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DAVITA CERTIFICATION EXAMS: FINAL VERSION
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | STAR
LEARNING | PCT FINAL | CCHT PREP
LATEST 2025/2026 UPDATE | 100% VERIFIED | GRADED
A+
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DOCUMENT INFORMATION................................... PAGE 1
2. SECTION 1: DAVITA STAR LEARNING EXAM.................. PAGE 2
3. SECTION 2: PCT FINAL EXAM............................. PAGE 6
4. SECTION 3: CCHT PRACTICE EXAM......................... PAGE 11
5. QUICK REFERENCE ANSWER KEY............................ PAGE 17
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
Institution: DaVita Inc. (DaVita Kidney Care) Course: STAR Learning, PCT Final Exam, CCHT Certification Document Type: Complete Test Bank – Questions & Answers with Rationales Latest Update: 2025/ Total Pages: 20 Grade: A+ Verified
This document contains the "Final Version" of DaVita test questions and answers, compiled from multiple verified sources. It is designed as a complete study guide for dialysis technicians preparing for DaVita certification exams, annual competencies, and the CCHT certification.
SECTION 1: DAVITA STAR LEARNING EXAM
Question 1.
The primary electrolyte in both our blood and the dialysate is:
Answer: Sodium
Rationale: Sodium is the primary electrolyte in blood and dialysate, playing a crucial role in fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle function. Dialysate sodium concentration is carefully controlled to match patient needs.
Question 1.
Policy states the conductivity meter should be calibrated when an inaccurate reading is suspected. It should also be calibrated:
Answer: Prior to daily use
Rationale: Conductivity meters must be calibrated before daily use to ensure accurate monitoring of dialysate composition. This is a critical safety step to prevent patient exposure to improperly mixed dialysate.
Question 1.
When the dialysate sodium level is higher than the level in the blood:
Answer: Diffusion will cause sodium to move into the blood
Rationale: Diffusion is the movement of solutes from an area of higher concentration to lower concentration. When dialysate sodium exceeds blood sodium, sodium diffuses into the blood to achieve equilibrium.
Question 1.
The calibration of the conductivity meter should be completed at least:
Answer: Daily
Rationale: Conductivity meter calibration must be performed at least daily to ensure ongoing accuracy and patient safety throughout the treatment day.
Question 1.
Hypernatremia can lead to:
Answer: Excessive thirst and decreased weight gains between treatments
Rationale: High sodium levels (hypernatremia) stimulate thirst as the body attempts to dilute the blood. Patients may drink more, but this can paradoxically lead to decreased interdialytic weight gains if they restrict fluid due to education.
Machine alarm tests are performed:
Answer: Before the initiation of each patient treatment
Rationale: Alarm systems must be verified functional before every treatment to ensure patient safety during dialysis.
Question 1.
Once set up for treatment, the recirculation time for a dialyzer should not exceed:
Answer: 2 hours
Rationale: Extended recirculation time can allow bacterial growth in the dialyzer and compromise the integrity of the sterile setup.
Question 1.
To prepare a 1:100 bleach solution, you would:
Answer: Add 1 part of bleach to 99 parts of water
Rationale: 1:100 bleach solutions are used for routine disinfection of surfaces and equipment. The ratio must be precise for effective disinfection.
Question 1.
What happens if bleach and peracetic acid are mixed?
Answer: A chemical reaction occurs, producing toxic chlorine gas
Rationale: Mixing bleach with acidic solutions like peracetic acid releases toxic chlorine gas, which can cause severe respiratory injury and death. These chemicals must NEVER be mixed.
Question 1.
What is the safe range for dialysate pH?
Answer: Between 6.9 and 7.
Rationale: Dialysate pH must be maintained within this range to ensure patient safety and prevent complications from acid-base imbalance.
Question 1.
Why is a "strikethrough" of an external pressure transducer protector of concern?
