedure.

T/F – You only communicate through words.

Which of the following is important in communicating with people:

Body language is:

Aide care for a conscious patient should be preceded by:

Miss Ferris, a home health aide, is assigned to care for Mr. Conway. Miss Ferris notices that she feels very angry when she is with Mr. Conway. What should Miss Ferris do because she feels this way?

A patient accuses a home health aide of stealing five dollars. The aide has not taken the patient’s money, but the patient does not believe this. What should the aide do?

T/F – If you do not chart a task that you do for a client, legally, it was not done.

T/F – If the patient has a new area of skin breakdown, and the nurse is coming in two days, you do not need to report the skin breakdown to your supervisor.

T/F – Shortness of breath in a client usually indicates the client is excited and does not need to be reported to the supervisor.

The client tells you he has not moved his bowels in three days. What should you do?

Which of these actions is a PSA permitted to take in relation to assisting with drug administration?

When a client complains of pain, what should you do first?

A client’s prescription for heart pills has recently been changed. You should notify the agency supervisor immediately if the client makes which of these comments?

Mrs. Rand, who has diabetes and takes insulin regularly, tells you that she feels very nervous and jittery. What should the PSA do immediately?

T/F – Always report a pulse rate if the beats per minute are under 60 or over 100.

T/F – The temperature of an unconscious patient should be taken orally since they are not moving about.

T/F – Recording a patient’s “TPR” or vital signs is not important as long as you remember what they were.

For which, if any, of these body areas is 99.6 degrees F. a normal temperature?

When taking a patient’s pulse, you should take it for:

When a patient’s respirations are being counted, it is best that the patient:

T/F – Hand washing is the single best way to decrease the transfer of pathogens.

T/F – Gloves should be worn when handling items soiled by body fluids.

T/F – The catheter drainage bag must be lower than the bladder, but not on the floor.

During a visit, when do you need to wash your hands?

In what situation should gloves be used?

T/F – Diarrhea can cause dehydration and other serious complications and should be reported.

T/F – If a person complains of pain, it is important to have the client describe the pain and then report it to the supervisor and record it in your notes.

T/F – It’s normal for most people to complain of pressure, swelling, or bloating in their ankles, feet, stomach or legs.

If you notice the client’s catheter is not draining, the first thing you should do is:

Which of the following is not recommended for promoting good daily bowel habits:

The patient’s pulse has been between 90 and 110 beats per minute since his first aide visit. Now you find it to be 58 beats per minute. What should you do next?

Mrs. Amos has not had a bowel movement for three days. She has always given herself an enema if she does not have a bowel movement for that long a time. Mrs. Amos asks the PSA to give her an enema. What should the PSA do?

T/F – A bedside call bell needs to be available so the bed bound client can summon assistance.

T/F – Bedrails should never be used to secure vest restraints.

T/F – Smoking in bed is fine for anyone who is not confused.

Part of your duties as a home health aide are to assure safe home environment. This includes:

A client is receiving oxygen through a nasal cannula. What safety precautions should the PSA take?

T/F – For an injury with profuse bleeding, apply pressure and call for assistance.

T/F – If the client begins to have a seizure, your first responsibility is to prevent the client from injuring himself.

T/F – If the client falls and complains of pain in his hip, you should help him to get up and walk to the bed.

A client is choking on an object that is caught in his airway. Before first-aid measures are applied, find out:

While assisting with a bath on a shower chair, the client suddenly gasps and becomes unresponsive. What should you do?

For which of these emergencies is knowledge of pressure points essential?

The telephone numbers of all of the following are important to a patient. Which number must the home health aide have next to the telephone? 

T/F – Every patient is the same and has the same needs and wants.

T/F – It is all right to use any item in the home without asking as long as it is for the patient’s personal care.

T/F – You may use the telephone in the client’s home without asking permission.

A neighbor has asked you some questions about the client you are presently taking care of. “Mrs. Collier is dying, isn’t she?” How will you answer her?

Which of these statements about the elderly is true?

When working with person who are disabled, the general goal of care is to:

It is Mrs. Amos’s usual time for lunch, but she says she is not hungry yet. This is the first time that Mrs. Amos has made this type of statement. What should the home health aide do?

The ability to make observations is even more important when working with infants and young children than it is when working with adults. The chief reason for this is that infants and young children:

T/F – It is important to keep a patient covered during a bedbath except for the part being washed.

T/F – Massaging of bony prominences helps to prevent skin breakdown by increasing the blood supply to the area.

T/F – When giving peri-care to a patient after a BM, wash using a front to back motion in order not to spread fecal material to other areas.

Which of the following is most appropriate practice to promote good skin care in the elderly:

If dentures are not worn when sleeping, where should you store them?

Why is it important that a patient have good mouth care?

An elderly male patient occasionally wets his trousers. What should the home health aide do?

In giving foot care to a patient who has diabetes, the home health aide may take which of these actions?

T/F – Always transfer a patient towards his good side.

T/F – There is no need to be near an object to pick it up, just reach.

T/F – It’s best to use a gait belt if a patient is unsteady.

A patient lying on his back has slid down in bed and needs help in moving up again. To start this, the patient should, if possible:

Before helping a patient into or out of a wheelchair, which of these actions are necessary?

When assisting a patient to walk with his walker, you should:

A patient who has been on bed rest is to get up in a chair. The home health aide helps the patient to sit on the edge of the bed. The patient says, “I am dizzy.” What should the aide do?

Patient has had a stroke and has a right-sided weakness. The patient can walk with a little assistance. It is best for the home health aide to assist the patient by walking in which of these positions?

Mr. Stone is 76 years old, needs help with bathing, and has a foley catheter in place. He has great difficulty walking and uses a wheelchair. When helping Mr. Stone from the bed to the wheelchair, which of these actions is essential.

T/F – Passive range of motion exercises are for the prevention of contractures in patients with paralyzed limbs.

T/F – During range of motion exercises, if you feel resistance or the patient complains of pain, you should continue anyway.

T/F – It’s best to have a pillow between the legs of a patient with a new hip replacement.

To prevent bedsores in the elderly, you should: 

The home health aide should be sure to take which of these actions when caring for a newborn baby?

Which of these statements describes good body mechanics?

When caring for a patient who is on bed rest, what should the aide do to prevent bedsores?

Physical therapy has started range of motion exercise. Which of these statements about exercise is true?

T/F – Soy sauce is good to spice up a low salt diet.

T/F – A regular diet is a well balanced diet with no restrictions.

T/F – Bread and potatoes are a good source of protein.

Foods on a liquid diet would include:

Foods that are high in vitamin C include:

If there is 50cc left in glass and the glass holds 150cc you should record the intake as:

Which of these fluids if highest in protein?

Milk is a good source of calcium. Which of these foods is also high in calcium?

When patients do not have enough fluids, they may develop which of these problems?

If a patient is to have a fluid intake record kept, the right time to record the patient’s fluid is:

Patients on low salt diets are usually allowed to have which of these foods?

Patients sometimes express religious beliefs with which the home health aide does not agree.  In dealing with these situations, which of these understandings should the aide use as a guide?