Patient Safety Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real CPHQ practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Safety Principles flashcards as text
Which safety culture concept describes the degree to which staff feel safe reporting errors without fear of punishment?
Answer: Non-punitive reporting environment
A non-punitive reporting environment specifically refers to staff confidence that reporting errors will not result in retaliation or punishment.
A nurse administers the wrong dose because a pharmacist misread a handwritten order. Which error type best describes the pharmacist's action?
Answer: Mistake
A mistake is a knowledge- or rule-based error where the intended action is wrong, as in misinterpreting an order.
The 'iceberg model' of safety events suggests that for every serious patient harm event there are many more:
Answer: Near misses and unsafe conditions
The iceberg model illustrates that serious harms are the visible tip, while near misses and unsafe conditions are the much larger hidden base.
Which human factors principle reduces reliance on memory to prevent medication errors?
Answer: Cognitive aids and checklists
Cognitive aids and checklists reduce memory dependency by providing step-by-step prompts during complex or high-risk tasks.
During a sentinel event analysis, the team identifies that the call-back policy for critical lab values was unclear. This is best categorized as a:
Answer: Latent failure
Latent failures are systemic, organizational weaknesses—such as unclear policies—that remain dormant until combined with other factors to cause harm.
Which metric is MOST useful for identifying harm trends over time in an inpatient setting?
Answer: Global Trigger Tool (GTT) harm rate
The IHI Global Trigger Tool measures the rate of adverse events per 1,000 patient days and is validated for tracking inpatient harm trends.
A patient falls while ambulating because the bed alarm was silenced by staff. Which contributing factor does this most represent?
Answer: Workaround behavior
Silencing alarms inappropriately is a workaround—a deviation from standard procedure that bypasses a safety control.