CCHT study guide
CCHT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician (CCHT) credential is a nephrology-specific certification from the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC), designed for practicing dialysis technicians who hold a high school diploma or a GED. It signals that a technician has met a national practice standard in hemodialysis care, and NNCC frames its certification programs around patient safety and quality of care rather than generalist testing. The CCHT study guide has 5 sections and about 1,583 words.
01Patient Care and Assessment
Every treatment begins with a focused assessment you perform and document before the blood pump starts. Establish identity, obtain the pre-weight on the same scale each time, and record pre-dialysis vital signs (blood pressure with the patient seated, ideally in the same arm), temperature, pulse, and respirations.
327 words, about 2 min02Dialysis Procedures and Equipment
Blood leaves the access through the arterial needle, reaches the arterial pressure monitor (which reads the negative pressure created by the blood pump), passes through the blood pump, enters the dialyzer, then moves past the venous pressure monitor, through the air detector and clamp, and returns via the venous needle. Dialysate flows countercurrent to blood-opposite direction-to maximize the concentration gradient.
318 words, about 2 min03Water Treatment and Dialysate Preparation
Municipal water passes through a sediment filter, a water softener (which exchanges calcium and magnesium for sodium and protects the RO membrane from scale), carbon tanks (which remove chlorine, chloramine, and organic material), reverse osmosis (which removes most dissolved ions, bacteria, and endotoxin), and usually an ultraviolet lamp or ultrafilter before reaching the proportioning system. Two carbon tanks in series provide backup; test total chlorine after each tank, at minimum before each shift and after any carbon change.
294 words, about 1 min04Infection Control and Patient Safety
Treat every patient's blood and body fluids as infectious. Hand hygiene is the single most effective measure: perform it before and after every patient contact and after glove removal-gloves do not replace hand washing.
312 words, about 2 min05Professional Practice, Education, and Role Responsibilities
The certified clinical hemodialysis technician performs dialysis under the direction of a registered nurse or physician: preparing the machine and supplies, cannulating the access, initiating and monitoring treatment, documenting observations, and reinforcing the teaching plan. The RN performs the initial and ongoing patient assessment, develops and revises the plan of care, and decides clinical interventions; the technician reports changes rather than making independent clinical decisions.
332 words, about 2 min