CPPS UPDATED EXAM SCRIPT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
RATED A+
✔✔At the end of a long, exhausting shift, an experienced nurse administered the wrong
medication by picking up the wrong syringe. The wrong medication was an analgesic,
and the patient didn't suffer any problems. After recalling that his colleague was fired
last month over a medication error, he decides not to file an incident report.
Safety culture would be improved if the hospital provided this employee with which of
the following?
A.) Situational awareness training
B.) Training on reporting
C.) Psychological safety
D.) An electronic reporting system - ✔✔C.) Psychological safety
✔✔A staff nurse at your hospital fails to complete a double-check before administering
a high-alert medication. She gives the medication to the incorrect patient, and the
patient suffers an arrhythmia.
When applying James Reason's unsafe acts algorithm, what is a strategy to use prior to
holding the nurse personally accountable?
A.) Perform the substitution test with three other nurses.
B.) Have the chief nursing officer interview with the nurse.
C.) Hold a root cause analysis.
D.) Ask other nurses if the staff nurse is trustworthy. - ✔✔A.) Perform the substitution
test with three other nurses.
✔✔To improve culture of safety survey results, which of the following should an
organization do?
A.) Acknowledge and celebrate high-performing areas in front of leadership.
B.) Perform root cause analysis on underperforming units to better understand their
results.
C.) Examine high-performing units to identify and disseminate best practices.
D.) Offer coaching and apply Just Culture principles to leaders in lower performing
areas. - ✔✔C.) Examine high-performing units to identify and disseminate best
practices.
✔✔In which of the following activities would a patient safety specialist engage to
promote a culture of safety?
A.) Instruct team members to act in a safe and respectful manner.
B.) Focus on a list of projects identified by senior stakeholders.
C.) Review annual data on defects and successes.
D.) Apply best evidence with the goal of failure-free operation over time. - ✔✔D.) Apply
best evidence with the goal of failure-free operation over time.
,✔✔As your organization's patient safety officer, you are reviewing unit results on the
AHRQ Culture of Safety Survey. You are speaking with the manager of a unit for which
the unit percent positive score is 30 percent for the following statement: "Staff in this unit
work longer hours than is best for patient care."
What do you tell the manager the positive answer in this statement means?
A.) 30% of the staff agree with the statement.
B.) 30% of the staff work longer hours.
C.) 30% of the staff disagree with the statement.
D.) 70% of the staff work longer hours. - ✔✔C.) 30% of the staff disagree with the
statement.
✔✔The Just Culture model includes creating a learning culture, designing safe systems,
and which of the following activities?
A.) Providing punishment equal to the harm caused
B.) Decreasing the amount of reported errors
C.) Finding the individual to blame
D.) Managing behavioral choices - ✔✔D.) Managing behavioral choices
✔✔Which of the following is the best first step in changing the culture of safety in a
health care organization?
A.) Conduct an assessment and gather focused data.
B.) Develop, policies, procedures, and checklists for safety.
C.) Hire an experienced patient safety officer with a strong performance record.
D.) Implement communication and teamwork tools. - ✔✔A.) Conduct an assessment
and gather focused data.
✔✔A nurse on a medical-surgical unit does not comply with the barcode medication
administration (BCMA) procedure while caring for one of her patients. Her supervisor is
deciding how to respond.
As her supervisor, what would you do?
A.) Ask the nurse what was occurring at the time, and why she chose to bypass the
policy.
B.) Counsel the nurse on the importance of following policy
C.) Ask staff if there are adequate scanners to meet their needs.
D.) Request that the pharmacy run a report of the BCMA compliance rates of the unit. -
✔✔A.) Ask the nurse what was occurring at the time, and why she chose to bypass the
policy.
✔✔What are the 3 key areas of Patient Safety leadership? - ✔✔Strategy, Operations,
and Engagement
✔✔When setting organizational safety priorities, it is best to:
A.) Review the current literature to identify areas of frequent concern.
, B.) Focus primarily on accreditation standards and requirements.
C.) Determine priorities based on pay-for-performance measurements.
