The Big Picture
Urine testing provides information about substances or changes found in urine. A CCA might perform simple urine tests using special strips that react with the urine.
Urine also might need to be strained to look for stones or other particles. A physician orders the type and frequency of urine tests. For glucose and ketone testing, the client’s care plan determines when the urine needs to be tested.
Accuracy matters. The CCA follows the correct instructions, uses supplies properly, and reports and records results according to employer policy.
Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Reagent strips test urine for things such as pH, glucose, ketones, and blood.
- Always check the expiry date before using a reagent strip.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for timing and reading reagent-strip results.
- The care plan determines when urine testing for glucose or glucose and ketones takes place.
- When urine must be strained, all urine passes through a strainer or gauze.
- Report and record results, actions, observations, and basic assessments according to employer policy.
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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Urine Testing Involves
Simple urine tests include testing for:
- pH
- glucose
- ketones
- blood
Reagent strips are chemically treated strips, sometimes called dipsticks. Different areas of the strip change colour after contact with urine.
A physician orders the type and frequency of urine tests. The CCA must perform the ordered test accurately and promptly report the results according to employer policy.
Before using reagent strips, check the expiry date on the container. Do not use strips after the expiry date.
Testing Urine pH
Urine pH shows whether urine is acidic or alkaline.
The normal urine pH range is 4.6 to 8.0. Illness, foods, and medications affect urine pH.
A routine urine specimen is used for this test.
Testing for Glucose and Ketones
In clients with diabetes, the pancreas does not secrete enough insulin. The body needs insulin to use sugar for energy.
When the body does not use the sugar, sugar builds up in the blood. Some of that sugar appears in the urine.
Glucosuria means glucose, a type of sugar, in the urine.
A client with diabetes might also have ketones in the urine. Ketones appear when fat breaks down rapidly for energy because the body cannot use sugar.
The client’s care plan determines whether the urine needs testing for:
- glucose
- both glucose and ketones
Urine testing for glucose usually happens four times a day:
- 30 minutes before each meal, written as ac
- at bedtime, written as hs
The physician uses the test results to regulate the client’s medication and diet.
Follow the instructions printed on the reagent bottle when testing for glucose and ketones.
Testing for Blood
Normal urine does not contain blood.
Injury and disease might cause blood to appear in the urine. Hematuria means blood in the urine.
Blood is sometimes visible in urine. At other times, it is occult, which means it is not visible.
A routine urine specimen is used for this test.
How Reagent Strips Work
A reagent strip has chemically treated sections that react with urine by changing colour.
The basic process involves:
- dipping the strip into the urine specimen
- following the required timing
- comparing the colour on the strip with the colour chart on the bottle
- reading the result
A watch or clock might be needed to track the required time.
Instructions differ depending on the test. Read the manufacturer’s instructions before beginning.
The supervisor provides direction for performing the urine test ordered by the physician.
Testing Urine With Reagent Strips
During this procedure, promote the client’s dignity, independence, individualized care, preferences, privacy, and safety.
Pre-Procedure
- Practise proper hand hygiene.
- Put on gloves.
- Collect the urine specimen, the ordered reagent strip, and gloves. Check with the supervisor about the method used to obtain the urine specimen.
Collecting the equipment before starting prevents unnecessary time and effort spent retrieving forgotten supplies.
Procedure
- Remove one strip from the bottle. Recap the bottle immediately and make sure the cap is tight.
A tight cap protects the reagent strips from air and moisture.
- Dip the reagent strip into the urine specimen.
- Remove the strip after the correct amount of time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Correct timing helps produce proper results.
- Gently tap the strip against the specimen container to remove excess urine.
- Wait for the required length of time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Compare the strip colour with the colour chart on the bottle. Read the result.
- Discard disposable supplies and the urine specimen according to employer policies.
Post-Procedure
- Clean the equipment and return it to its proper place.
- Remove gloves. Practise proper hand hygiene.
Report and record the results and other observations according to employer policy.
Actions, observations, and basic assessments are reported and recorded for legal reasons and to keep the rest of the health care team informed.
Straining Urine for Stones
Stones, also called calculi, develop in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder.
Their size varies greatly. Some are as small as a pinhead. Others reach the size of an orange.
Stones cause severe pain and damage to the urinary system. Some require surgical removal.
Some stones leave the body in urine.
When the care plan requires urine straining, all urine passes through a disposable strainer. Stones that are found go to the laboratory for examination.
Straining Urine Procedure
During this procedure, promote the client’s dignity, independence, individualized care, preferences, privacy, and safety.
Pre-Procedure
- Identify the client according to employer policy.
Correct identification prevents one client from being mistaken for another.
- Explain the procedure to the client. Explain that the urinal, bedpan, commode, or specimen pan, also called a specimen hat, is used for voiding .
- Practise proper hand hygiene.
