PSW Mnemonics — Memory Tricks for the NACC Exam

There is a particular kind of frustration that every PSW student knows: you studied the material, you understood it when you read it, and now — sitting in front of a practice question — your mind is blank. You know the chain of infection has six links. You just cannot remember what they are.

This is not a knowledge problem. It is a retrieval problem. The information is in your brain, but you do not have a reliable way to pull it out under pressure. That is exactly what mnemonics solve.

A mnemonic is a memory device — a pattern, phrase, acronym, or mental image — that gives your brain a hook to grab onto when you need to recall a list, a sequence, or a set of principles. A mnemonic gives you a cue for recalling the list.

This guide collects the mnemonics PSW students use to hold the core lists and sequences in memory before the NACC exam. For each one, we explain what it stands for, where it applies in practice, and a memory tip to lock it in.

• RACE — fire response
• PASS — fire extinguisher use
• Chain of infection — the 6 links
• 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene — when to clean your hands
• PPE donning order — hand hygiene, gown, mask or N95, eye protection, gloves
• PPE doffing order — gloves, gown, hand hygiene, eye protection, mask or N95, hand hygiene
• 9 Rights of Medication — assisting safely
• SBAR — structured reporting
• DIPPS — person-centred care principles
• ABC — first-aid primary survey

1. RACE — Fire Response

What it stands for:

When to use it: Any question about fire safety, emergency response in a care facility, or prioritising actions during a fire. Always follow your employer's fire safety plan; RACE is the memory aid for the fire-response sequence it teaches.

Memory tip: Think of it as a race against time. The four letters name the four actions your employer's fire safety plan trains you to take: rescue anyone in immediate danger, sound the alarm, contain the spread, and extinguish or evacuate.

2. PASS — Fire Extinguisher Use

What it stands for:

When to use it: Any question about operating a fire extinguisher. Watch the aiming step in particular — you aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames.

Memory tip: PASS pairs with RACE. You RACE to respond to the fire, then you PASS the extinguisher across the base. Remember: RACE comes first (you only use the extinguisher in the "E" step of RACE, if it is safe to do so).

3. Chain of Infection — 6 Links

The chain of infection describes the six conditions that must all be present for an infection to spread. Break any one link and the chain is broken — the infection cannot transmit. This is the foundation of Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC).

The 6 links:

1. Infectious agent — the pathogen (bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasite)
2. Reservoir — where the pathogen lives and multiplies (a person, animal, surface, or environment)
3. Portal of exit — how the pathogen leaves the reservoir (respiratory droplets, blood, body fluids, skin)
4. Mode of transmission — how the pathogen travels to a new host (direct contact, droplet, airborne, vehicle, vector)
5. Portal of entry — how the pathogen enters the new host (mucous membranes, broken skin, respiratory tract, GI tract)
6. Susceptible host — a person whose immune system cannot fight off the pathogen

When to use it: Infection prevention and control questions. You may be asked to identify links in the chain, explain how a specific intervention breaks the chain, or choose the best action to prevent transmission. For a deep dive into IPAC principles, see our guide on infection control for PSWs.

Memory tip: Think of an actual chain with six physical links. Picture yourself breaking one link with bolt cutters — the whole chain falls apart. The phrase "I Rarely Pass My Pasta Slowly" maps to Infectious agent, Reservoir, Portal of exit, Mode of transmission, Portal of entry, Susceptible host.

4. The 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene

Hand hygiene is the core infection-prevention measure in every care setting. The "4 Moments" framework tells you exactly when to clean your hands.

1. Before initial contact with the client or their environment
2. Before a clean or aseptic procedure
3. After exposure or risk of exposure to body fluids
4. After contact with the client or their environment

When to use it: Questions about when to perform hand hygiene, identifying errors in hand hygiene practice, or choosing the correct sequence of actions during a care task.

Memory tip: The pattern is simple: Before-Before-After-After. Two "befores" and two "afters." Before you touch the client, before you do anything clean, after you touch anything dirty, and after you leave the client's space.

