ALBERTA HEALTH CARE AIDE PROVINCIAL EXAM – 200
Most Tested Questions with Verified Answers & Rationales
| LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
ALBERTA HEALTH CARE AIDE PROVINCIAL EXAM – Coverage Summary
Total Questions: 200
Focus: Core HCA competencies as outlined in the Alberta HCA Curriculum, emphasizing
safe, ethical, and client-centered care.
Key Areas Covered:
Client Rights & Ethics: Confidentiality, informed consent, autonomy, refusal of
care, dignity, and abuse reporting.
Infection Prevention & Control: Hand hygiene (soap/water vs. alcohol-based),
standard/contact/droplet/airborne precautions, PPE donning/doffing, C. difficile,
MRSA, TB.
Safety & Risk Management: Fall prevention, call light use, restraint monitoring,
body mechanics, transfer techniques (gait belt, mechanical lift), wheelchair/stretcher
safety, oxygen safety.
Personal Care: Bathing (bed, tub, shower, partial), perineal care (male/female,
catheter), oral care (conscious/unconscious, dentures), dressing (affected side first),
foot and nail care (diabetic precautions).
Mobility & Positioning: Repositioning (every 2 hours), range of motion, pressure
injury prevention (stage 1 recognition, bony prominences), walking with cane/walker,
dangling.
Nutrition & Hydration: Fluid restrictions, intake/output measurement, NPO,
dysphagia/aspiration precautions, therapeutic diets (low-sodium, low-cholesterol,
low-purine, clear/full liquid, mechanical soft), feeding techniques (clock method for
blind clients).
, Elimination: Urinary catheter care (drainage bag below bladder, perineal care,
emptying and measuring), condom catheter, bedpan/urinal, ostomy care (stoma
assessment), specimen collection (midstream urine, stool).
Vital Signs & Measurements: Temperature (oral, routes), pulse (radial, apical),
blood pressure, pulse oximetry, weight, height, reporting abnormal findings.
Communication & Mental Health: Active listening, communication with
hearing/vision impaired, aphasia, non-English speakers, dementia/Alzheimer's
(validation, redirection, sundowning), depression, grief support.
End-of-Life & Palliative Care: Comfort measures, signs of dying (Cheyne-Stokes,
mottling, loss of appetite), post-mortem care, family support.
Specific Conditions & Precautions: Diabetes (hypoglycemia signs, foot care),
COPD (oxygen safety, target SpO2), seizures (safety, recovery position), stroke
(positioning, dressing), hip precautions, pacemaker, latex allergy, HIV.
Scope of Practice & Professionalism: HCAs do not diagnose, interpret results,
adjust oxygen/IVs, or provide medication information. They observe, report,
document, and work under delegation
Q1. A Health Care Aide (HCA) is assisting a client with a shower. The client suddenly
becomes weak and dizzy. What should the HCA do first?
A) Leave the client to get help immediately
B) ✓ Assist the client to sit down safely and call for assistance
C) Continue the shower but use cooler water
D) Offer the client a glass of water and continue
Safety is the priority; the client should be seated to prevent a fall, then the HCA calls for
help while staying with the client.
, Q2. When providing perineal care to a female client, the HCA should cleanse the area:
A) From the anal area toward the urinary meatus
B) Using a circular motion around the entire perineum
C) ✓ From the urinary meatus toward the anal area (front to back)
D) Only with antiseptic solution
Cleaning from front to back prevents the spread of microorganisms from the anal area to the
urethra, reducing the risk of urinary tract infection.
Q3. An HCA is preparing to transfer a client from the bed to a wheelchair. Which
action should the HCA take first?
A) Position the wheelchair at the foot of the bed
B) ✓ Lock the bed wheels and ensure the wheelchair brakes are engaged
C) Apply a transfer belt around the client's waist
D) Ask the client to stand up
Ensuring the bed and wheelchair are stable prevents movement during the transfer,
reducing the risk of falls.
Q4. A client refuses to take a bath. What is the most appropriate response by the
HCA?
