Home Health Aide Certification Practice Test #3 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient is on a low-sodium diet. Which food should the aide avoid including in the patient's meal?
- Fresh steamed vegetables without seasoning
- Canned soup, processed deli meat, or soy sauce (Correct answer)
- Fresh fruit
- Plain cooked oatmeal
Correct answer: Canned soup, processed deli meat, or soy sauce
Canned soups, processed meats, and soy sauce are extremely high in sodium. A single serving can exceed a low-sodium patient's daily sodium allowance.
Question 2: A patient suddenly complains of crushing chest pain radiating to the left arm. The aide should:
- Have the patient walk around to see if the pain resolves
- Call 911 immediately — these are classic signs of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) (Correct answer)
- Apply a heating pad to the chest
- Give the patient an extra dose of their heart medication
Correct answer: Call 911 immediately — these are classic signs of a myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Crushing chest pain radiating to the jaw, left arm, or back with diaphoresis and dyspnea are hallmark signs of MI. Every minute without treatment increases myocardial damage.
Question 3: When helping a patient use a walker, it should be advanced:
- After the patient has taken a step, to be used as a cane
- Before each step — the patient moves the walker forward first, then steps into it (Correct answer)
- Only when the patient is ascending stairs
- Kept stationary while the patient walks around it
Correct answer: Before each step — the patient moves the walker forward first, then steps into it
Proper walker use: advance the walker, then step with the weaker leg, then step with the stronger leg into the walker's base, maintaining a stable four-point base of support.
Question 4: Which type of burn requires immediate emergency medical treatment?
- A small first-degree burn (redness, no blisters) on the forearm
- A large second or third-degree burn or any burn to the face, hands, genitals, or involving a major joint (Correct answer)
- Mild sunburn on the back
- A blister smaller than a dime on the palm
Correct answer: A large second or third-degree burn or any burn to the face, hands, genitals, or involving a major joint
Large, deep, or critically located burns (face, hands, genitals, joints, circumferential, or those involving inhalation injury) require emergency burn center treatment.
Question 5: Proper documentation of care provided should occur:
- At the end of the week for all patients combined
- As soon as possible after care is provided — ideally before leaving the patient's home (Correct answer)
- Only when something unusual happened
- At the aide's convenience, within several days
Correct answer: As soon as possible after care is provided — ideally before leaving the patient's home
Timely documentation is more accurate and legally defensible. Delays increase the risk of forgetting details or charting inaccuracies. Many agencies require notes completed same-day or before the next visit.
Question 6: Homebound status for Medicare home health eligibility means:
- The patient must stay in bed 24 hours a day
- Leaving home requires a considerable effort due to illness or injury, and absences are infrequent and for medical purposes (Correct answer)
- The patient cannot leave home for any reason
- The patient has no access to transportation
Correct answer: Leaving home requires a considerable effort due to illness or injury, and absences are infrequent and for medical purposes
Medicare's homebound definition allows occasional medically-related departures (doctor visits, adult day programs) but requires that leaving home is difficult and infrequent due to the qualifying condition.
Home Health Aide Certification Practice Test #3 2
A patient is on a low-sodium diet.
Which food should the aide avoid including in the patient's meal?