NCLEX® LPN Question of the Day: Incident report

In This Article

Today’s NCLEX® LPN question of the day focuses on who is responsible for creating incident reports. Do you know the answer? Let’s find out!

Following a patient fall on the medical-surgical unit, a student nurse asks the nurse who should complete the incident report. Which is the best response by the nurse?

A. “Only the healthcare provider can complete the event report.”

B. “The charge nurse must complete every event report for the unit.”

C. “I will fill out the incident report since I witnessed the fall.”

D. “The risk manager completes the initial report after reviewing the patient’s medical record.”

Scroll down for the correct answer!

The correct answer to today’s NCLEX LPN® Question is…

C. “I will fill out the incident report since I witnessed the fall.”

Rationale: The nurse involved in the incident should file the incident report. Patient safety event reports are commonly initiated by frontline personnel who witnessed, discovered, or were directly involved in the event because they can provide an accurate firsthand account.

Main Takeaway

The team member with firsthand knowledge of the event initiates the report according to organizational policy. This person may be the individual who witnessed the event, discovered it, or was directly involved.

Incorrect Answer Explanations

A. “Only the healthcare provider can complete the event report.”

Rationale: The healthcare provider is not typically responsible for completing the incident report unless they directly witnessed or were involved in the event.

B. “The charge nurse must complete every event report for the unit.”

Rationale: Although the charge nurse may assist with the reporting process, the charge nurse is not responsible for completing the incident report.

D. “The risk manager completes the initial report after reviewing the patient’s medical record.”

Rationale: Risk-management and patient-safety personnel generally review submitted reports, investigate contributing factors, identify trends, and help develop corrective actions. However, it is not the risk manager’s responsibility to file the incident report.