Medical Errors

Self-Study Examination

Instructions: After studying the text answer the following true/false or multiple choice questions.  Remember, there's only one answer to each question.

1. Which of the following is a leading cause of deaths in this country?

a) motor vehicle accidents
b) breast cancer
c) medical errors
d) AIDS

2. What percent of Americans are “very concerned” about medical errors?

a) more than 50 percent
b) less than 50 percent

3. The source of most medical errors can be traced to

a) systems.
b) individual negligence or misconduct.

4. If possible, you should choose a hospital at which many patients have the procedure or surgery done that you need.

a) True
b) False

5. Research shows that at discharge time doctors think their patients understand _____ than they really do about what they should or should not do when they return home.

a) less
b) more

6. What is the most frequent medication error?

a) wrong medicine
b) patient error
c) wrong route of administration
d) overdosing

7. One effective way to prevent medication errors says that reliance on vigilance should be _____.

a) increased
b) decreased

8. Which of the following is not an example of “constraints” and “forcing functions”?

a) program computers not to process orders unless key information has been entered
b) dispense epidural medications only in unique spiral syringes
c) use automatic dose reduction for the elderly
d) repackage drugs to eliminate look-alikes

9. Patient is usually a(n) _____ partner in medication error prevention.

a) active
b) passive

10. What approach works best in preventing medication errors?

a) punitive
b) nonpunitive

11. Which of the following has been identified as a source of most frequent medical errors in an organization?

a) medication errors
b) surgical errors
c) diagnostic inaccuracies
d) system failures

12. Root cause analysis is generally employed to uncover _____ errors underlying a sentinel event.

a) active
b) latent

13. How would you classify root cause analysis method of preventing medical errors?

a) quantitative
b) qualitative

14. Which of the following was most responsible for reported medical errors in a root cause analysis study?

a) organizational failures
b) technical failures
c) human failures

15. Adults typically need between 6 and 10 hours of sleep per 24-hour period.

a) True
b) False

16. When adults get less than _____ hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, peak mental abilities begin to decline.

a) 10
b) 8
c) 6
d) 5

17. Which of the following is affected in the worst way by sleep deprivation?

a) motor function
b) cognitive function
c) mood

18. What is the maximum number of hours a medical resident is allowed to work per week, according to regulations in the state of New York?

a) 40
b) 65
c) 80
d) 95

19. Sleep deprivation and fatigue have been shown to have a more consistent adverse impact on _____.

a) cognitive function
b) psychomotor performance

20. One study involving several thousand surgical cases found that the risk of postoperative complications among patients undergoing surgery dramatically increased when the surgical resident was sleep deprived.

a) True
b) False

21. Better care may be provided by a tired physician who is familiar with the patient than by a rested physician who is less familiar with the patient.

a) True
b) False

22. The direction of shift rotation may impact worker fatigue. According to at least one study, which of the following was likely to lead to less fatigue on the job?

a) forward rotation of shift work (morning shifts followed by evening shifts followed by night shifts)
b) backward rotation of shifts (day shifts to night shifts to evening shifts)

23. The use of oral melatonin supplementation by medical shift workers has been found to have beneficial effects on circadian rhythm and adaptation to night shift.

a) True
b) False

24. Read the Tarasoff case and select the factually correct statement from below:

a) During therapy sessions Poddar made threats to kill himself.
b) Poddar’s threats were vague, uncertain and were not directed toward an identifiable individual.
c) The psychologist informed the parents of Tatiana about the threats from Poddar, but the girl herself was not notified.
d) Two months later Poddar killed Tatiana Tarasoff.