D.) Develop a mechanism to gather input from a variety of sources. - ✔✔D.) Develop a
mechanism to gather input from a variety of sources.
✔✔A hospital is attempting to engage the board in their quality endeavors. Which is the
best strategy to improve the board's involvement?
A.) Focus only on measures that are tied to reimbursement.
B.) Report all quality measures to the board.
C.) Align the quality measures with the hospital's strategic goals.
D.) Set only goals that can be attained. - ✔✔C.) Align the quality measures with the
hospital's strategic goals.
✔✔Which of the following is required to begin the journey to a culture of safety?
A.) Care should depend on independent, individual performance excellence.
B.) Accountability must be universal and reciprocal, not just top-down.
C.) Care should be provider-centered rather than patient-centered.
D.) RCA teams must look at errors as individual failures. - ✔✔B.) Accountability must be
universal and reciprocal, not just top-down.
✔✔You are meeting with your organization's CFO to review the likely Return on
Investment (ROI) for several possible patient safety initiatives. Based only on the
projected ROI, which project is most likely to receive the CFO's approval?
A.) Implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry to reduce the number of
medication errors with an ROI of 1.0, or 100 percent.
B.) Procurement of new beds with built-in alarms to reduce falls with an ROI of 0.9, or
90 percent.
C.) Implementation of evidence-based guidelines to reduce the rate of catheter-
associated urinary tract infections with an ROI of 3.0, or 300 percent.
D.) Implementation of a sitter program, which has been shown to reduce falls and
improve patient satisfaction with an ROI of 0.5, or 50 percent. - ✔✔C.) Implementation
of evidence-based guidelines to reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract
infections with an ROI of 3.0, or 300 percent.
✔✔The free, uninhibited flow of information that is open to the scrutiny of others is the
definition of:
A.) Quality care
B.) Just Culture
C.) Transparency
D.) High reliability - ✔✔C.) Transparency
✔✔When an adverse event occurs with a patient:
A.) An investigation should commence to determine the staff member at fault.
B.) The event should be openly discussed with the patient, family, and staff.
C.) A root cause analysis should be completed and submitted to the Joint Commission.
RATED A+
✔✔At the end of a long, exhausting shift, an experienced nurse administered the wrong
medication by picking up the wrong syringe. The wrong medication was an analgesic,
and the patient didn't suffer any problems. After recalling that his colleague was fired
last month over a medication error, he decides not to file an incident report.
Safety culture would be improved if the hospital provided this employee with which of
the following?
A.) Situational awareness training
B.) Training on reporting
C.) Psychological safety
D.) An electronic reporting system - ✔✔C.) Psychological safety
✔✔A staff nurse at your hospital fails to complete a double-check before administering
a high-alert medication. She gives the medication to the incorrect patient, and the
patient suffers an arrhythmia.
When applying James Reason's unsafe acts algorithm, what is a strategy to use prior to
holding the nurse personally accountable?
A.) Perform the substitution test with three other nurses.
B.) Have the chief nursing officer interview with the nurse.
C.) Hold a root cause analysis.
D.) Ask other nurses if the staff nurse is trustworthy. - ✔✔A.) Perform the substitution
test with three other nurses.
✔✔To improve culture of safety survey results, which of the following should an
organization do?
A.) Acknowledge and celebrate high-performing areas in front of leadership.
B.) Perform root cause analysis on underperforming units to better understand their
results.
C.) Examine high-performing units to identify and disseminate best practices.
D.) Offer coaching and apply Just Culture principles to leaders in lower performing
areas. - ✔✔C.) Examine high-performing units to identify and disseminate best
practices.
✔✔In which of the following activities would a patient safety specialist engage to
promote a culture of safety?
A.) Instruct team members to act in a safe and respectful manner.
B.) Focus on a list of projects identified by senior stakeholders.
C.) Review annual data on defects and successes.
D.) Apply best evidence with the goal of failure-free operation over time. - ✔✔D.) Apply
best evidence with the goal of failure-free operation over time.
,✔✔As your organization's patient safety officer, you are reviewing unit results on the
AHRQ Culture of Safety Survey. You are speaking with the manager of a unit for which
the unit percent positive score is 30 percent for the following statement: "Staff in this unit
work longer hours than is best for patient care."
