DHCA Nursing Exam study guide
DHCA Nursing Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The DHCA Nursing Exam is a multiple-choice credentialing assessment built around eight practice domains: patient safety and infection control, pharmacology and medication administration, medical-surgical nursing, maternal and newborn nursing, pediatric nursing, mental health nursing, critical care and emergency nursing, and professional practice, ethics, and legal issues. It is designed for nurses and nursing candidates who want independent evidence of broad clinical competence across the lifespan rather than deep specialization in a single unit. The DHCA Nursing Exam study guide has 8 sections and about 2,472 words.
01Patient Safety and Infection Control
Patient safety rests on a small set of high-yield systems: correct patient identification (two identifiers, never the room number), hand hygiene as the single most effective infection-prevention measure, and the chain of infection (infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host). Know standard precautions apply to every patient regardless of diagnosis, while transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, airborne) add to-not replace-standard precautions.
354 words, about 2 min02Pharmacology and Medication Administration
Medication safety centers on the rights of administration (right patient, drug, dose, route, time, documentation, reason, and to refuse), the importance of checking allergies, and the nurse's legal duty to question unclear or unsafe orders. Know high-alert medications (insulin, heparin, opioids, chemotherapy, concentrated electrolytes) and their safeguards: independent double-checks, smart pumps, and standardized concentrations.
326 words, about 2 min03Medical-Surgical Nursing
Medical-surgical nursing tests assessment-to-intervention reasoning across body systems. Prioritize mastery of fluid and electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium), acid-base interpretation (ABGs: pH, PaCO2, HCO3, and compensation), and perioperative care (pre-op teaching, post-op complications like atelectasis, DVT, hemorrhage, and infection).
286 words, about 1 min04Maternal and Newborn Nursing
Maternal-newborn nursing spans antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and newborn care. Know the stages of labor, fetal monitoring (baseline rate, variability, accelerations, decelerations), and the difference between early (head compression, benign), variable (cord compression, reposition), and late (placental insufficiency, ominous) decelerations.
298 words, about 1 min05Pediatric Nursing
Pediatric nursing emphasizes growth and development, weight-based dosing, and family-centered care. Know developmental milestones and how they shape assessment and communication (infants and toddlers cannot describe pain; use behavioral scales like FLACC; older children use numeric scales).
313 words, about 2 min06Mental Health Nursing
Mental health nursing combines therapeutic communication, safety assessment, and psychopharmacology. Master the therapeutic relationship: active listening, empathy, open-ended questions, and boundaries.
300 words, about 2 min07Critical Care and Emergency Nursing
Critical care and emergency nursing tests rapid recognition and intervention in life-threatening conditions. Master the ABCDE approach (airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure) and triage principles (mass casualty: prioritize those who can be saved with immediate intervention).
278 words, about 1 min08Professional Practice, Ethics, and Legal Issues
This domain covers the legal and ethical framework of nursing: scope of practice, licensure, delegation, informed consent, confidentiality (HIPAA), documentation, and advocacy. Know the ethical principles-autonomy (patient's right to decide), beneficence (do good), nonmaleficence (do no harm), justice (fairness), and fidelity (keeping promises).
317 words, about 2 min