HCA 107 Personal Care and Assistance

Detailed Course Content, Topics, and Sequence Covered

1. 1. Day 1: Safety- Asepsis, Body Mechanics, Infection Control and Prevention • Microorganisms, including MRO's and the spread of infection. • Principles and practice of medical asepsis. • Routine practices. • Hand washing. • Gloving. • Isolation precautions. • Doffing and donning personal protective equipment (PPE). • Body mechanics. • Point of Care Risk Assessment. • Review tasks vs. restricted activity and criteria for accepting delegation. Day 2: Beds, Positioning, and bed mobility • Assisting with wheelchairs. • Using positioning devices. • Making a closed bed. • Making an open bed. • Turning and moving a client in a hospital or regular bed. • Using pressure relieving devices. • Cleaning of equipment. • Making an occupied bed.

2. 2. Day 3: Ambulation, lifting & transferring a client • Using mechanical lifts including ceiling lifts. • Transferring a client from a bed to a chair or wheelchair and back. • Transferring a client from a wheelchair to a bath chair or toilet. • Assisting with ambulation. • Assisting with walking devices, especially safe use of walkers with resting seats. • Transferring a client to a stretcher. Day 4: Promoting Personal Hygiene • Promoting comfort, rest, and sleep. • Bed rest. • Morning and evening care. • Assisting with grooming and dressing (e.g., hair care, shaving, changing clothing). • Back massage and skin care. • Providing perineal care. • Using urinary incontinence products. • Bathing — bed bath, tub baths, and showers.

3. 3. Day 5: Skills & concepts covered to date Practice isolated skills & introduce scenarios Day 6: Promoting Urinary Elimination • Using bedpans and urinals. • Using commodes. • Assisting the client with urinary and bowel incontinence. • Toileting techniques. • Assisting the client with condom catheter drainage. • Emptying drainage bags. • Collecting urine specimens. • Assisting the client with an established catheter (must have client- specific delegation from a regulated health professional to perform any restricted activities).

4. 4. Day 7: Promoting Bowel Elimination • Assisting with bowel training. • Factors affecting bowel elimination. • Collecting stool specimens. • Assisting the client with an established ostomy (must have client- specific delegation from a regulated health professional to perform any restricted activities). • Administering enemas and suppositories (must have client-specific delegation from a regulated health professional to perform any restricted activities). Day 8: Skills & concepts covered to date: Practice isolated skills & scenarios

5. 5. Day 9: Assisting with Dietary Intake • Serving meals in ways that encourage normalizing interactions. • Assisting clients with eating and drinking. • Using appropriate techniques and strategies to safely assist individuals experiencing difficulty biting, chewing, or swallowing. • Using adaptive utensils. • Observing and recording intake and output. • Oral hygiene. Day 10: Skills & concepts covered to date: Practice isolated skills & scenarios Acute care considerations

6. 6. Lab days moved to the following week on Castlegar Campus due to Convocation ceremonies

7. 7. Day 11: Skills & concepts covered to date: Practice isolated skills & scenarios Acute care considerations Day 12: Consolidated Practice Day 13: Skills & concepts covered to date: Practice isolated skills & scenarios Day 14: Hand and Foot Care After assessment of the client by a regulated health professional, HCAs may assist with hand and foot care tasks limited to: • Observing for any changes and reporting to the supervisor. • Nail clipping for clients without chronic diseases like diabetes without swollen feet, without compromised skin, or without compromised nail integrity. • Soaking, massaging, and applying lotion to hands and feet as per the care plan. Compression Stockings • After assessment of the client by a regulated health professional, HCAs may apply and remove compression stockings as per the care plan. • Wash and dry stockings as per the care plan. Heat and Cold Applications • Knowing policies and procedures of facility or agency. • Theory of heat and cold applications. • Safety considerations and checks.

8. 8. Day 15/16: Scenario assessment & Home Management Theory Content (Asynchronous) • Applying agency policies and procedures. • Observing the home for safety risks (for client and caregiver). • Fire hazards and safety precautions. • Maintaining safety and medical asepsis in the home setting. • Using common cleaning agents, following Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS) plan. • Using body mechanics in a home environment. • Dealing with emergencies in the home. • Community resources and supports. General Information Regarding Medication • Types of medications (capsules, tablets, ointments, suppositories, liquids, drops, inhalers). • Common abbreviations used with medications. • Critical "rights" of assisting with medications. • Reading medication labels. • Roles and responsibilities, legal implications of actions. • Observing the client for unexpected effects (recognizing what is not normal for the client and reporting it). • Individual’s right to refuse medication. • Documentation as required by the care plan. Medication assistance includes activities taught in the HCA curriculum that an HCA could perform if assigned by a regulated health professional, if the HCA is over the age of 19, and as indicated in the client’s health care plan for a client who is able to direct their own care. These include: • Reminding the client to take their medication. • Reading the medication label to the client. • Providing the medication container to the client. • Opening blister packs or dosettes. • Loosening or removing container lids. • Recapping the device or closing the medication container or bottle. • Placing the medication in the client’s hand. • Steadying the client’s hand while the client places medications in their mouth or administers their own eye drops, nasal sprays, or other medication. • Using an enabler (such as a medicine cup, spoon, or oral syringe) to assist the client in getting the medication into their mouth. 9. • Supervising clients during self-administration. • Providing the client with water or other fluids for rinsing the client’s mouth or to help them swallow medication. Medication administration includes restricted activities taught in the HCA curriculum that an HCA could only perform if delegated by a regulated health professional to perform for a specific client, if the HCA is over the age of 19, and as indicated in the client’s care plan. These include: • Applying a transdermal patch. • Administering prescription ear or eye drops. • Inserting a rectal suppository or enema. • Applying a prescription cream or ointment. ***only routes as listed above: no oral, injectable medication administration***

9. 9. Day 17: Home management & Medication practice & application Home Support scenarios Medication application and practice Day 18: Measuring Vital Signs • Measuring height and weight. • Measuring body temperature. • Monitoring pulse and respirations. • Being familiar with differing types of equipment. • Reporting and recording vital signs. Assisting with Oxygen Needs • General precautions for the safe use of oxygen. • Application and removal of nasal prongs. • Dealing with oxygen tubing. • Recognizing oxygen concentrators, tanks (compressed oxygen), and liquid oxygen. • Turning on and off the nebulizer.

10. 10. Day 19: Prioritizing, efficiency & critical thinking practice Day 20: Wrap up – practicum preparation with guests