- Collect:
- a strainer and 10 × 10 cm (4 × 4 in.) gauze
- a specimen container
- a urinal, bedpan, commode, or specimen pan
- two labels stating that all urine has been strained
- gloves
- a plastic bag
Gathering the supplies beforehand helps prevent leaving the client to retrieve forgotten equipment.
Procedure
- Arrange the supplies in the client’s bathroom. Place the specimen pan in the toilet.
Using the bathroom supports the client’s privacy.
- Place one label in the bathroom and the other near the bed.
The labels remind the client and staff that all urine needs straining.
- Put on gloves.
- Offer the bedpan or urinal, or assist the client to the bedside commode or bathroom.
This lets the client empty the bladder so testing begins with a fresh sample.
- Provide privacy.
- Tell the client to call after voiding.
- Remove gloves. Practise proper hand hygiene.
- Return when the client calls. Knock before entering the room.
- Practise proper hand hygiene. Put on gloves.
- Place the strainer or gauze over the specimen container.
- Pour the urine through the strainer or gauze and into the specimen container.
- Discard the urine.
The urine itself is no longer required.
- If crystals, stones, or particles appear, place the strainer or gauze in the container.
The strainer or gauze holds the crystals, stones, or particles.
- Provide perineal care if needed.
Perineal care reduces the risk of odours, skin irritation, and pathogen spread.
- Clean the equipment and return it to its proper place.
- Remove soiled gloves. Practise proper hand hygiene.
- Help the client with handwashing.
- Repeat proper hand hygiene.
Post-Procedure
- Provide for the client’s safety and comfort.
- Place the call bell within reach.
The call bell gives the client a safe way to contact staff when needed.
- Follow the care plan for bed rail use.
Following the care plan for bed rail use reduces the risk of client injury.
- Remove privacy measures.
- Label the specimen container with the requested information. Place the container inside the plastic bag. Wear gloves for this step.
- Practise proper hand hygiene.
- Follow agency policies or the supervisor’s instructions for storing and transporting the specimen.
Correct storage and transportation reduce the risk of the specimen becoming spoiled.
Report and record actions, observations, and basic assessments according to employer policy.
These actions, observations, and basic assessments are reported and recorded for legal reasons and to keep the rest of the health care team informed.
Steps involving the call bell and bed rail use might not apply in community settings.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition describes reagent-strip urine testing and urine straining as tasks a CCA might be asked to perform. In Nova Scotia, the current Continuing Care Assistant Occupational Standards of Practice use a competency-based framework rather than a complete list of individual tasks. Each employer defines which duties a CCA is permitted to perform in that workplace. This is the CCA’s scope of employment. The CCA must also have the required training and competency and follow the applicable policies, procedures, and instructions. (novascotiacca.ca)
Sorrentino also uses the phrase “basic assessments” in its report-and-record directions. In Nova Scotia, the current standards describe the CCA assessment role as an observational point of care assessment. A CCA collects data and observes for changes that need escalation. This does not include a nursing assessment or a comprehensive evaluation used to make care-planning decisions. (novascotiacca.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Follow the care plan, workplace instructions, and reporting requirements for urine testing and straining. Perform the task only when the required training and competency are in place. The CCA reports and documents findings but does not use them to make comprehensive assessment or care-planning decisions. (novascotiacca.ca)
Official source: Continuing Care Assistant Occupational Standards of Practice
Last checked: September 22, 2026
Exam Clue Words
- Always: Check the expiry date on the reagent-strip container before use.
- Must not: Do not use reagent strips after their expiry date.
- Follow the care plan: The care plan determines when the client’s urine requires glucose testing or testing for both glucose and ketones.
- Report and record: After reagent-strip testing, report and record the results and other observations according to employer policy. After straining urine, report and record actions, observations, and basic assessments according to employer policy.
Fast Review
Focus on the facts that change what the test means or what the CCA does.
- Normal urine pH ranges from 4.6 to 8.0.
- Glucosuria means glucose in the urine.
- Ketones appear in urine when fat breaks down rapidly for energy because the body cannot use sugar.
- Glucose testing usually takes place four times a day, 30 minutes before each meal and at bedtime.
- Hematuria means blood in the urine. Blood might be visible or occult.
- Reagent strips change colour after reacting with urine.
- Check the reagent-strip expiry date and do not use expired strips.
- Follow the manufacturer’s timing instructions when dipping, waiting, and reading reagent strips.
- When the care plan requires urine straining, all urine passes through a strainer or gauze.
- If crystals, stones, or particles appear during straining, place the strainer or gauze in the specimen container.
- Follow agency policies or supervisor instructions for specimen storage and transportation.
- After reagent-strip testing, report and record the results and other observations according to employer policy.
- After straining urine, report and record actions, observations, and basic assessments according to employer policy.
Final Pep Talk
There are a lot of steps here, so focus first on the order of each procedure and the words that control what happens next. Review the timing, care-plan directions, expiry-date rule, and reporting points in smaller groups until the sequence feels familiar.