Davita PCT Final Exam Questions
and VERIFIED ANSWERs (2025 /
2026) (Verified VERIFIED ANSWERs)
Why are dialysis patients at increased risk for acquiring a HAI at the facility? - VERIFIED ANSWERthey are
immunosuppressed, it's 2nd most common cause of death, we have prolonged access to their blood
What is the most common route for transmitting HAIs? - VERIFIED ANSWERcontact
What is the most important intervention against HAIs? - VERIFIED ANSWERhand hygiene
What germ causes most infections in hemodialysis patients? - VERIFIED ANSWERMRSA, which can stay
on surfaces for days, especially plastic and vinyl
Why is it so important to wear gloves? - VERIFIED ANSWERreduces the risk of hand contamination
What are V-tags? - VERIFIED ANSWERinterpretive guidance for each state regulation
What are three strategies to reduce infection of CVCs? - VERIFIED ANSWERfacemasks, clean gloves,
avoid touching exposed surfaces
Who can use handwashing sinks? - VERIFIED ANSWERanyone as long as they remain solely for
handwashing
How can you tell if a sink is for handwashing? - VERIFIED ANSWERit's labeled clean
,What is important to know about Hep B patients? - VERIFIED ANSWERcannot care for hep B positive and
susceptible patients at the same time
What are the risks of performing activities your way? - VERIFIED ANSWERat risk for civil liability
What is ultrafiltration? - VERIFIED ANSWERfluid pushed by pressure through a semipermeable
membrane
What is convection? - VERIFIED ANSWERsolutes draged across a semipermeable membrane by the
movement of water
What is diffusion? - VERIFIED ANSWERparticles moving from high to low concentration
What is osmosis? - VERIFIED ANSWERfluid moving from high to low concentration
What are the kidneys excretory functions? - VERIFIED ANSWERnormalize electrolytes
What is the function of bicarbonate in the patient's blood? - VERIFIED ANSWERnormalize body pH
What are the endocrine functions of the kidney? - VERIFIED ANSWERsecrete renin, erythropoietin and
calcitriol
The manual conductivity must match the Fresenius dialysis machine displayed conductivity within... -
VERIFIED ANSWER+/- 0.4 mS
Why must we document in the medical record? - VERIFIED ANSWERit's a permanent legal record
If a patient has swelling in their ankles what should the nurse or PCT (in a state where they are allowed
to assess pre-treatment) do? - VERIFIED ANSWERnote presence of edema in snappy
,When is a pre-treatment assessment by the RN always required? - VERIFIED ANSWERAKI patients
require a pre-treament assessment everytime
When are safety checks documented? - VERIFIED ANSWERprior to the start of treatment
When is post treatment data collection completed? - VERIFIED ANSWERafter treatment termination
What are possible consequences of poor documentation? - VERIFIED ANSWERyou can be left open to
attack on your care
What are three things not included in an REM? - VERIFIED ANSWERpersonal opinions, vendettas,
speculation
What can cause high arterial pressure alarms? - VERIFIED ANSWERkinking of the aterial blood tubing
between access and monitor
What can cause high venous pressure alarms? - VERIFIED ANSWERclotting in the drip chamber
Why do we measure pH? - VERIFIED ANSWERto check the acid/base balance
What can happen if dialysate temperature is too high? - VERIFIED ANSWERhemolysis if greater than 42
degrees celsius
What has to be done when handcranking fluid back during a power outage? - VERIFIED ANSWERpull the
venous line from the clamp
Why is it important to know the cause of your patient's CKD? - VERIFIED ANSWERto inquire about
possible problems during assessment
What do you advise for a CKD patient who complains of dry itchy skin? - VERIFIED ANSWERuse hyper-
fatty soaps and lotions
, What do you advise for a CKD patient who complains of nerve pain in their extremities (peripheral
neuropathy)? - VERIFIED ANSWERtell them not to walk on barefeet, use good foot care, check
bathwater temp
What is the cause of LVH? - VERIFIED ANSWERhypertension
What is different about treatment of those with pericarditis? - VERIFIED ANSWERmore frequent dialysis,
less heparin use
What does CKD-MBD lead to? - VERIFIED ANSWERabnormal calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone
(PTH), and calcitriol (vitamin D) levels
What are the symptoms of CKD-MBD? - VERIFIED ANSWERbone disease, soft tissue calcification
What does chlorine in dialysis water cause? - VERIFIED ANSWERhemolysis
What is the immediate first response to a final water quality alarm going off? - VERIFIED ANSWERset
machines in bypass mode
What happens if chlorine testing is done before the RO has operated for at least 15 minutes? - VERIFIED
ANSWERit can give a false negative
When is hardness testing done? - VERIFIED ANSWERat the end of the day
How is patient target weight determined? - VERIFIED ANSWERby the physician based on pt tolerance,
signs of fluid overload, and changes in fluid status
What are the consequences of sodium loading? - VERIFIED ANSWERincreased thirst, large fluid gains,
post dialysis hypertension and headache
What are you supposed to do if the UF goal is too high? - VERIFIED ANSWERlower it until acceptable by
