CPPS LATEST 2026 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔10.
As a result of an adverse drug event, a patient required renal dialysis. A patient safety
professional and other leaders are discussing what to disclose to the patient. In addition
to an apology, critical components of disclosure include
A. a commitment to investigate what happened and how future errors will be prevented.
B. who was involved, when it happened, and how often medication errors occur.
C. plans for staff disciplinary action, physician disciplinary action, and a plan for
education.
D. history of pharmacy transcription errors, and the plan to implement an electronic
health record. - ✔✔A. a commitment to investigate what happened and how future
errors will be prevented.
✔✔Results from recent tests were not included in a patient transfer from one facility to
another, resulting in an adverse event. Which of the following is the most common
cause of this type of harm?
A. inadequate information flow
B. inattentional blindness
C. normalized deviance
D. insufficient staffing - ✔✔A. inadequate information flow
✔✔A healthcare organization is introducing a new medication administration barcoding
system. Which of the following is the most significant indicator of successful
implementation?
A. order accuracy for high-risk medications
B. bar code scanning compliance
C. nursing bar coding knowledge
D. bar coding performance goal setting - ✔✔B. bar code scanning compliance
✔✔A manager demonstrates adherence to the principles of a just culture by applying
which of the following types of decision-making frameworks?
A. harm-based
B. outcome-focused
C. equity-focused
D. risk-based - ✔✔D. risk-based
✔✔When interpreting data after a safety event, which of the following is true?
A. Identifying human error results in a deep understanding of the event and its causes.
B. Comparing actions taken to procedures and rules will explain the behaviors during
the event.
C. The outcome of the event has no influence on the interpretation or conclusions.
D. Causes are constructed from the investigation and analysis. - ✔✔D. Causes are
constructed from the investigation and analysis.
,✔✔As a member of an improvement team focused on standardizing surgical protocols,
the patient safety professional recognizes that one concern clinicians may raise is:
A. improved supply chain management.
B. increased amount of waste.
C. depersonalized care.
D. increased length of stay. - ✔✔C. depersonalized care.
✔✔When healthcare providers are involved in an adverse event, it is important to first
A. conduct an objective root cause analysis.
B. offer guidance and emotional support.
C. involve crisis counselors in the investigation.
D. consult providers who experienced a similar event. - ✔✔B. offer guidance and
emotional support.
✔✔Which of the following is an example of a syndrome characterized by emotional
exhaustion and a decrease in personal accomplishments that is directly associated with
employment?
A. burnout
B. grit
C. resilience
D. failure to thrive - ✔✔A. burnout
✔✔When processing an order for diagnostic imaging of a patient's left foot, the nurse
remembered changing the dressing on the right foot. The nurse called the provider to
confirm the laterality, and the order was corrected. Which critical feature of the culture of
safety did the nurse practice?
A. measurement of patient safety
B. ensuring all orders are carried out
C. awareness of health education
D. detection of a near miss - ✔✔D. detection of a near miss
✔✔Which of the following is an example of a high reliability principle?
A. individual accountability
B. sensitivity to operations
C. executive patient safety rounds
D. adoption of cutting edge technology - ✔✔B. sensitivity to operations
✔✔Despite pre-procedure screening for scheduled MRIs, patients with implanted
devices presented for scheduled MRI procedures. Technicians identified the hazards
and prevented patients from entering the suite. The most effective action for the patient
safety professional is to recommend
A. using track and trend reports for repeat occurrences.
B. suspending provider MRI ordering privileges for repetitive noncompliance.
C. requiring providers and staff to complete a safety training program.
,D. collaborating with providers and staff to strengthen the screening process. - ✔✔D.
collaborating with providers and staff to strengthen the screening process.
✔✔Which of the following statements about root cause analysis (RCA) is accurate?
A. The goal of performing an RCA is to find the one underlying root cause.
B. RCAs are not subject to outcome or hindsight biases.
C. RCAs may be subject to political highjack, resulting in poor risk controls.
D. RCAs are as effective in healthcare as they are in other high-risk industries. - ✔✔C.
RCAs may be subject to political highjack, resulting in poor risk controls.
✔✔Which of the following is accurate when a patient has back-to-back procedures, and
the person performing each procedure changes?
A. No staff changes may occur between procedures.
B. One time-out at the beginning of the first surgery is sufficient for each procedure.
C. Another time-out needs to be performed before starting each procedure.
D. No additional sponge count is needed between surgeries. - ✔✔C. Another time-out
needs to be performed before starting each procedure.
✔✔Which of the following is most useful in illustrating inefficiency and waste in a
process?
