DC CNA study guide
DC CNA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The District of Columbia Certified Nurse Aide credential is the entry-level qualification that allows a person to work as a nursing assistant in DC long-term care settings, home care agencies, and hospitals. Candidates typically complete a state-approved nurse aide training program and then pass a competency evaluation made up of a written (or computer-based) knowledge test and a hands-on skills demonstration; both parts must be passed. The DC CNA study guide has 8 sections and about 3,034 words.
01Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living
Personal care covers bathing (complete, partial, bed bath, shower), mouth and denture care, hair and nail grooming, shaving, dressing, toileting with perineal care, bed making, and helping residents move - transfers, ambulation, and range of motion. The guiding idea is independence with safety: the resident does as much as they can and you fill in only the rest.
398 words, about 2 min02Basic Nursing Skills: Vital Signs, Positioning, Specimens, Wounds, and Catheters
Vital signs: oral temperature roughly 97.6–99.6 F, radial pulse 60–100 beats per minute and regular, respirations 12–20 per minute, blood pressure below 120/80, and oxygen saturation 95% or higher. You measure and report; you do not interpret or decide treatment.
377 words, about 2 min03Safety, Emergency Response, and Infection Control
Safety means preventing the accident before it happens: call light and personal items within reach, bed low and locked, non-skid footwear, clear pathways, wet floors marked, and frequent checks on residents who are confused or unsteady. Restraints are a last resort ordered by a provider - least restrictive type, released and repositioned at least every two hours, circulation checked, and never tied to side rails.
393 words, about 2 min04Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Communication is how care actually gets delivered. Use plain words rather than jargon, face the resident, keep your tone and body language consistent with your words, and listen without interrupting.
366 words, about 2 min05Roles, Responsibilities, and Scope of Practice of the Nurse Aide
The nurse aide provides direct care delegated by a licensed nurse and works under that nurse's supervision. You perform personal care, vital signs, intake and output, specimen collection, simple treatments permitted by facility policy, ambulation, and observation - and you report what you see.
398 words, about 2 min06Resident Rights, Legal, and Ethical Issues
Residents' rights come from federal law (OBRA 1987) and DC rules. A resident keeps the right to dignity and respect, privacy, choice, confidentiality, personal possessions, communication and visitors, information about their own care and charges, refusal of treatment, grievance without retaliation, freedom from abuse and unnecessary restraint, and access to the long-term care ombudsman.
364 words, about 2 min07Mental Health, Psychosocial Needs, and Care of the Cognitively Impaired
Behavior has meaning. Unmet physical needs - pain, hunger, thirst, a full bladder, constipation, fatigue, noise, an uncomfortable temperature - often show up first as agitation, withdrawal, or refusal.
366 words, about 2 min08Nutrition, Hydration, and Fluid Intake
Diets are ordered for a reason: regular, mechanical soft, pureed, clear or full liquid, low-sodium, low-fat, consistent-carbohydrate (diabetic), renal, and thickened liquids (nectar, honey, or spoon-thick). Check the resident's name and diet card before every tray, and honor food preferences and cultural or religious practices within the ordered diet.
372 words, about 2 min