A) Tell the client that bathing is required by facility policy
B) ✓ Respect the client's choice, document the refusal, and report to the supervisor
Most Tested Questions with Verified Answers & Rationales
| LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
ALBERTA HEALTH CARE AIDE PROVINCIAL EXAM – Coverage Summary
Total Questions: 200
Focus: Core HCA competencies as outlined in the Alberta HCA Curriculum, emphasizing
safe, ethical, and client-centered care.
Key Areas Covered:
Client Rights & Ethics: Confidentiality, informed consent, autonomy, refusal of
care, dignity, and abuse reporting.
Infection Prevention & Control: Hand hygiene (soap/water vs. alcohol-based),
standard/contact/droplet/airborne precautions, PPE donning/doffing, C. difficile,
MRSA, TB.
Safety & Risk Management: Fall prevention, call light use, restraint monitoring,
body mechanics, transfer techniques (gait belt, mechanical lift), wheelchair/stretcher
safety, oxygen safety.
Personal Care: Bathing (bed, tub, shower, partial), perineal care (male/female,
catheter), oral care (conscious/unconscious, dentures), dressing (affected side first),
foot and nail care (diabetic precautions).
Mobility & Positioning: Repositioning (every 2 hours), range of motion, pressure
injury prevention (stage 1 recognition, bony prominences), walking with cane/walker,
dangling.
Nutrition & Hydration: Fluid restrictions, intake/output measurement, NPO,
dysphagia/aspiration precautions, therapeutic diets (low-sodium, low-cholesterol,
low-purine, clear/full liquid, mechanical soft), feeding techniques (clock method for
blind clients).
, Elimination: Urinary catheter care (drainage bag below bladder, perineal care,
emptying and measuring), condom catheter, bedpan/urinal, ostomy care (stoma
assessment), specimen collection (midstream urine, stool).
Vital Signs & Measurements: Temperature (oral, routes), pulse (radial, apical),
blood pressure, pulse oximetry, weight, height, reporting abnormal findings.
Communication & Mental Health: Active listening, communication with
hearing/vision impaired, aphasia, non-English speakers, dementia/Alzheimer's
(validation, redirection, sundowning), depression, grief support.
End-of-Life & Palliative Care: Comfort measures, signs of dying (Cheyne-Stokes,
mottling, loss of appetite), post-mortem care, family support.
Specific Conditions & Precautions: Diabetes (hypoglycemia signs, foot care),
COPD (oxygen safety, target SpO2), seizures (safety, recovery position), stroke
(positioning, dressing), hip precautions, pacemaker, latex allergy, HIV.
Scope of Practice & Professionalism: HCAs do not diagnose, interpret results,
adjust oxygen/IVs, or provide medication information. They observe, report,
document, and work under delegation
Q1. A Health Care Aide (HCA) is assisting a client with a shower. The client suddenly
becomes weak and dizzy. What should the HCA do first?
A) Leave the client to get help immediately
B) ✓ Assist the client to sit down safely and call for assistance
C) Continue the shower but use cooler water
D) Offer the client a glass of water and continue
Safety is the priority; the client should be seated to prevent a fall, then the HCA calls for
help while staying with the client.
, Q2. When providing perineal care to a female client, the HCA should cleanse the area:
A) From the anal area toward the urinary meatus
B) Using a circular motion around the entire perineum
C) ✓ From the urinary meatus toward the anal area (front to back)
D) Only with antiseptic solution
Cleaning from front to back prevents the spread of microorganisms from the anal area to the
urethra, reducing the risk of urinary tract infection.
Q3. An HCA is preparing to transfer a client from the bed to a wheelchair. Which
action should the HCA take first?
A) Position the wheelchair at the foot of the bed
B) ✓ Lock the bed wheels and ensure the wheelchair brakes are engaged
C) Apply a transfer belt around the client's waist
D) Ask the client to stand up
Ensuring the bed and wheelchair are stable prevents movement during the transfer,
reducing the risk of falls.
Q4. A client refuses to take a bath. What is the most appropriate response by the
HCA?
A) Tell the client that bathing is required by facility policy
B) ✓ Respect the client's choice, document the refusal, and report to the supervisor