A. fishbone diagram
B. control chart
C. spaghetti chart
D. Pareto diagram - ✔✔C. spaghetti chart
✔✔Measurement of hospital-acquired pressure injuries would be an example of
A. an outcome measure.
B. a process measure.
C. a balance measure.
D. an evidence-based measure. - ✔✔A. an outcome measure.
✔✔What type of organization recognizes and respects that information can come from
any source within the organization and that each reporter has a valuable perspective?
A. highly reliable
B. diverse
C. patient-centered
D. interdisciplinary - ✔✔A. highly reliable
✔✔From a human factors engineering perspective, which of the following should
beknown about identifying and eliminating diagnostic errors?
A. Diagnostic errors are the result of cognitive biases and failures by clinicians.
B. Partnership with scientists in cognition, perception, and decision making is needed.
C. An effective strategy to reduce diagnostic errors is the use of checklists.
, D. Attribution of diagnostic errors is not subject to either hindsight or outcome biases. -
✔✔B. Partnership with scientists in cognition, perception, and decision making is
needed.
✔✔Which of the following would best demonstrate non-random process variation over
time?
A. histogram
B. control chart
C. run chart
D. pie chart - ✔✔B. control chart
✔✔A patient safety professional is leading a process improvement team to enhance
communication hand-offs between hospital units. Which of the following is the best
question to ask at the first team meeting?
A. "What process change should be the focus?"
B. "When should direct observations begin?"
C. "What are we trying to accomplish?"
D. "When should we spread best practices?" - ✔✔C. "What are we trying to
accomplish?"
✔✔Which of the following is most important in building a culture of safety?
A. measuring safety outcomes
B. addressing burnout
C. establishing shared values
D. utilizing electronic health records - ✔✔C. establishing shared values
✔✔A practitioner reads a groundbreaking study on a condition seen frequently in their
practice. Coincidentally, the next patient that the practitioner sees has symptoms
commonly seen with that condition. Which of the following biases or heuristics best
describes this phenomena?
A. anchoring
B. availability
C. premature closure
D. risk aversion - ✔✔B. availability
✔✔While investigating a near miss medication event, a manager identifies a pattern of
work arounds by a clinician that violates policies and procedures. To determine
accountability, the manager's next step should be to
A. conduct a focus group with work area staff.
B. perform a substitution test.
C. escalate the workarounds to leadership.
D. amend procedures to support the workarounds. - ✔✔B. perform a substitution test.
✔✔A physician is planning to discharge a patient. The nurse knew that the patient
needed additional equipment at home. Together they reached out to the social worker
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔10.
As a result of an adverse drug event, a patient required renal dialysis. A patient safety
professional and other leaders are discussing what to disclose to the patient. In addition
to an apology, critical components of disclosure include
A. a commitment to investigate what happened and how future errors will be prevented.
B. who was involved, when it happened, and how often medication errors occur.
C. plans for staff disciplinary action, physician disciplinary action, and a plan for
education.
D. history of pharmacy transcription errors, and the plan to implement an electronic
health record. - ✔✔A. a commitment to investigate what happened and how future
errors will be prevented.
✔✔Results from recent tests were not included in a patient transfer from one facility to
another, resulting in an adverse event. Which of the following is the most common
cause of this type of harm?
A. inadequate information flow
B. inattentional blindness
C. normalized deviance
D. insufficient staffing - ✔✔A. inadequate information flow
✔✔A healthcare organization is introducing a new medication administration barcoding
system. Which of the following is the most significant indicator of successful
implementation?
A. order accuracy for high-risk medications
B. bar code scanning compliance
C. nursing bar coding knowledge
D. bar coding performance goal setting - ✔✔B. bar code scanning compliance
✔✔A manager demonstrates adherence to the principles of a just culture by applying
which of the following types of decision-making frameworks?
A. harm-based
B. outcome-focused
C. equity-focused
D. risk-based - ✔✔D. risk-based
✔✔When interpreting data after a safety event, which of the following is true?
A. Identifying human error results in a deep understanding of the event and its causes.
B. Comparing actions taken to procedures and rules will explain the behaviors during
the event.
C. The outcome of the event has no influence on the interpretation or conclusions.
D. Causes are constructed from the investigation and analysis. - ✔✔D. Causes are
constructed from the investigation and analysis.
,✔✔As a member of an improvement team focused on standardizing surgical protocols,
the patient safety professional recognizes that one concern clinicians may raise is:
A. improved supply chain management.
B. increased amount of waste.
C. depersonalized care.
D. increased length of stay. - ✔✔C. depersonalized care.
✔✔When healthcare providers are involved in an adverse event, it is important to first
A. conduct an objective root cause analysis.
B. offer guidance and emotional support.
C. involve crisis counselors in the investigation.
D. consult providers who experienced a similar event. - ✔✔B. offer guidance and
emotional support.
