NACC PSW EXAM REVIEW THE ULTIMATE 200-QUESTION
PRACTICE TEST COVERING ALL CORE COMPETENCIES
WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
1. The primary role of a Personal Support Worker is to:
a. Diagnose medical conditions and prescribe treatments
b. Assist clients with activities of daily living (ADLs)
c. Perform surgical procedures
d. Administer all medications independently
Correct Answer: b. Assist clients with activities of daily living (ADLs)
Rationale: The primary role of a PSW is to assist clients with activities of
daily living such as bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, and mobility.
PSWs do not diagnose, prescribe, perform surgery, or administer
medications independently—these tasks fall outside the PSW scope of
practice.
2. Holistic care considers the whole person, which includes:
a. Only physical needs
b. Physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs
c. Only social and emotional needs
d. Only medical and financial needs
Correct Answer: b. Physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs
,Rationale: Holistic care addresses all aspects of a person's well-being—
physical, social, psychological, and spiritual—recognizing that each
dimension affects overall health and quality of life.
3. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which needs are the
most essential and must be met first?
a. Love and belonging needs
b. Esteem needs
c. Physical needs (food, water, shelter)
d. Self-actualization needs
Correct Answer: c. Physical needs (food, water, shelter)
Rationale: Maslow's hierarchy identifies physical needs (also called
physiological needs) as the most basic and essential. These include food,
water, shelter, and oxygen, and they must be met before higher-level
needs can be addressed.
4. People residing in and receiving care in long-term care facilities are
most often referred to as:
a. Patients
b. Clients
c. Residents
d. Consumers
Correct Answer: c. Residents
,Rationale: In long-term care settings, individuals are referred to as
"residents" because the facility is their home. "Patients" is more
commonly used in acute care hospitals.
5. Empathy refers to:
a. Feeling sorry for someone
b. Attempting to feel what the other person feels
c. Providing medical treatment
d. Ignoring the client's emotions
Correct Answer: b. Attempting to feel what the other person feels
Rationale: Empathy involves understanding and sharing another
person's feelings from their perspective. It differs from sympathy, which
is feeling pity or sorrow for someone.
6. Ethics in healthcare refers to:
a. Following all doctor's orders without question
b. What is right conduct and what is wrong conduct, involving morals
and choices
c. The legal requirements only
d. Personal opinions about clients
Correct Answer: b. What is right conduct and what is wrong conduct,
involving morals and choices
Rationale: Ethics involves making judgments about right and wrong
conduct. It is based on moral principles and guides professional
behavior in healthcare settings.
, 7. Which of the following is an example of an Activity of Daily Living
(ADL)?
a. Administering medication
b. Performing surgery
c. Bathing and grooming
d. Diagnosing an illness
Correct Answer: c. Bathing and grooming
Rationale: ADLs include basic self-care tasks such as bathing, grooming,
dressing, toileting, eating, and transferring. These are activities that
PSWs assist clients with daily.
8. Assault in healthcare terms is defined as:
a. Unintentionally causing harm
b. Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person without
consent
c. Providing care without permission
d. Accidentally dropping a client
Correct Answer: b. Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a
person without consent
Rationale: Assault is the intentional attempt or threat to touch another
person without consent. Battery is the actual unauthorized touching.
Both are legal wrongs.
PRACTICE TEST COVERING ALL CORE COMPETENCIES
WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
1. The primary role of a Personal Support Worker is to:
a. Diagnose medical conditions and prescribe treatments
b. Assist clients with activities of daily living (ADLs)
c. Perform surgical procedures
d. Administer all medications independently
Correct Answer: b. Assist clients with activities of daily living (ADLs)
Rationale: The primary role of a PSW is to assist clients with activities of
daily living such as bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, and mobility.
PSWs do not diagnose, prescribe, perform surgery, or administer
medications independently—these tasks fall outside the PSW scope of
practice.
2. Holistic care considers the whole person, which includes:
a. Only physical needs
b. Physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs
c. Only social and emotional needs
d. Only medical and financial needs
Correct Answer: b. Physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs
,Rationale: Holistic care addresses all aspects of a person's well-being—
physical, social, psychological, and spiritual—recognizing that each
dimension affects overall health and quality of life.
3. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which needs are the
most essential and must be met first?
a. Love and belonging needs
b. Esteem needs
c. Physical needs (food, water, shelter)
d. Self-actualization needs
Correct Answer: c. Physical needs (food, water, shelter)
Rationale: Maslow's hierarchy identifies physical needs (also called
physiological needs) as the most basic and essential. These include food,
water, shelter, and oxygen, and they must be met before higher-level
needs can be addressed.
4. People residing in and receiving care in long-term care facilities are
most often referred to as:
a. Patients
b. Clients
c. Residents
d. Consumers
Correct Answer: c. Residents
,Rationale: In long-term care settings, individuals are referred to as
"residents" because the facility is their home. "Patients" is more
commonly used in acute care hospitals.
5. Empathy refers to:
a. Feeling sorry for someone
b. Attempting to feel what the other person feels
c. Providing medical treatment
d. Ignoring the client's emotions
Correct Answer: b. Attempting to feel what the other person feels
Rationale: Empathy involves understanding and sharing another
person's feelings from their perspective. It differs from sympathy, which
is feeling pity or sorrow for someone.
6. Ethics in healthcare refers to:
a. Following all doctor's orders without question
b. What is right conduct and what is wrong conduct, involving morals
and choices
c. The legal requirements only
d. Personal opinions about clients
Correct Answer: b. What is right conduct and what is wrong conduct,
involving morals and choices
Rationale: Ethics involves making judgments about right and wrong
conduct. It is based on moral principles and guides professional
behavior in healthcare settings.
, 7. Which of the following is an example of an Activity of Daily Living
(ADL)?
a. Administering medication
b. Performing surgery
c. Bathing and grooming
d. Diagnosing an illness
Correct Answer: c. Bathing and grooming
Rationale: ADLs include basic self-care tasks such as bathing, grooming,
dressing, toileting, eating, and transferring. These are activities that
PSWs assist clients with daily.
8. Assault in healthcare terms is defined as:
a. Unintentionally causing harm
b. Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a person without
consent
c. Providing care without permission
d. Accidentally dropping a client
Correct Answer: b. Intentionally attempting or threatening to touch a
person without consent
Rationale: Assault is the intentional attempt or threat to touch another
person without consent. Battery is the actual unauthorized touching.
Both are legal wrongs.
