CHPNA case studies
CHPNA · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse Assistant (CHPNA) credential is a voluntary certification for nursing assistants and home health aides who provide direct care to people with serious, life-limiting illness and to their families. It signals that a candidate has met a national standard of knowledge in hospice and palliative care beyond entry-level aide training, and it is typically pursued by aides working in hospice agencies, palliative care programs, long-term care, and private home settings. The exam is multiple choice and samples broadly across the full scope of the role: the interdisciplinary team and the aide's place on it, patient- and family-centered communication and cultural competence, personal care and activities of daily living, nutrition and hydration, mobility, positioning and skin integrity, comfort and symptom management including pain, psychosocial and spiritual support, care in the final hours and after death, safety and infection prevention, and documentation, ethics, and self-care. Preparation works best as a structured review of those domains paired with reflection on your own patient experiences, your agency's policies, and supervised skills practice. The CHPNA case studies are 5 cases and about 2,810 words.
1The Daughter Who Wants Everything Done
Delgado, 78, has metastatic pancreatic cancer and a signed physician order for comfort-focused care. His daughter Elena, who holds his durable power of attorney for health care, arrives at 7 a.m.
582 words, about 3 min2The Aide Alone at 2 A.M.
in a rural home hospice. The aide, Marcus, is the only caregiver present; the family went to a hotel for the night.
579 words, about 3 min3The Patient Who Won't Eat
Lindqvist, 89, has advanced dementia and a stage 3 sacral pressure injury. Over the past two weeks she has eaten less and less; today she takes two spoons of pureed food and turns her head away, then coughs after a sip of thickened liquid.
538 words, about 3 min4The Confused Patient Who Wants to Leave
Bianchi, 81, has moderate dementia and a recent hip fracture. in the assisted living memory unit, the aide, Dana, finds him at the front door in his socks, trying to leave.
571 words, about 3 min5The Family That Wants to Be There at the End
Haddad have three adult children. Haddad, 76, has end-stage heart failure and is actively dying in a hospice inpatient unit.
540 words, about 3 min