5. PPE Donning Order (Putting On)

When putting on Personal Protective Equipment, the order matters. Putting PPE on in the wrong sequence can contaminate the equipment before you even enter the client's room — and the sequence starts before you touch any of it.

Public Health Ontario's donning poster sets out five numbered steps: perform hand hygiene, put on the gown, put on the mask or N95 respirator, put on the eye protection, and put on the gloves (How to Put On Personal Protective Equipment (PDF), Public Health Ontario poster, accessed September 20, 2026).

Donning order: Hand hygiene first, then Gown, Mask, Eyewear, Gloves

Memory tip: Clean hands open the sequence, then "Going Makes Everyone Glad" — Gown, Mask, Eyewear, Gloves. Think of getting dressed from the inside out: hands clean first, the gown on like a coat, then your face protection, then gloves last because they go over the gown cuffs.

6. PPE Doffing Order (Taking Off)

Removing PPE is where self-contamination happens, so the sequence is fixed: the most contaminated items come off first, hand hygiene sits inside the sequence as well as at the end, and the mask or respirator stays on until near the end because it protects your respiratory tract while everything else is being removed.

Doffing order: Gloves, Gown, Hand hygiene, Eye protection, Mask or N95, Hand hygiene

Public Health Ontario's removal poster numbers these six steps: 1 remove gloves, 2 remove gown, 3 perform hand hygiene, 4 remove eye protection, 5 remove mask or N95 respirator, 6 perform hand hygiene (How to Remove Personal Protective Equipment (PDF), Public Health Ontario poster, accessed September 20, 2026).

Memory tip: Count the six steps in order — gloves off, gown off, hands clean, eyes clear, mask off, hands clean again. Hand hygiene is named twice on purpose: once at step 3, after the gown, and once at step 6, after everything. Gloves come off first because they are the most contaminated — they touched the client and the surfaces around them — and the mask or respirator waits until step 5 so your airway stays protected while the rest comes off.

7. The 9 Rights of Medication Assistance

You assist with medication, or give it, only as the client's care plan, the rules for your setting, your training and your employer's policy allow, and you never decide whether a dose is needed or change a dose yourself. Ontario's Personal Support Worker Program Standard (January 2022) names nine rights of assisting with medications in its glossary — the right person, the right medication, the right dose, the right route, the right time, the right day, the right reason, the right expiry date, and the right documentation — citing Sorrentino et al., Mosby's Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 4th edition, p. 997 (Personal Support Worker Program Standard (PDF), Glossary, printed p. 52, accessed September 20, 2026). Older resources list five or six rights, and the nine include them all.

1. Right client (the right person) — verify the client's identity
2. Right medication — check that the medication matches the order
3. Right dose — confirm the correct amount
4. Right route — the route on the label matches the MAR (oral, topical and so on)
5. Right time — the medication is taken at the time the MAR or care plan specifies
6. Right day — check the MAR date, not just the clock (weekly and alternate-day schedules)
7. Right reason — know why the medication is given
8. Right expiry date — confirm the product has not expired
9. Right documentation — record the assistance you gave, when, and any observation or refusal, per employer policy

When to use it: Any question about medication safety, medication errors, or identifying what went wrong in a medication scenario.

Memory tip: Count the classic six on your fingers — "Client, Med, Dose, Route, Time, Doc" — then add the newer three: "Day, Reason, Expiry." If any one of the nine is wrong, it is a medication error.

8. SBAR — Reporting to the Healthcare Team

SBAR is a structured communication tool used when reporting a change in a client's condition to a nurse or supervisor. It keeps your report clear, concise, and organised.

When to use it: Questions about reporting observations, communicating changes in client status, or identifying the correct information to include in a report.

Memory tip: Think of SBAR as telling a story: here is what is happening now (Situation), here is the backstory (Background), here is what I have observed (Assessment), and here is what I think should happen (Recommendation).

9. Vital Signs — What Do You Compare a Reading Against?

This one is not an acronym, and it is not a set of numbers to recite either. Ontario's Personal Support Worker Program Standard describes the task itself: take and record the client's pulse, blood pressure, respirations, oxygen saturation and temperature accurately, compare each reading with that client's own baseline vital signs, take the action identified in the plan of care, and record and report variations from the baseline to your supervisor, registered staff or the appropriate health team member under your employer's policies (Personal Support Worker Program Standard, January 2022, vocational learning outcome 6, element B, printed p. 22, accessed September 20, 2026).

