Home Health Aide Competency Test #3 3 Flashcards
6 cards from real HHA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Home Health Aide Competency Test #3 3 flashcards as text
When providing colostomy care for a patient, the aide should:
Answer: Follow the care plan, empty the pouch when one-third to one-half full, clean the stoma and surrounding skin gently, and report any redness, bleeding, or change in stoma appearance
Colostomy care involves appliance management, skin protection, and observation. Proper emptying intervals prevent bag failure, and gentle cleaning prevents peristomal skin breakdown. Changes in stoma appearance require nursing evaluation.
A patient who receives insulin requires the aide to be especially vigilant about:
Answer: Recognizing hypoglycemia symptoms (shakiness, sweating, confusion) after insulin administration and meal timing
Insulin use creates hypoglycemia risk, especially if meals are missed or delayed. The aide monitors for and responds to hypoglycemia and ensures meal timing aligns with the insulin regimen as directed by the care plan.
A competency in recognizing and reporting changes in mental status requires the aide to know that acute change in cognition differs from baseline dementia because:
Answer: Acute changes (sudden onset confusion, new agitation) in a patient with known dementia still signal a potentially serious new medical event (UTI, dehydration, medication problem) and must be reported
New, sudden changes in cognition superimposed on baseline dementia often indicate delirium from a treatable cause (infection, dehydration, pain). Reporting distinguishes emergent conditions from dementia progression.
A patient's care plan lists a goal to "increase ambulation distance by 25 feet per week." The aide's role is to:
Answer: Encourage and assist ambulation per the care plan goal, document actual distances achieved, and report progress or barriers to the supervisor
The aide implements care plan goals consistently and documents measurable progress. Deviating from goals or not attempting them without reporting barriers undermines the rehabilitation process.
Which of the following is an example of emotional abuse of a patient?
Answer: Threatening to withhold care, using demeaning language, intentionally ignoring the patient, or ridiculing the patient
Emotional abuse includes verbal threats, humiliation, intimidation, deliberate isolation, or name-calling. It is a form of elder abuse requiring mandatory reporting and is a cause for immediate termination.
A patient with heart failure is suddenly unable to lie flat at night without severe shortness of breath. This symptom is called:
Answer: Orthopnea — inability to breathe comfortably except in an upright position, a sign of worsening heart failure requiring immediate reporting
Orthopnea (shortness of breath when lying flat) in a heart failure patient signals acute decompensation and fluid accumulation. The aide reports immediately, positions the patient upright, and prepares for possible 911 activation.