A client asks the aide to change the bandage over a surgical wound that is draining. What should the aide do?

Explain it is outside the aide's role and call the nurse

Change it using clean gloves and fresh gauze

Ask a family member to change it instead

Leave it alone and mention it to the nurse at the next visit

The client's doctor calls the home while the aide is there and gives a new medication order. What should the aide do?

Ask the doctor to call the nurse, or get the nurse on the line

Write the order down and start it at the next dose

Tell the client's daughter to handle the new order

Repeat the order back word for word so the doctor knows it was heard

The nurse assigns a task the aide was never trained to do. What should the aide do?

Tell the nurse and ask for training before doing it

Try it carefully and ask the client for feedback

Watch a video online and then do the task

Refuse and say nothing more about it

A client asks the aide whether she should stop taking her blood pressure pill because it makes her dizzy. What should the aide say?

Report the dizziness to the nurse, who will follow up

Yes, skipping a few doses is usually harmless

Take half a pill each day until the dizziness goes away

Switch to a natural remedy that the aide uses

Which task is generally within a home health aide's role?

Helping the client bathe and dress

Giving an insulin injection the client cannot manage

Inserting a urinary catheter that fell out

Deciding to stop a medication that causes nausea

A client with diabetes asks the aide to trim her toenails, which are thick and long. What should the aide do?

Not trim them, and report the request to the nurse

Trim them straight across with sharp clippers, then file the edges

File them short instead of cutting them

Soak the feet in hot water first, then trim

HHA scope of practice: what a home health aide can and cannot do

These are the questions where every answer sounds like it helps the client. The test is whether you know which help belongs to the aide and which belongs to the nurse. The aide follows a care plan written by a registered nurse or therapist, does only tasks they were trained and found competent in, and reports anything beyond that.

Who writes the care plan	A registered nurse or other skilled professional such as a physical therapist. The aide follows it and never changes it
Within the role	Bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transfers, range of motion as assigned, meals, light housekeeping, observing and reporting
Medications	Assisting with self-administration as state law and the agency allow: reminding, bringing the labeled container. The client takes it
Outside the role	Injections, sterile procedures, inserting or reinserting catheters, deciding or changing doses
Doctor's orders	An aide does not take verbal or telephone orders. Have the doctor contact the nurse
Diabetic foot care	Do not cut or file the toenails of a client with diabetes or poor circulation; report the need
Wounds	A simple, clean dressing only if assigned, trained and allowed by state law. Draining or surgical wounds go to the nurse
Medical advice	Do not advise on stopping, skipping or splitting medication. Report the side effect or question
Untrained task	Tell the nurse and ask for training and supervision before doing it
Unsafe or unassigned task	Decline politely, explain, and notify the supervisor so the need is still met
Restraints	Never applied by an aide
Diagnosing	An aide describes what they observe and never names a diagnosis in the record

Where the point is lost: When two answers both look caring, ask which one a nurse would have to sign off on. Changing a wound dressing, accepting a doctor's new order, trimming a diabetic client's toenails or advising on a pill all need a licensed professional. So the tested answer is to explain kindly that it is outside the aide's role and call the nurse, often while also reporting the change that prompted the request.