Answer: Fluid could have entered the machine and contaminated the internal pressure transducer protector, providing a reservoir for microorganisms and causing subsequent patient blood infections
Rationale: The transducer protector is a bacterial barrier. Strikethrough indicates barrier failure and potential machine contamination, requiring immediate intervention.
SECTION 2: PCT FINAL EXAM
Question 2.
What is REM and what is it used to submit?
Answer: REM stands for Risk Event Management. It is used to report an unsafe condition, near miss, and an adverse event
Rationale: Risk Event Management is DaVita's system for tracking and addressing safety concerns to prevent future incidents and improve patient care.
Question 2.
Define the following terms:
- Sterile
- Clean
- Contaminated
- Dirty
Answer:
- Sterile: free of all living microorganisms and spores
- Clean: not sterile, but disinfected such as a clean dialysis chair
- Contaminated: a sterile or clean item has come in contact with non-sterile object
- Dirty: neither sterile nor clean, but visibly contaminated
Rationale: Understanding these distinctions is critical for infection control and proper patient care in the dialysis setting.
Question 2.
Alcohol-based hand rubs must contain:
When preparing patient assignments, teammates who care for confirmed or suspected hep B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive patient(s) will only be assigned to simultaneously care for:
Answer: Antibody positive (immune) patients
Rationale: This isolation practice prevents cross-contamination and protects susceptible patients from hepatitis B infection.
Question 2.
What are the 3 treatment goals to achieve in dialysis?
Answer: 1. Remove waste from the blood
- Remove excess water from the blood
- Balance blood electrolytes
Rationale: These three goals define the core objectives of hemodialysis treatment.
Question 2.
What is a semipermeable membrane?
Answer: A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that allows some small particles to pass through, while blocking other, larger ones
Rationale: The semipermeable membrane is the key component of the dialyzer that enables selective removal of waste products.
Question 2.
What is a dialyzer and what are its 2 compartments?
Answer: An artificial kidney. The two compartments are the blood site and the dialysate site
Rationale: The dialyzer separates blood from dialysate using the semipermeable membrane. If these compartments mix, a blood leak occurs.
Question 2.
What is dialysate composed of? (3 things)
Answer: RO water, acid bath, and bicarbonate
Rationale: These three components are proportioned to create the final dialysate solution used in treatment.
Question 2.
What is an extracorporeal circuit?
Answer: Bloodline, saline, and dialyzer = set up
Rationale: The extracorporeal circuit is the pathway through which blood travels outside the body during dialysis.
Question 2.
What is diffusion?
Answer: Movement of dissolved particles across a semipermeable membrane from the side with the higher concentration to the side with the lower concentration
Rationale: Diffusion is the primary mechanism for waste removal during dialysis.
Question 2.
What is ultrafiltration?
Answer: Removes water from the blood by pushing it across the semipermeable membrane
Rationale: Ultrafiltration is the process of removing excess fluid from the blood using transmembrane pressure.
Question 2.
What is convection?
Answer: Or solute drag, is when solutes move with the water across the semipermeable membrane
Rationale: Convection contributes to the removal of larger solutes that diffuse slowly.
Question 2.
What is osmosis?
Answer: Hemolysis, the bursting of RBCs. The color of hemolyzed blood is cranberry red
Rationale: Hypotonic dialysate causes red blood cells to swell and burst.
Question 2.
Dialysate with a conductivity that is too high causes:
Answer: Crenation, a shriveling up of RBCs. The color of the blood will be dark
Rationale: Hypertonic dialysate causes water to leave red blood cells, causing them to shrink.
SECTION 3: CCHT PRACTICE EXAM
Question 3.
How often is AAMI chemical analysis of water used for hemodialysis tested?
Answer: Annually
Rationale: Regular water testing ensures that dialysis water meets AAMI standards for purity and safety.
Question 3.
A 58-year old patient who is blind comes to treatment accompanied by his wife. Which of these approaches should the dialysis technician use when interacting with the patient?
Answer: Describe the activities in the immediate environment
Rationale: Describing the environment helps orient the patient and promotes safety and independence.
Question 3.
