Personal Care and Activities of Daily Living
Care with a person, not to a person
Personal care is not a checklist of tasks done to a resident; it is care done with a resident. Exam questions constantly test whether you can spot the aide who takes over instead of promoting independence.
Know these routines cold. Bathing (bed bath, shower, tub), oral care and dentures, perineal care, dressing, grooming, nail and hair care, toileting and incontinence care, feeding and hydration, positioning and range of motion, and transfers. For each, know the sequence, the supplies, the privacy measures (close the door, pull the curtain, drape), and the safety measures (non-skid footwear, bed locked and at working height, call light within reach afterward).
Infection control is built in. Wear gloves for anything involving blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, or non-intact skin; perform hand hygiene before and after; hold soiled linen away from your uniform.
Traps the questions set
- Dressing order. Put clothing on the weak or affected side first, then the strong side; undress the strong side first. Reversing this is the most common wrong answer.
- Dentures. Handle with gloves or a washcloth, use cool or lukewarm water (hot water warps them), and store them in a labeled cup with a lid - never wrapped in a tissue.
- Perineal care. Wash front to back, using a clean part of the washcloth for each stroke; rinse and dry well.
- Water temperature. Test bath water on your inner wrist; hot water scalds and is a safety citation.
- Never leave a resident alone in a tub or shower, or left on a bedpan out of sight.
Rule of thumb
Ask before you help, and help only as much as needed. Set the washcloth in the resident's hand, put toothpaste on the brush, lay clothes out in the order they go on - then let the resident do what they can, even if it is slower.