✔✔Which of the following is an example of a syndrome characterized by emotional
exhaustion and a decrease in personal accomplishments that is directly associated with
employment?
A. burnout
B. grit
C. resilience
D. failure to thrive - ✔✔A. burnout
✔✔When processing an order for diagnostic imaging of a patient's left foot, the nurse
remembered changing the dressing on the right foot. The nurse called the provider to
confirm the laterality, and the order was corrected. Which critical feature of the culture of
safety did the nurse practice?
A. measurement of patient safety
B. ensuring all orders are carried out
C. awareness of health education
D. detection of a near miss - ✔✔D. detection of a near miss
✔✔Which of the following is an example of a high reliability principle?
A. individual accountability
B. sensitivity to operations
C. executive patient safety rounds
D. adoption of cutting edge technology - ✔✔B. sensitivity to operations
✔✔Despite pre-procedure screening for scheduled MRIs, patients with implanted
devices presented for scheduled MRI procedures. Technicians identified the hazards
and prevented patients from entering the suite. The most effective action for the patient
safety professional is to recommend
A. using track and trend reports for repeat occurrences.
B. suspending provider MRI ordering privileges for repetitive noncompliance.
C. requiring providers and staff to complete a safety training program.
,D. collaborating with providers and staff to strengthen the screening process. - ✔✔D.
collaborating with providers and staff to strengthen the screening process.
✔✔Which of the following statements about root cause analysis (RCA) is accurate?
A. The goal of performing an RCA is to find the one underlying root cause.
B. RCAs are not subject to outcome or hindsight biases.
C. RCAs may be subject to political highjack, resulting in poor risk controls.
D. RCAs are as effective in healthcare as they are in other high-risk industries. - ✔✔C.
RCAs may be subject to political highjack, resulting in poor risk controls.
✔✔Which of the following is accurate when a patient has back-to-back procedures, and
the person performing each procedure changes?
A. No staff changes may occur between procedures.
B. One time-out at the beginning of the first surgery is sufficient for each procedure.
C. Another time-out needs to be performed before starting each procedure.
D. No additional sponge count is needed between surgeries. - ✔✔C. Another time-out
needs to be performed before starting each procedure.
✔✔Which of the following is most useful in illustrating inefficiency and waste in a
process?
A. fishbone diagram
B. control chart
C. spaghetti chart
D. Pareto diagram - ✔✔C. spaghetti chart
✔✔Measurement of hospital-acquired pressure injuries would be an example of
A. an outcome measure.
B. a process measure.
C. a balance measure.
D. an evidence-based measure. - ✔✔A. an outcome measure.
✔✔What type of organization recognizes and respects that information can come from
any source within the organization and that each reporter has a valuable perspective?
A. highly reliable
B. diverse
C. patient-centered
D. interdisciplinary - ✔✔A. highly reliable
✔✔From a human factors engineering perspective, which of the following should
beknown about identifying and eliminating diagnostic errors?
A. Diagnostic errors are the result of cognitive biases and failures by clinicians.
B. Partnership with scientists in cognition, perception, and decision making is needed.
C. An effective strategy to reduce diagnostic errors is the use of checklists.
, D. Attribution of diagnostic errors is not subject to either hindsight or outcome biases. -
✔✔B. Partnership with scientists in cognition, perception, and decision making is
needed.
✔✔Which of the following would best demonstrate non-random process variation over
time?
A. histogram
B. control chart
C. run chart
D. pie chart - ✔✔B. control chart
✔✔A patient safety professional is leading a process improvement team to enhance
communication hand-offs between hospital units. Which of the following is the best
question to ask at the first team meeting?
A. "What process change should be the focus?"
B. "When should direct observations begin?"
C. "What are we trying to accomplish?"
D. "When should we spread best practices?" - ✔✔C. "What are we trying to
accomplish?"
✔✔Which of the following is most important in building a culture of safety?
A. measuring safety outcomes
B. addressing burnout
C. establishing shared values
D. utilizing electronic health records - ✔✔C. establishing shared values
✔✔A practitioner reads a groundbreaking study on a condition seen frequently in their
practice. Coincidentally, the next patient that the practitioner sees has symptoms
commonly seen with that condition. Which of the following biases or heuristics best
describes this phenomena?
A. anchoring
B. availability
C. premature closure
D. risk aversion - ✔✔B. availability
✔✔While investigating a near miss medication event, a manager identifies a pattern of
work arounds by a clinician that violates policies and procedures. To determine
accountability, the manager's next step should be to
A. conduct a focus group with work area staff.
B. perform a substitution test.
C. escalate the workarounds to leadership.
D. amend procedures to support the workarounds. - ✔✔B. perform a substitution test.
✔✔A physician is planning to discharge a patient. The nurse knew that the patient
needed additional equipment at home. Together they reached out to the social worker