Water and dialysate cultures are drawn every month in the dialysis unit to monitor:
Answer: Bacteria and endotoxins
Rationale: Regular culturing ensures that water and dialysate remain within safe limits for bacterial contamination.
Question 3.
What problems will cause a more positive (less negative) pre-pump arterial pressure?
Answer: Blockage of arterial blood flow from the vascular access
Rationale: Restricted arterial flow creates increased negative pressure as the pump attempts to pull blood.
Question 3.
What is the most likely reason for a blood leak detector alarm during recirculation?
Answer: Air bubbles
Rationale: During recirculation, air bubbles can be mistaken for blood by the detector, triggering a false alarm.
Question 3.
What is Left Ventricular Hypertrophy? How does LVH occur?
Answer: When the heart's lower left pumping chamber has thickened and is not pumping efficiently. LVH occurs from chronic hypertension and fluid overload
Rationale: The heart must work harder to pump against increased pressure, causing the muscle to thicken.
Question 3.
What mechanical issues cause an inaccurate BP reading?
Answer: Deflating the BP cuff by squeezing, kinked lines, velcro issues
Rationale: Any mechanical issue that affects cuff pressure or deflation will produce inaccurate readings.
Question 3.
If a patient develops an infection post-transplant, the largest contributing factor would most likely be:
Answer: Immunosuppressive medication
Answer: Osmosis
Rationale: Osmosis is the movement of solvent (water) across a semipermeable membrane to equalize solute concentrations.
Question 3.
Waste products are removed during dialysis by which principle?
Answer: Diffusion
Rationale: Diffusion is the movement of solutes (urea, creatinine) from higher concentration in blood to lower concentration in dialysate.
Question 3.
Excess fluid is forced out of the blood and into the dialysate during dialysis by which principle?
Answer: Ultrafiltration
Rationale: Ultrafiltration uses transmembrane pressure to push water across the membrane.
Question 3.
The movement of fluid from the tissues toward a higher concentration of sodium in the blood is an example of:
Answer: Osmosis
Rationale: Water moves from tissues (lower solute) to blood (higher sodium) by osmosis, which is why high-sodium dialysate can cause fluid shifts and complications.
Question 3.
Decreasing the patient's prescribed blood flow rate affects the rate of:
Answer: Diffusion
Rationale: Lower blood flow reduces the concentration gradient and contact time, decreasing diffusive clearance.
Question 3.
Ultrafiltration is influenced by:
Answer: Transmembrane pressure
Rationale: TMP is the pressure difference across the membrane that drives fluid removal.
Question 3.
The most common complication in peritoneal dialysis is:
Answer: Peritonitis
Rationale: Peritonitis (infection of the peritoneal cavity) is the most frequent and serious complication of PD, usually from touch contamination.
Question 3.
The dextrose used in the dialysate for peritoneal dialysis can cause:
Answer: Hyperglycemia
Rationale: Dextrose is absorbed from PD fluid into the bloodstream, potentially causing high blood sugar, especially in diabetics.
QUICK REFERENCE ANSWER KEY
STAR LEARNING:
1.1: Sodium 1.2: Prior to daily use 1.3: Diffusion will cause sodium to move into the blood 1.4: Daily 1.5: Excessive thirst and decreased weight gains 1.6: All three (accuracy, proportioning, alarms) 1.7: 0.4 mS/cm 1.8: Remove, tag, notify biomed 1.9: True 1.10: Before each patient treatment 1.11: 2 hours 1.12: 1 part bleach, 99 parts water 1.13: Toxic chlorine gas 1.14: 6.9 - 7. 1.15: Fluid contamination risk
3.19: Peritonitis 3.20: Hyperglycemia
KEYWORDS: DaVita, STAR Learning, PCT Final Exam, CCHT Practice, Dialysis Technician, Hemodialysis, Conductivity Meter, Ultrafiltration, Diffusion, Osmosis, Vascular Access, Infection Control, Hepatitis B, AAMI Standards, 2025 Update, 2026 Update
