Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 95%
Simulated
A nurse manager participates in a quality-improvement committee seeking to reduce the risk of sentinel events in a healthcare facility. When reviewing recently submitted incident reports, which of the following incidents should the nurse identify as a sentinel event?
Correct answer
A
Rationale
The correct answer is A because a sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury. The wrong operation being performed on a patient is a serious error that can lead to significant harm or even death. This incident should be identified as a sentinel event as it meets the criteria for being a critical incident that requires immediate investigation and analysis to prevent future occurrences.
Choices B, C, and D do not qualify as sentinel events because they do not involve serious harm or death to the patient. Choice B resulted in no injury, choice C involves a patient complaint about behavior which is not a critical incident, and choice D shows a nurse taking appropriate action by withholding medication due to suspicion of allergy. These incidents do not meet the threshold of a sentinel event and would not require the same level of investigation and intervention as choice A.
Choices B, C, and D do not qualify as sentinel events because they do not involve serious harm or death to the patient. Choice B resulted in no injury, choice C involves a patient complaint about behavior which is not a critical incident, and choice D shows a nurse taking appropriate action by withholding medication due to suspicion of allergy. These incidents do not meet the threshold of a sentinel event and would not require the same level of investigation and intervention as choice A.