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Hygiene, grooming, skin care and toileting. This module is about 10 classroom-equivalent hours across the video lesson, this eBook and practice.
By the end you can
- Give personal care in a safe, private and respectful way
- Explain how to protect skin and spot early pressure injuries
- Help with toileting and report changes in urine or stool
🪙 You earn LEARN It coins as you turn the pages, and a chapter badge when you reach each section.
Personal Care
Before any care
Check the care plan, clean your hands, gather supplies, explain each step and close the door or curtain. Cover parts of the body you are not washing. Let the person do as much as they can for themselves.
Bathing safely
Test the water with a bath thermometer or your wrist, and let the client feel it before use. Older skin burns easily. Never leave a person alone in a tub or shower. Wash from cleanest to dirtiest areas and dry well, especially skin folds.
Grooming and mouth care
Help with hair, shaving, nails and mouth care as the care plan allows. Clean dentures over a towel or a basin of water so they do not break. Many agencies do not allow aides to cut nails for people with diabetes or poor circulation. Check your care plan.
Personal Care continued
Skin and pressure injuries
Pressure injuries form over bony areas like heels, hips and the tailbone when a person stays in one position. Change position as often as the care plan says, keep skin clean and dry, and report redness that does not fade, blisters, or open areas.
Toileting and elimination
Offer the bathroom on a regular schedule. For perineal care, wipe from front to back. Note and report pain, blood, a strong smell, dark urine, diarrhea or no bowel movement for the number of days your care plan lists.
Words Caregivers Use
Cleaning the genital and anal area.
Damage to skin and tissue from staying in one position too long. Also called a bedsore or pressure ulcer.
Not being able to control urine or stool.
A place where bone is close to the skin, such as the heel, hip or tailbone.
Mr. Brown's morning care
Mr. Brown, 76, stays in bed most of the day. During his bed bath you see a red area on his tailbone that stays red when you gently press it.
Your care steps
- Explain the bath and keep him covered
- Finish washing and dry his skin gently
- Do not rub or massage the red area
- Help him change position as the care plan says
- Report the red area to your supervisor and document it
In the Qwest, the steps are shuffled. Put them in the safest order to earn your LIVE It coins.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
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- Use it as hot as possible
- Check the temperature and let the client feel it
- Add bleach
- Use cold water only
- Back to front
- Front to back
- In circles
- Any direction
- Fingertips
- Tailbone or heels
- Forehead
- Palm
- Over an empty hard sink
- Over a towel or basin of water
- Outside
- In hot boiling water
- Report it to your supervisor
- Give a laxative from the cabinet
- Wait another week
- Tell them to drink coffee
Answers are on page 11. In the Qwest this is the Boss Quiz — score 80% to earn the station badge.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
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Practice and get checked on these 8 skills
Federal rules require personal hygiene and grooming skills to be checked by watching you do them on a patient or pseudo-patient.
| Skill | Date practiced | Instructor initials |
|---|---|---|
| Complete bed bath | ||
| Partial, tub and shower bath | ||
| Shampoo in sink, tub or bed | ||
| Nail and skin care (as the care plan allows) | ||
| Mouth care and denture care | ||
| Toileting: bedpan, urinal and commode | ||
| Perineal care | ||
| Dressing a client with a weak side |
Hands-on skills and competency checks are completed in person with an approved partner program. Reading this eBook does not make you competent in a skill. Aides follow the care plan and the supervising nurse. For medicines, follow your state's rules and your agency's care plan.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
Get this eBook · $9.99All 10 eBooks + Ambassador membership · $49Home Care learners and Ambassadors: this series is included.Sign in to unlockTeach It Forward
The fastest way to master a skill is to teach it. Your Share It challenge:
- Share three ways to protect privacy during personal care with a family caregiver.
- Use teach-back: ask them to tell or show you the idea in their own words.
- Post what you learned (no client names or photos) in your group or the Share It Studio to earn SHARE It coins.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
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Use this log to practice objective notes during lab or role-play. In a real job, use your agency's record system only. Never write client names here.
| Date / time | What I saw or measured | What the client said | Who I told | Instructions given |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Report changes the same day. Call 911 first in an emergency.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
Get this eBook · $9.99All 10 eBooks + Ambassador membership · $49Home Care learners and Ambassadors: this series is included.Sign in to unlockAnswer Key
- B. Check the temperature and let the client feel it — Older skin burns easily. Test first.
- B. Front to back — Front to back lowers the risk of urinary infection.
- B. Tailbone or heels — Bony areas under pressure are at the highest risk.
- B. Over a towel or basin of water — A towel or water cushions a drop.
- A. Report it to your supervisor — Report changes. Aides do not choose medicines.
Source: Home Care & Digital Caregiving, Force for Health Academy (2026). Mapped to 42 CFR 484.80 and AHCCCS Direct Care Worker Principles of Caregiving. Rules differ by state and agency: always follow your state's rules, your agency's policies and the client's care plan.
Keep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
Get this eBook · $9.99All 10 eBooks + Ambassador membership · $49Home Care learners and Ambassadors: this series is included.Sign in to unlock10 modules. One connected caregiver.
Each eBook pairs with a video lesson in the Force for Health Academy. Hands-on skills and competency checks are completed in person with an approved partner program.
theforce.health/home-care-pathway · FFH Virtual LibraryKeep caring: Personal Care
The rest of this eBook — the scenario, practice check, skills lab list, care log and answer key.
Get this eBook · $9.99All 10 eBooks + Ambassador membership · $49Home Care learners and Ambassadors: this series is included.Sign in to unlock