When to use it: Any question that hands you a reading and asks what you do with it. The answer is rarely a number on its own — it is the reading set beside this client's baseline, the plan of care, and the report that goes to the right person. Our vital signs guide walks through comparing each reading with the client's baseline and the care plan, one vital sign at a time.

Memory tip: Three words to hold — baseline, plan, report. What is usual for this client? What does the plan of care say to do? Who needs to hear about the change, and how soon? These are three things to hold together, not three steps to work through: when a change in the client's condition makes reporting urgent, report it promptly rather than waiting to establish a baseline. A reading means little on its own — it means something beside the person.

10. DIPPS — Person-Centred Care Principles

DIPPS is the person-centred care framework behind most PSW care decisions, and it is worth knowing well before you sit down with scenario questions. If you want the full definition first, read what DIPPS stands for.

When to use it: Any scenario question about how to treat, involve or protect a client. DIPPS is your primary decision-making filter. For a detailed guide on how to apply DIPPS to exam questions, read our guide on answering PSW scenario questions.

Memory tip: "Does It Protect People's Safety?" The question itself reminds you of the five principles in order. Safety sits last in the acronym, but it is weighed alongside the other four rather than ranked above them. When a client's preference creates a genuine safety risk, explain the risk plainly, decline to carry out a method that is unsafe, offer the safe alternatives the care plan allows, respect the client's decision, and report the refusal promptly through your reporting path so the plan can be reassessed. Deciding whether a client is capable of refusing is not the PSW's call — report the refusal so the team can address it.

Ontario's Personal Support Worker Program Standard puts it as respecting the person's right to make choices, decisions and to direct supportive care, and as discussing and implementing strategies to respond to a refusal of care or a deviation from the established plan of care (Personal Support Worker Program Standard, January 2022, vocational learning outcome 4, element D, printed pp. 16–17, accessed September 20, 2026).

11. ABC — Airway, Breathing, Circulation

ABC is the classic first-aid primary survey — the three things a client in distress is checked for, named in a way you can hold under pressure.

• Airway — Is the airway open and clear?
• Breathing — Is the client breathing? Are breaths adequate?
• Circulation — Is there severe bleeding? How to check for signs of circulation is part of your First Aid/CPR training.

If the client is unresponsive, or is not breathing normally, this stops being a survey question and becomes an emergency. Get help on the way through your employer's emergency protocol and emergency services, and give immediate care as your current First Aid and CPR certification and your employer's protocol direct. Neither one waits on a survey being finished. Which of the two you do in which order is set by your certification and your employer's protocol, not by this guide, and any instruction against resuscitation recorded in the plan of care still applies.

Ontario's Personal Support Worker Program Standard asks PSWs to identify the employer's emergency protocols and processes, to know when and how to call for first responders such as paramedics, fire fighters and police, to provide appropriate emergency and first aid to conscious and unconscious clients and to report and document it under employer policies, to apply standards of cardiopulmonary resuscitation unless specific instructions against resuscitation are recorded in the plan of care, and to maintain current First Aid and CPR certification with a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board approved provider (Personal Support Worker Program Standard, January 2022, vocational learning outcome 7, elements E and F, printed pp. 25–26, accessed September 20, 2026).

When to use it: Questions that ask you to prioritise what you check on a client in distress. Where the client is unresponsive or not breathing normally, it is no longer a survey question — help and care both belong there, and neither of them waits on a checklist being completed.

Memory tip: ABC is as easy to hold as the alphabet, and the letters tell you what to look at. They do not tell you what to do when a client is unresponsive — that is an emergency, where getting help on the way and giving care both belong, in whatever order your certification and your employer's protocol set.

12. Common Medical Prefixes and Suffixes

While not a single mnemonic, knowing key medical word parts lets you decode unfamiliar terms on the exam — even ones you have never seen before.

