Epic Skills Assessment Verbal Reasoning Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: EPHEMERAL most nearly means ____.
- Permanent
- Lasting only a short time (Correct answer)
- Substantial
- Repetitive
Correct answer: Lasting only a short time
Ephemeral means lasting for a very short time; transitory. Opposite of permanent.
EPHEMERAL (from Greek 'ephemeros' = lasting a day) describes something short-lived or transitory. In healthcare IT: 'ephemeral data' refers to temporary records not intended for long-term storage, like session logs. Recognizing vocabulary from Greek/Latin roots is tested in Epic's verbal reasoning section as it reflects reading comprehension ability for medical and technical literature.
Question 2: Identify the logical flaw: 'Our hospital adopted Epic 2 years ago. Patient satisfaction scores increased by 10%. Therefore, Epic caused the improvement.'
- The sample size is too small
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc — assuming causation from temporal sequence (Correct answer)
- The improvement is too small to matter
- Epic is unrelated to satisfaction
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc — assuming causation from temporal sequence
Post hoc reasoning assumes that because B followed A, A caused B. Other factors (staff changes, renovations, service improvements) could explain the satisfaction increase.
'Post hoc ergo propter hoc' (after this, therefore because of this) is a common logical fallacy. Epic adoption and satisfaction improvement co-occurred, but correlation ≠causation. Many simultaneous organizational changes could explain the improvement. Valid causal attribution requires controlled comparison, time-series analysis, or elimination of confounders — skills tested in Epic's analytical and verbal reasoning sections.
Question 3: Select the sentence that is grammatically correct and logically clear:
- The doctor ordered labs, which the nurse administered the medication and results came back normal.
- After reviewing the labs, the doctor ordered the medication, and results confirmed it was appropriate. (Correct answer)
- The lab results, the medication was ordered by the doctor after.
- Results normal were when the doctor the medication ordered.
Correct answer: After reviewing the labs, the doctor ordered the medication, and results confirmed it was appropriate.
Option B presents a clear, grammatically correct sentence with logical sequence: labs reviewed → medication ordered → results confirmed appropriateness.
Option B uses proper sentence structure: after reviewing labs (dependent clause) → doctor ordered medication (main clause) → results confirmed (independent clause). Options A, C, and D have structural errors: A has a dangling 'which' clause, C and D have inverted/fragmented syntax. Clear sentence structure is critical in clinical documentation to prevent misinterpretation of care instructions.
Question 4: AMBIGUOUS most nearly means ____.
- Clear and precise
- Able to be understood in more than one way (Correct answer)
- Incorrect or false
- Overly complicated
Correct answer: Able to be understood in more than one way
Ambiguous means open to more than one interpretation; unclear or inexact.
AMBIGUOUS describes something that can be interpreted multiple ways, often causing confusion. In clinical documentation: an ambiguous medication order (e.g., 'give medication as needed' without specifying dose or frequency) creates patient safety risk. Epic's structured order entry templates reduce ambiguity by requiring specific fields. Vocabulary precision is directly applicable to clinical communication.
Question 5: Which transition word best completes: 'The patient had no previous cardiac history. ___, the EKG showed significant abnormalities.'
- Therefore
- Similarly
- Nevertheless (Correct answer)
- Consequently
Correct answer: Nevertheless
'Nevertheless' (or 'however') signals a contrast — the second statement is surprising or contrary to what the first statement might lead you to expect.
Transition words signal relationships between ideas. 'Therefore' and 'consequently' signal cause-effect. 'Similarly' signals comparison. 'Nevertheless' signals contrast or concession — ideal here because the EKG finding is unexpected given no cardiac history. Using correct transitions in clinical notes ensures that readers correctly understand the relationship between findings.
Question 6: Reading comprehension: A passage states: 'Epic's BestPractice Advisories (BPAs) are designed to improve care quality, but over-alerting can cause providers to dismiss all alerts — even critical ones.' What is the author's main concern?
- Epic BPAs are unnecessary
- Too many alerts can cause alert fatigue, undermining the safety goal of BPAs (Correct answer)
- BPAs should only appear for critical conditions
- Alert dismissal is not a problem in practice
Correct answer: Too many alerts can cause alert fatigue, undermining the safety goal of BPAs
The author acknowledges BPAs' value but warns that over-alerting creates fatigue that defeats the safety purpose of the alerts.
The passage presents a paradox: tools designed to improve safety can undermine it through overuse. Alert fatigue — where providers dismiss alerts reflexively due to volume — is a well-documented clinical safety concern. Studies show that over 90% of BPA overrides occur without reading the alert text. The author's concern is that quantity of alerts reduces the effectiveness of each individual alert.
Epic Skills Assessment Verbal Reasoning Questions and Answers 2
EPHEMERAL most nearly means ____.