What do you tell the manager the positive answer in this statement means?
A.) 30% of the staff agree with the statement.
B.) 30% of the staff work longer hours.
C.) 30% of the staff disagree with the statement.
D.) 70% of the staff work longer hours. - ✔✔C.) 30% of the staff disagree with the
statement.
✔✔The Just Culture model includes creating a learning culture, designing safe systems,
and which of the following activities?
A.) Providing punishment equal to the harm caused
B.) Decreasing the amount of reported errors
C.) Finding the individual to blame
D.) Managing behavioral choices - ✔✔D.) Managing behavioral choices
✔✔Which of the following is the best first step in changing the culture of safety in a
health care organization?
A.) Conduct an assessment and gather focused data.
B.) Develop, policies, procedures, and checklists for safety.
C.) Hire an experienced patient safety officer with a strong performance record.
D.) Implement communication and teamwork tools. - ✔✔A.) Conduct an assessment
and gather focused data.
✔✔A nurse on a medical-surgical unit does not comply with the barcode medication
administration (BCMA) procedure while caring for one of her patients. Her supervisor is
deciding how to respond.
As her supervisor, what would you do?
A.) Ask the nurse what was occurring at the time, and why she chose to bypass the
policy.
B.) Counsel the nurse on the importance of following policy
C.) Ask staff if there are adequate scanners to meet their needs.
D.) Request that the pharmacy run a report of the BCMA compliance rates of the unit. -
✔✔A.) Ask the nurse what was occurring at the time, and why she chose to bypass the
policy.
✔✔What are the 3 key areas of Patient Safety leadership? - ✔✔Strategy, Operations,
and Engagement
✔✔When setting organizational safety priorities, it is best to:
A.) Review the current literature to identify areas of frequent concern.
, B.) Focus primarily on accreditation standards and requirements.
C.) Determine priorities based on pay-for-performance measurements.
D.) Develop a mechanism to gather input from a variety of sources. - ✔✔D.) Develop a
mechanism to gather input from a variety of sources.
✔✔A hospital is attempting to engage the board in their quality endeavors. Which is the
best strategy to improve the board's involvement?
A.) Focus only on measures that are tied to reimbursement.
B.) Report all quality measures to the board.
C.) Align the quality measures with the hospital's strategic goals.
D.) Set only goals that can be attained. - ✔✔C.) Align the quality measures with the
hospital's strategic goals.
✔✔Which of the following is required to begin the journey to a culture of safety?
A.) Care should depend on independent, individual performance excellence.
B.) Accountability must be universal and reciprocal, not just top-down.
C.) Care should be provider-centered rather than patient-centered.
D.) RCA teams must look at errors as individual failures. - ✔✔B.) Accountability must be
universal and reciprocal, not just top-down.
✔✔You are meeting with your organization's CFO to review the likely Return on
Investment (ROI) for several possible patient safety initiatives. Based only on the
projected ROI, which project is most likely to receive the CFO's approval?
A.) Implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry to reduce the number of
medication errors with an ROI of 1.0, or 100 percent.
B.) Procurement of new beds with built-in alarms to reduce falls with an ROI of 0.9, or
90 percent.
C.) Implementation of evidence-based guidelines to reduce the rate of catheter-
associated urinary tract infections with an ROI of 3.0, or 300 percent.
D.) Implementation of a sitter program, which has been shown to reduce falls and
improve patient satisfaction with an ROI of 0.5, or 50 percent. - ✔✔C.) Implementation
of evidence-based guidelines to reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract
infections with an ROI of 3.0, or 300 percent.
✔✔The free, uninhibited flow of information that is open to the scrutiny of others is the
definition of:
A.) Quality care
B.) Just Culture
C.) Transparency
D.) High reliability - ✔✔C.) Transparency
✔✔When an adverse event occurs with a patient:
A.) An investigation should commence to determine the staff member at fault.
B.) The event should be openly discussed with the patient, family, and staff.
C.) A root cause analysis should be completed and submitted to the Joint Commission.
