Nursing Professional Development Certification (NPD-BC) Practice Exam

Which analysis method aims to identify and correct failures in a process before implementation?

1. Five whys

2. Root cause analysis

3. Failure mode and effects analysis

4. Fault tree analysis

The correct answer is: Failure mode and effects analysis

The method that aims to identify and correct failures in a process before implementation is Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This proactive approach is designed to evaluate potential failure modes within a process and assess their effects on the outcome. By identifying these potential failures before they can occur, teams can prioritize them based on their severity, occurrence, and detection, allowing for corrective actions to be taken proactively. FMEA is widely used in various industries, including healthcare, to enhance patient safety and improve processes by preventing issues before they happen, rather than reacting to them after they occur. This systematic evaluation ensures that measures are in place to reduce the likelihood of failures and their impact, thereby enhancing the overall quality of the process. The other methods mentioned serve different purposes: Five Whys focuses on uncovering the root causes of a problem by asking "why" multiple times; Root Cause Analysis investigates the underlying reasons for an existing issue; and Fault Tree Analysis is a deductive analysis that seeks to trace a pathway back from an undesirable event to its root causes. While all these methods are valuable for different aspects of quality improvement and evaluation, FMEA specifically targets proactive identification and mitigation of potential process failures prior to implementation.