Chapter 02: The Nurse's Role in
Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
1. In differentiating between earl y efforts of qualit y assurance and present -
day qualit y improvement efforts, which statement is correct? Qualit y
assurance:
a. had a broad focus.
b. promoted problem -solving by all members of the health care team.
c. was preventive in nature.
d. tended to occur as a reaction to a specific problem.
CORRECT ANSWER: D
Feedback:
Correct: Earl y efforts focused on identified problems and were
reactive rather than proactive.
Incorrect: a. Qualit y assurance focused on specific incidents rather
than on broad system improvements.
b. With qualit y assurance, onl y a few people such as
auditors focused on problems, and administration onl y
later recognized the importance of proacti ve initiatives
involving all members of the health care team.
c. Earl y efforts of qualit y assurance focused on identified
problems rather than on avoiding future problems.
2. An organization’s emergency preparedness task force meets to discuss
how it should react in case of a terrorist attack and develops a disaster
, evacuation plan that details how each department will assist individuals in
reaching safet y. This t ype of diagram is referred to as a:
a. Pareto chart.
b. control chart.
c. top-down flowchart.
d. deployment chart.
CORRECT ANSWER: D
Feedback:
Correct: A deployment flowchart would show the detailed steps
involved in the process and the people or departments that
are to be involved at each step to assist individuals in
reaching safet y.
Incorrect: a. The Pareto chart displays data so that a few problems
that cause the greatest variance are easil y depicted and
facilitates improvement that focuses on those few.
b. A control chart distinguishes between common and
special cause variations and is basicall y a run chart with
added statistical control limits.
c. The top-down flowchart simpl y lists the main steps and
substeps of a process in a linear fashion and does not
detail the departments or people needed.
3. Patients with heart failure have extended lengt hs of stay and are often
readmitted shortl y after they have been discharged. To improve qualit y of
care, a t ype of “road map” that included all elements of care for this
disease and that standardized treatment by guiding dail y care was
implemented. This ro ad map is referred to as a(n):
a. benchmark.
Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
1. In differentiating between earl y efforts of qualit y assurance and present -
day qualit y improvement efforts, which statement is correct? Qualit y
assurance:
a. had a broad focus.
b. promoted problem -solving by all members of the health care team.
c. was preventive in nature.
d. tended to occur as a reaction to a specific problem.
CORRECT ANSWER: D
Feedback:
Correct: Earl y efforts focused on identified problems and were
reactive rather than proactive.
Incorrect: a. Qualit y assurance focused on specific incidents rather
than on broad system improvements.
b. With qualit y assurance, onl y a few people such as
auditors focused on problems, and administration onl y
later recognized the importance of proacti ve initiatives
involving all members of the health care team.
c. Earl y efforts of qualit y assurance focused on identified
problems rather than on avoiding future problems.
2. An organization’s emergency preparedness task force meets to discuss
how it should react in case of a terrorist attack and develops a disaster
, evacuation plan that details how each department will assist individuals in
reaching safet y. This t ype of diagram is referred to as a:
a. Pareto chart.
b. control chart.
c. top-down flowchart.
d. deployment chart.
CORRECT ANSWER: D
Feedback:
Correct: A deployment flowchart would show the detailed steps
involved in the process and the people or departments that
are to be involved at each step to assist individuals in
reaching safet y.
Incorrect: a. The Pareto chart displays data so that a few problems
that cause the greatest variance are easil y depicted and
facilitates improvement that focuses on those few.
b. A control chart distinguishes between common and
special cause variations and is basicall y a run chart with
added statistical control limits.
c. The top-down flowchart simpl y lists the main steps and
substeps of a process in a linear fashion and does not
detail the departments or people needed.
3. Patients with heart failure have extended lengt hs of stay and are often
readmitted shortl y after they have been discharged. To improve qualit y of
care, a t ype of “road map” that included all elements of care for this
disease and that standardized treatment by guiding dail y care was
implemented. This ro ad map is referred to as a(n):
a. benchmark.