Prefixes to know:

Suffixes to know:

Memory tip: Start with the prefixes hyper/hypo and tachy/brady — they come in opposite pairs, which makes them quick to learn and quick to check. "Hyper" means too much (think of a hyperactive child — too much energy). "Hypo" means too little (think of a hypothermia victim — too little body heat). "Tachy" means fast (think of a tachometer in a car — it measures speed). "Brady" means slow (think of the Brady Bunch — a slow-paced family TV show).

How to Study with Mnemonics

Knowing the mnemonics is step one. Using them effectively on the exam requires practice. Here are strategies that work:

Write them out by hand. Research shows that handwriting activates deeper encoding than typing. Write each mnemonic out three times, from memory, on three separate days. If you cannot complete it from memory, that is the one you need to study more.

Test yourself under pressure. Set a 60-second timer and try to write out all six links of the chain of infection, or the PPE donning and doffing orders. This simulates the time pressure of the exam and trains your recall speed.

Use them on practice questions. Every time you encounter a scenario question about IPAC, fire safety, or vital signs, consciously apply the relevant mnemonic. This builds the habit of reaching for the mnemonic under pressure. Try our free practice questions to put these mnemonics to work.

Create flashcards. Put the mnemonic on one side and the full meaning on the other. Quiz yourself daily during your study period. Spaced repetition — reviewing cards at increasing intervals — is one of the most evidence-backed study methods available.

Teach someone else. Explaining a mnemonic to a classmate or family member is the ultimate test of understanding. If you can teach SBAR to someone who has never heard of it, you know it well enough for the exam.

Quick Reference: All Mnemonics at a Glance

Bookmark this section for quick review the night before your NACC exam.

Work through this table until every row comes back without looking. When a question puts you under time pressure, a mnemonic you can recite gets the whole list back in one move.

For a complete exam preparation strategy that ties all of this together, read our guide to passing the NACC exam. And if you want to understand the exam structure itself — number of questions, time limit, and scoring — check out our NACC exam format breakdown. For the big picture — what the NACC PSW exam is, its meaning, and the 2026 exam dates — see our overview of the NACC PSW exam.

Sources

• Public Health Ontario, How to Remove Personal Protective Equipment (PDF) — poster; the six-step doffing sequence quoted above (accessed September 20, 2026).
• Public Health Ontario, How to Put On Personal Protective Equipment (PDF) — poster; the five-step donning sequence quoted above (accessed September 20, 2026).
• Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Personal Support Worker Program Standard (PDF), January 2022. Vocational learning outcome 4, element D (the person's right to make choices and to refuse care, printed pp. 16–17); vocational learning outcome 6, element B (vital signs, the client's baseline and reporting variations, printed p. 22); vocational learning outcome 7, elements E and F (employer emergency protocols, first aid, CPR certification, printed pp. 25–26); and the Glossary definition of the 9 rights of assisting with medications, printed p. 52 (accessed September 20, 2026).

Frequently Asked Questions

What mnemonics should PSW students know?

PSW students should know RACE (fire response), PASS (fire extinguisher use), the 6 links of the chain of infection, the 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene, PPE donning order (hand hygiene, gown, mask or N95, eye protection, gloves), PPE doffing order (gloves, gown, hand hygiene, eye protection, mask or N95, hand hygiene), the 9 Rights of Medication, SBAR (structured reporting), DIPPS (person-centred care principles), and ABC (first-aid primary survey).

What does RACE stand for?

RACE stands for Rescue (remove anyone in immediate danger), Alarm (activate the fire alarm and call for help), Contain (close doors and windows to prevent the fire from spreading), and Extinguish or Evacuate (use a fire extinguisher if safe to do so, or evacuate the area). Always follow your employer's fire safety plan; RACE is the memory aid for the fire-response sequence it teaches.

What does PASS stand for?

PASS stands for Pull (pull the pin on the fire extinguisher), Aim (aim the nozzle at the base of the fire, not the flames), Squeeze (squeeze the handle to release the extinguishing agent), and Sweep (sweep the nozzle side to side at the base of the fire). PASS is used during the Extinguish step of RACE, only if it is safe to attempt to put out the fire.