NHA Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A) - Test Plan - Exam Time 2 Hours

Sep 30, 2026

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NHA Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A) Certification Examination Test Plan provides a high-level and detailed exam blueprint. It summarizes domains and item counts across 100 scored questions within a 2-hour exam window. A detailed outline expands each domain by specifying tasks and supporting knowledge statements. Test items may require recall and critical thinking connected to either task or knowledge statements, helping candidates understand coverage and relative emphasis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Summary CPCT/A Examination Outline

Domain 1: Patient Care

Domain 2: Compliance, Safety, and Professional Responsibility

Domain 3: Infection Control

Domain 4: Phlebotomy

Domain 5: EKG

NHA Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A) Test Plan 100 scored items, 20 pretest items Exam Time: 2 hours *Based on the results ofa job analysis completed in 2018 This document provides both a summary and detailed outline of the topics and associated weighting that may be covered on the CPCT/A Certification Examination. The summary examination outline contains domains that are covered on the examination and the number of test items per domain The detailed outline adds to the summary outline by including tasks and knowledge statements associated with each task. Task statements reflect the duties that a candidate will need to know how to properly perform. Knowledge statements reflect information that a candidate will need to know and are in support of task statements. Items on the examination might require recall and critical thinking pertaining to a knowledge statement, a task statement, or both. Summary CPCT/A Examination Outline | DOMAIN | \# of Items on Examination | | --- | --- | | 1. Patient Care | 45 | | 2. Compliance, Safety, and Professional Responsibility | 20 | | 3. Infection Control | 11 | | 4. Phlebotomy | 14 | | 5. EKG | 10 | | Total | 100 | | Domain 1: Patient Care | 45 Items | | --- | --- | | A. Provide basic patient care under the direction of nursing staff
(e.g., bathing, bed-making, catheter care, assisting with activities of daily living [ADLs], positioning) .
Supporting Knowledge
1. Proper body mechanics
2. Patient bathing techniques (e.g. , partial bath, sitz bath, full bed bath)
3. Oral care (e.g. , denture care, special mouth care)
4. Perineal care (e.g. , catheter care)
5. Foley catheter care
6. Types of patient beds (e.g. , closed, open, surgical, occupied)
7. How to operate patient beds
8. Considerations in caring for patients who have functional limitations (e.g. , physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental impairment) | | | B. Provide emotional support for a patient and family while performing patient care.
Supporting Knowledge
1. Therapeutic communication techniques
2. Culturally competent care
3. Positive and negative coping mechanisms | | | C. Set up equipment to be used by a patient (e.g., oxygen equipment, suction equipment, monitors) .
Supporting Knowledge
1. Structure and function of body systems
2. Common disease processes (e.g. , myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, cancers in general, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
3. Oral suctioning
4. How to operate patient beds
5. Oxygen delivery systems (e.g. , rebreather masks, nasal cannula) | | | --- | --- | | D. Provide care for a patient who has a feeding tube (e.g., take aspiration precautions, observe tubing for kinks or problems) .
Supporting Knowledge
1. Structure and function of body systems
2. Common disease processes (e.g. , myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, cancers in general, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
3. Types of feeding tubes (e.g. , percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy [PEG] tube, gastrostomy [G] tube, nasogastric [NG] tube)
4. Considerations for patients who have feeding tubes (e.g. , recognizing and reporting complications)
5. Aspiration precautions for patients who have difficulty swallowing (e.g. , patient positioning) | | | E. Recognize and adapt approach to care for a patient who has
functional limitations (e.g., physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental impairment) .
Supporting Knowledge
1. Structure and function of body systems
2. Common disease processes (e.g. , myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, cancers in general, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
3. Considerations in caring for patients who have functional limitations (e.g. , physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental impairment) | | | F. Report any changes in a patient's condition (e.g.,

FAQs

What is the overall exam structure and total number of items for CPCT/A?

The plan specifies a 2-hour CPCT/A certification examination with 100 scored items in total.

Which domains are covered, and how many items are in each domain?

The outline lists five domains: Patient Care (45), Compliance, Safety, and Professional Responsibility (20), Infection Control (11), Phlebotomy (14), and EKG (10).

How does the detailed outline relate tasks to knowledge for test preparation?

For each task, the plan includes supporting knowledge statements that reflect information needed to perform the task; exam items may test recall and critical thinking tied to task statements or knowledge statements.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by jayni