HHA written exam — how many questions, time limit, and what to focus on?
Starting my home health aide certification next month and trying to figure out what the written exam actually looks like. My program is 75 hours and finishes in about 3 weeks. I've heard the exam isn't that hard if you pay attention in class, but I'm a bad test taker and I consistently underperform on things I feel like I know cold.
From what I've found, the written portion is around 60-70 questions with roughly 90 minutes to complete it, but I'm not sure if that's accurate for my state. The topics seem to cover infection control, patient rights, personal care procedures, and communication. Is there anything that shows up heavily I should really lock down?
I also looked at what a home health aid exam actually tests on a few practice sites and the infection control questions seem to go deep — hand washing procedures, PPE selection, isolation protocols. Is that consistent with what others saw on the actual test?
Any tips from people who passed recently? I want to walk in feeling ready, not just hoping things go okay.
The skills practical scared me more than the written exam. For the written, just review your class notes the night before and do a few practice tests to get used to the question style. I passed with an 84% without doing anything dramatic.
Patient rights and HIPAA-related questions caught some people in my cohort off guard. Know what an aide can and can't share, and understand the patient's right to refuse care. That topic had maybe 8-10 questions when I took it.
Don't overthink it. The written test is checking whether you're safe with a patient, not whether you know medical theory. If a question has an answer that prioritizes patient safety or dignity, that's almost always the right choice.
Infection control was about 20-25% of my exam. Know standard precautions cold: gloves, gowns, masks, when to use what. Hand hygiene technique comes up more than you'd expect for something that sounds that basic.