Patient Safety: IHI PS 101 Introduction to
Patient Safety UPDATED Exam Questions
and CORRECT Answers
According to WHO, in developed countries worldwide, what is the approximate likelihood that a
hospitalized patient will be harmed while receiving care? - CORRECT ANSWER - 10%
According to WHO, in developed countries up to 10 percent of hospital patients may be harmed
while receiving care.
Since the publication of To Err Is Human in 1999, the health care industry overall has seen which
of the following improvements? - CORRECT ANSWER - Wider awareness that
preventable errors are a problem
More than a decade after the publication of To Err Is Human, there is now wide recognition
throughout health care that the number of errors is way too high. Although this awareness has not
yet led to consistently lower rates of preventable medical error, progress is being made. Health
care organizations have begun to realize and accept that most errors cannot be linked to the
performance of individuals, but rather to the systems in which they function.
Safety has been called a "dynamic non-event" because when humans are in a potentially
hazardous environment: - CORRECT ANSWER - It takes significant work to ensure
nothing bad happens
The best answer is it takes significant work to ensure nothing bad happens. When things go right
in a potentially hazardous environment, nothing bad happens. But in order for this "non-event" of
nothing going wrong to occur, a lot of things must be done right. Thus, safety has been described
as a "dynamic non-event."
To prevent this type of error from recurring in this unit, which of the following is MOST
important? - CORRECT ANSWER - An improved culture of safety and teamwork
, Had there been a culture of safety fostering better teamwork, this error may well have been
prevented. In this case, when James asked Maria for help, she made him feel bad instead of being
a team player. In this type of environment, James may be reluctant to ask for help, even if he is
more closely supervised. We can generally assume that health care providers do not want to harm
their patients, so the threat of punishment is not the best way to prevent mistakes. Although
errors may occur when there is no recognized best practice, in the case of IV fluid replacement,
clear recommendations do exist.
Who is likely to be negatively affected by this medical error? - CORRECT ANSWER - All
of the above
The best answer is all of the above. Patients and families are not the only ones affected when a
medical error occurs. In this case, James is likely to be devastated, and Maria may be affected as
well. Some providers even leave their profession after committing errors leading to a death.
One hospital CEO insists on including performance data in the hospital's annual report. "We do
very well on most measures, except for one or two, but we put those in anyway," she says. "We
want to hold ourselves accountable." Does this practice demonstrate effective or ineffective
leadership? - CORRECT ANSWER - Effective leadership: Being transparent, even about
poor results, is a mark of a good leader.
Good leaders know that leaders are highly visible — and they therefore set examples for others.
A leader who seeks transparency in her followers must demonstrate the same quality herself.
This appears to be an example of which of the following? - CORRECT ANSWER - Unfair
attribution of blame
Although multiple providers were involved in these near-misses and mistakes, only one provider
was asked to leave. This is not fair, because others clearly could have made (and did make) the
same mistake, suggesting the problem was based in a system error rather than reckless behavior
by an individual.
A nurse who realized that his colleagues weren't consistently following up on patient results
reported the problem to the clinic leadership right away. Which response would be most
Patient Safety UPDATED Exam Questions
and CORRECT Answers
According to WHO, in developed countries worldwide, what is the approximate likelihood that a
hospitalized patient will be harmed while receiving care? - CORRECT ANSWER - 10%
According to WHO, in developed countries up to 10 percent of hospital patients may be harmed
while receiving care.
Since the publication of To Err Is Human in 1999, the health care industry overall has seen which
of the following improvements? - CORRECT ANSWER - Wider awareness that
preventable errors are a problem
More than a decade after the publication of To Err Is Human, there is now wide recognition
throughout health care that the number of errors is way too high. Although this awareness has not
yet led to consistently lower rates of preventable medical error, progress is being made. Health
care organizations have begun to realize and accept that most errors cannot be linked to the
performance of individuals, but rather to the systems in which they function.
Safety has been called a "dynamic non-event" because when humans are in a potentially
hazardous environment: - CORRECT ANSWER - It takes significant work to ensure
nothing bad happens
The best answer is it takes significant work to ensure nothing bad happens. When things go right
in a potentially hazardous environment, nothing bad happens. But in order for this "non-event" of
nothing going wrong to occur, a lot of things must be done right. Thus, safety has been described
as a "dynamic non-event."
To prevent this type of error from recurring in this unit, which of the following is MOST
important? - CORRECT ANSWER - An improved culture of safety and teamwork
, Had there been a culture of safety fostering better teamwork, this error may well have been
prevented. In this case, when James asked Maria for help, she made him feel bad instead of being
a team player. In this type of environment, James may be reluctant to ask for help, even if he is
more closely supervised. We can generally assume that health care providers do not want to harm
their patients, so the threat of punishment is not the best way to prevent mistakes. Although
errors may occur when there is no recognized best practice, in the case of IV fluid replacement,
clear recommendations do exist.
Who is likely to be negatively affected by this medical error? - CORRECT ANSWER - All
of the above
The best answer is all of the above. Patients and families are not the only ones affected when a
medical error occurs. In this case, James is likely to be devastated, and Maria may be affected as
well. Some providers even leave their profession after committing errors leading to a death.
One hospital CEO insists on including performance data in the hospital's annual report. "We do
very well on most measures, except for one or two, but we put those in anyway," she says. "We
want to hold ourselves accountable." Does this practice demonstrate effective or ineffective
leadership? - CORRECT ANSWER - Effective leadership: Being transparent, even about
poor results, is a mark of a good leader.
Good leaders know that leaders are highly visible — and they therefore set examples for others.
A leader who seeks transparency in her followers must demonstrate the same quality herself.
This appears to be an example of which of the following? - CORRECT ANSWER - Unfair
attribution of blame
Although multiple providers were involved in these near-misses and mistakes, only one provider
was asked to leave. This is not fair, because others clearly could have made (and did make) the
same mistake, suggesting the problem was based in a system error rather than reckless behavior
by an individual.
A nurse who realized that his colleagues weren't consistently following up on patient results
reported the problem to the clinic leadership right away. Which response would be most
