NSG 315 — Quality Improvement and Patient
Safety exam Questions and Correct Answers
(Verified Answers) Plus Rationale 2027 Q&A|
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1. Which statement best describes the primary goal of quality
improvement (QI) in healthcare?
A. To identify individuals responsible for errors
B. To eliminate the need for clinical judgment
C. To improve healthcare processes and outcomes systematically
D. To ensure that every patient receives identical treatment
Rationale: Quality improvement focuses on systematically improving
healthcare processes, outcomes, safety, efficiency, and patient
experiences. QI emphasizes learning from data and modifying systems
rather than simply assigning blame to individuals.
2. Which component is essential to a culture of patient safety?
,A. Punishing every healthcare worker who makes an error
B. Discouraging staff from reporting near misses
C. Encouraging open communication about safety concerns
D. Limiting safety information to senior administrators
Rationale: A strong safety culture encourages healthcare workers to
communicate concerns, report errors and near misses, and participate
in improvement activities. Open communication allows organizations
to identify hazards before they cause harm.
3. A nurse reports that a medication was almost administered to the
wrong patient but the error was caught before administration.
How should this event be classified?
A. Sentinel event
B. Adverse event
C. Never event
D. Near miss
Rationale: A near miss is an event that could have caused harm but
was prevented before reaching the patient. Reporting near misses is
valuable because they reveal system vulnerabilities that can be
corrected before actual harm occurs.
4. Which quality improvement model uses the steps Plan, Do, Study,
and Act?
,A. Root Cause Analysis
B. Six Sigma
C. PDSA cycle
D. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Rationale: The PDSA cycle is a structured method for testing and
refining changes. Teams plan an intervention, implement it on a small
scale, study the results, and act based on what was learned.
5. During the “Plan” phase of PDSA, which activity should occur?
A. Implementing the intervention throughout the hospital
B. Defining the problem and planning the proposed change
C. Permanently adopting the intervention
D. Auditing the final outcome only
Rationale: The Plan phase involves identifying the problem,
establishing objectives, predicting outcomes, determining what data
will be collected, and deciding how the change will be tested.
6. Which statement best describes a sentinel event?
A. An event that always occurs because of staff negligence
B. A minor variation in routine patient care
C. An unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or
, psychological injury
D. A patient complaint about hospital food
Rationale: A sentinel event is a serious unexpected occurrence
associated with death or significant harm or the risk of such harm.
Organizations investigate these events to identify contributing factors
and prevent recurrence.
7. What is the primary purpose of a root cause analysis (RCA)?
A. To determine which employee should be disciplined
B. To calculate the cost of an adverse event
C. To identify underlying system and process factors contributing to
an event
D. To replace incident reporting
Rationale: RCA examines the underlying factors that contributed to an
adverse event or serious safety problem. The goal is to understand
why the event occurred and develop strategies to prevent recurrence.
8. Which question is most appropriate during a root cause analysis?
A. “Who should be punished?”
B. “Which nurse made the mistake?”
C. “What system factors allowed the error to occur?”
D. “How can the incident be kept confidential?”
Safety exam Questions and Correct Answers
(Verified Answers) Plus Rationale 2027 Q&A|
Instant Download Pdf
1. Which statement best describes the primary goal of quality
improvement (QI) in healthcare?
A. To identify individuals responsible for errors
B. To eliminate the need for clinical judgment
C. To improve healthcare processes and outcomes systematically
D. To ensure that every patient receives identical treatment
Rationale: Quality improvement focuses on systematically improving
healthcare processes, outcomes, safety, efficiency, and patient
experiences. QI emphasizes learning from data and modifying systems
rather than simply assigning blame to individuals.
2. Which component is essential to a culture of patient safety?
,A. Punishing every healthcare worker who makes an error
B. Discouraging staff from reporting near misses
C. Encouraging open communication about safety concerns
D. Limiting safety information to senior administrators
Rationale: A strong safety culture encourages healthcare workers to
communicate concerns, report errors and near misses, and participate
in improvement activities. Open communication allows organizations
to identify hazards before they cause harm.
3. A nurse reports that a medication was almost administered to the
wrong patient but the error was caught before administration.
How should this event be classified?
A. Sentinel event
B. Adverse event
C. Never event
D. Near miss
Rationale: A near miss is an event that could have caused harm but
was prevented before reaching the patient. Reporting near misses is
valuable because they reveal system vulnerabilities that can be
corrected before actual harm occurs.
4. Which quality improvement model uses the steps Plan, Do, Study,
and Act?
,A. Root Cause Analysis
B. Six Sigma
C. PDSA cycle
D. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Rationale: The PDSA cycle is a structured method for testing and
refining changes. Teams plan an intervention, implement it on a small
scale, study the results, and act based on what was learned.
5. During the “Plan” phase of PDSA, which activity should occur?
A. Implementing the intervention throughout the hospital
B. Defining the problem and planning the proposed change
C. Permanently adopting the intervention
D. Auditing the final outcome only
Rationale: The Plan phase involves identifying the problem,
establishing objectives, predicting outcomes, determining what data
will be collected, and deciding how the change will be tested.
6. Which statement best describes a sentinel event?
A. An event that always occurs because of staff negligence
B. A minor variation in routine patient care
C. An unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or
, psychological injury
D. A patient complaint about hospital food
Rationale: A sentinel event is a serious unexpected occurrence
associated with death or significant harm or the risk of such harm.
Organizations investigate these events to identify contributing factors
and prevent recurrence.
7. What is the primary purpose of a root cause analysis (RCA)?
A. To determine which employee should be disciplined
B. To calculate the cost of an adverse event
C. To identify underlying system and process factors contributing to
an event
D. To replace incident reporting
Rationale: RCA examines the underlying factors that contributed to an
adverse event or serious safety problem. The goal is to understand
why the event occurred and develop strategies to prevent recurrence.
8. Which question is most appropriate during a root cause analysis?
A. “Who should be punished?”
B. “Which nurse made the mistake?”
C. “What system factors allowed the error to occur?”
D. “How can the incident be kept confidential?”
