The HHA competency test may not be necessary in 2024

When you pass the home health aide competency exam meeting federal guidelines, you are showing you have learned the practical skills and knowledge to do your job well.

When you pass the test, you will be a certified home health aide.

The home health aide must be able to communicate. While you will be using this basic skill on a daily basis with your patient, good communication can also extend to written, telephone, and in person communications with the patient’s family, physician, and other people on the health care team.

You will be expected to keep a written record of everything that occurs during your work hours. This includes noting your patient’s condition and any possible problems, the duties you have performed, and all other aspects related to home care during your shift. Being able to record all of this information clearly and concisely is an essential part of the job.

Basic cleanliness is not enough. You also need to know proper procedures for infection control. Whether or not general housekeeping is part of your job, sanitary precautions must be observed on a continuous basis.

Some elderly persons are advised by their physicians to have special diets, while others are not. A nutritious diet is one of the most fundamental factors for a patient’s health. Whether your future patients are on special diets or not, preparing and serving healthy meals is a large part of your job.

You must be knowledgeable about the basic functions of a patient’s body and be able to immediately recognize any changes.

Emergencies can occur at any time during your shift.

Not only do you need to know how to recognize an emergency situation immediately, but also how to deal with it promptly. From basic first aid to CPR, you must be fully knowledgeable about all of these techniques and procedures, and able to carry them out correctly if an emergency does occur.

The skills you have learned in your home health aide training can be the one factor that preserves a patient’s life before medical help arrives.

Elderly people are human beings in an advanced stage of life.

You need to be knowledgeable about the individual’s age group, their body is different than a young person’s, they have psychological and emotional differences too. Their attitude as well as reactions are much different that those of younger groups so you should not come into this job with any preconceived notions or expectations based on your own experiences in life because these may differ greatly depending on someone else’s physical abilities/limitations.

Helping a patient to be consistently clean and well-groomed affects more than her health.

While many elderly persons are quite fastidious about their physical appearance, there may be a case where your patience is dealing with someone who appears to not care what they look like. In either situation, your tone should always come across as witty so that the person in need can feel at ease enough for you to do whatever it takes to help them through this tough time

You don’t need strength to move someone from bed to wheelchair – just an understanding of how. Preventing back strain and arm cramps is the real goal, because you’re responsible for your patient’s safety during these transfers.

Conclusion

The competency exam shows you have learned all the aspects of home care. If you are considering a career in home care, you must take the competency exam.

Not only will it show employers that you have learned all aspects of this profession; but also help them see your confidence and be confident in hiring you for the job. Even if there is no requirement for taking the test at your desired place of employment, we encourage every candidate to do so.

The investment now could mean less time spent training on-the-job later – or even being able to skip over any kind of orientation/training entirely because they already know everything!