the patient
and VERIFIED ANSWERs (2025 /
2026) (Verified VERIFIED ANSWERs)
Why are dialysis patients at increased risk for acquiring a HAI at the facility? - VERIFIED ANSWERthey are
immunosuppressed, it's 2nd most common cause of death, we have prolonged access to their blood
What is the most common route for transmitting HAIs? - VERIFIED ANSWERcontact
What is the most important intervention against HAIs? - VERIFIED ANSWERhand hygiene
What germ causes most infections in hemodialysis patients? - VERIFIED ANSWERMRSA, which can stay
on surfaces for days, especially plastic and vinyl
Why is it so important to wear gloves? - VERIFIED ANSWERreduces the risk of hand contamination
What are V-tags? - VERIFIED ANSWERinterpretive guidance for each state regulation
What are three strategies to reduce infection of CVCs? - VERIFIED ANSWERfacemasks, clean gloves,
avoid touching exposed surfaces
Who can use handwashing sinks? - VERIFIED ANSWERanyone as long as they remain solely for
handwashing
How can you tell if a sink is for handwashing? - VERIFIED ANSWERit's labeled clean
,What is important to know about Hep B patients? - VERIFIED ANSWERcannot care for hep B positive and
susceptible patients at the same time
What are the risks of performing activities your way? - VERIFIED ANSWERat risk for civil liability
What is ultrafiltration? - VERIFIED ANSWERfluid pushed by pressure through a semipermeable
membrane
What is convection? - VERIFIED ANSWERsolutes draged across a semipermeable membrane by the
movement of water
What is diffusion? - VERIFIED ANSWERparticles moving from high to low concentration
What is osmosis? - VERIFIED ANSWERfluid moving from high to low concentration
What are the kidneys excretory functions? - VERIFIED ANSWERnormalize electrolytes
What is the function of bicarbonate in the patient's blood? - VERIFIED ANSWERnormalize body pH
What are the endocrine functions of the kidney? - VERIFIED ANSWERsecrete renin, erythropoietin and
calcitriol
The manual conductivity must match the Fresenius dialysis machine displayed conductivity within... -
VERIFIED ANSWER+/- 0.4 mS
Why must we document in the medical record? - VERIFIED ANSWERit's a permanent legal record
If a patient has swelling in their ankles what should the nurse or PCT (in a state where they are allowed
to assess pre-treatment) do? - VERIFIED ANSWERnote presence of edema in snappy
,When is a pre-treatment assessment by the RN always required? - VERIFIED ANSWERAKI patients
require a pre-treament assessment everytime
When are safety checks documented? - VERIFIED ANSWERprior to the start of treatment
When is post treatment data collection completed? - VERIFIED ANSWERafter treatment termination
What are possible consequences of poor documentation? - VERIFIED ANSWERyou can be left open to
attack on your care
What are three things not included in an REM? - VERIFIED ANSWERpersonal opinions, vendettas,
speculation
What can cause high arterial pressure alarms? - VERIFIED ANSWERkinking of the aterial blood tubing
between access and monitor
What can cause high venous pressure alarms? - VERIFIED ANSWERclotting in the drip chamber
Why do we measure pH? - VERIFIED ANSWERto check the acid/base balance
What can happen if dialysate temperature is too high? - VERIFIED ANSWERhemolysis if greater than 42
degrees celsius
What has to be done when handcranking fluid back during a power outage? - VERIFIED ANSWERpull the
venous line from the clamp
Why is it important to know the cause of your patient's CKD? - VERIFIED ANSWERto inquire about
possible problems during assessment
What do you advise for a CKD patient who complains of dry itchy skin? - VERIFIED ANSWERuse hyper-
fatty soaps and lotions
, What do you advise for a CKD patient who complains of nerve pain in their extremities (peripheral
neuropathy)? - VERIFIED ANSWERtell them not to walk on barefeet, use good foot care, check
bathwater temp
What is the cause of LVH? - VERIFIED ANSWERhypertension
What is different about treatment of those with pericarditis? - VERIFIED ANSWERmore frequent dialysis,
less heparin use
What does CKD-MBD lead to? - VERIFIED ANSWERabnormal calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone
(PTH), and calcitriol (vitamin D) levels
What are the symptoms of CKD-MBD? - VERIFIED ANSWERbone disease, soft tissue calcification
What does chlorine in dialysis water cause? - VERIFIED ANSWERhemolysis
What is the immediate first response to a final water quality alarm going off? - VERIFIED ANSWERset
machines in bypass mode
What happens if chlorine testing is done before the RO has operated for at least 15 minutes? - VERIFIED
ANSWERit can give a false negative
When is hardness testing done? - VERIFIED ANSWERat the end of the day
How is patient target weight determined? - VERIFIED ANSWERby the physician based on pt tolerance,
signs of fluid overload, and changes in fluid status
What are the consequences of sodium loading? - VERIFIED ANSWERincreased thirst, large fluid gains,
post dialysis hypertension and headache
What are you supposed to do if the UF goal is too high? - VERIFIED ANSWERlower it until acceptable by
the patient
