Medication Error Prevention Quiz for Nurses

1. Which of the following is a 'high-alert' medication that requires extra caution to prevent errors?

Acetaminophen

Insulin

Ibuprofen

Vitamin C

2. Which action demonstrates proper use of the 'five rights' to prevent medication errors?

Right patient, right drug, right dose, right time, right route

Right patient, right drug, right dose, right prescriber, right time

Right drug, right time, right route, right cost, right indication

Right patient, right drug, right dose, right indication, right pharmacist

3. Which of the following best describes why double-checking high-risk medications is essential?

It wastes time and slows workflow

It catches errors before they reach the patient and reduces harm

It is only needed for elderly patients

It is required by state law but not best practice

4. Which of the following is an example of a system-based error that can lead to medication mistakes?

Nurse fatigue and distraction

Poor lighting in the medication preparation area

Patient refusal to take medication

Illegible prescriber handwriting

5. A patient is allergic to penicillin. The prescriber orders amoxicillin. What should the nurse do?

Administer the dose as ordered

Hold the medication and contact the prescriber about the allergy

Give a lower dose to reduce risk

Ask the pharmacist if it is safe

6. Which practice is most effective in reducing medication errors during high-stress shifts?

Rushing through medication administration

Using the five rights and performing a final verification before administration

Administering multiple patients' medications together

Skipping the second identifier check

7. A prescriber orders 'morphine 10 mg IV q4h.' Before administering, the nurse should verify which of the following?

The patient's weight only

The patient's respiratory rate, pain level, and recent doses

The patient's age only

The color of the solution only

8. A patient receives lisinopril instead of losartan due to a pharmacy labeling error. The patient takes the wrong medication for two doses. What should the nurse do immediately?

Document the error and continue monitoring

Report to the prescriber, pharmacist, and risk management; assess for adverse effects

Tell the patient not to worry

Replace the medication without reporting

9. Which action best prevents look-alike and sound-alike (LASA) medication errors?

Memorizing drug names

Using tall-man lettering and checking patient allergies

Asking the patient to name the medication

Administering quickly to save time

10. A nurse administers digoxin to a patient with a known history of hypokalemia without checking the serum potassium level. This error represents which type of medication error?

Prescribing error

Transcription error

Administration error

Monitoring error

11. A patient is prescribed 'amoxicillin 500 mg' but the available vial contains 'amoxicillin 250 mg/5 mL.' How many milliliters should be drawn?

2.5 mL

5 mL

10 mL

20 mL

12. A nurse prepares a patient's morning medications and notices the label reads 'metoprolol 50 mg' but the patient's chart shows an order for 'metoprolol 25 mg.' What is the nurse's first action?

Administer the 50 mg dose as labeled

Hold the medication and verify the order with the prescriber

Split the tablet in half and give 25 mg

Ask another nurse which dose is correct

13. True or False: A nurse may use abbreviations such as 'U' for units when documenting medication doses.

True

False

Submit

15. True or False: Verbal orders are preferred over written orders to prevent transcription errors.

True

False

16. True or False: It is acceptable to administer a medication if the patient's name on the medication label matches only the first name on the patient's identification band.

True

False

Submit

18. True or False: A nurse should administer a medication even if the patient reports an unusual side effect from the previous dose.

True

False

Submit

20. True or False: Medication errors should be documented in the patient's chart with clinical details but never reported to risk management.

True

False

Med Error Quiz: Can You Catch the Mistake?

1. Which of the following is a 'high-alert' medication that requires extra caution to prevent errors?

2.

What first name or nickname would you like us to use?

2. Which action demonstrates proper use of the 'five rights' to prevent medication errors?

3. Which of the following best describes why double-checking high-risk medications is essential?

4. Which of the following is an example of a system-based error that can lead to medication mistakes?

5. A patient is allergic to penicillin. The prescriber orders amoxicillin. What should the nurse do?

6. Which practice is most effective in reducing medication errors during high-stress shifts?

7. A prescriber orders 'morphine 10 mg IV q4h.' Before administering, the nurse should verify which of the following?

8. A patient receives lisinopril instead of losartan due to a pharmacy labeling error. The patient takes the wrong medication for two doses. What should the nurse do immediately?

9. Which action best prevents look-alike and sound-alike (LASA) medication errors?

10. A nurse administers digoxin to a patient with a known history of hypokalemia without checking the serum potassium level. This error represents which type of medication error?

11. A patient is prescribed 'amoxicillin 500 mg' but the available vial contains 'amoxicillin 250 mg/5 mL.' How many milliliters should be drawn?

12. A nurse prepares a patient's morning medications and notices the label reads 'metoprolol 50 mg' but the patient's chart shows an order for 'metoprolol 25 mg.' What is the nurse's first action?

13. True or False: A nurse may use abbreviations such as 'U' for units when documenting medication doses.

14. A nurse notices that a patient's warfarin dose was increased without a recent INR result. This represents a potential ____.

15. True or False: Verbal orders are preferred over written orders to prevent transcription errors.

16. True or False: It is acceptable to administer a medication if the patient's name on the medication label matches only the first name on the patient's identification band.

17. A nurse prepares metformin 1000 mg but the order states 1.0 g. These doses are ____.

18. True or False: A nurse should administer a medication even if the patient reports an unusual side effect from the previous dose.

19. A patient is on both an ACE inhibitor and an NSAID. The nurse should monitor for risk of ____ due to this drug interaction.

20. True or False: Medication errors should be documented in the patient's chart with clinical details but never reported to risk management.