Epic Skills Assessment Epic Skills Assessment: Verbal Reasoning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A protocol states: 'Notify the charge nurse immediately if a patient's oxygen saturation falls below 90%.' A patient's reading is 91%. What does the protocol require?
- Notify the charge nurse immediately.
- No notification is required under the stated threshold. (Correct answer)
- Document the reading and monitor closely.
- Administer supplemental oxygen without notification.
Correct answer: No notification is required under the stated threshold.
The trigger is below 90%; a reading of 91% does not meet the threshold, so no immediate notification is required by this protocol.
Question 2: Choose the word most similar in meaning to 'succinct':
- Elaborate
- Rambling
- Brief (Correct answer)
- Detailed
Correct answer: Brief
'Succinct' means expressed briefly and clearly, making 'brief' its closest synonym.
Question 3: A paragraph opens: 'Despite widespread adoption, EHR systems have not eliminated medical errors.' The rest of the paragraph will most likely discuss:
- The history of paper-based medical records
- Reasons why EHR systems have failed to reduce errors (Correct answer)
- Benefits of EHR adoption for hospital efficiency
- How to implement a new EHR system
Correct answer: Reasons why EHR systems have failed to reduce errors
The opening sentence sets up a contrast between EHR adoption and persistent errors, signaling the paragraph will explore why errors remain.
Question 4: METICULOUS : CARELESS :: TRANSPARENT : ___
- Honest
- Opaque (Correct answer)
- Clear
- Visible
Correct answer: Opaque
'Meticulous' is the opposite of 'careless'; 'transparent' (clear/open) is the opposite of 'opaque' (obscure/hidden).
Question 5: An internal memo reads: 'Supervisors are encouraged, but not required, to attend the optional leadership seminar.' A supervisor does not attend. Which statement is accurate?
- The supervisor has violated company policy.
- The supervisor's absence is permissible under the memo's language. (Correct answer)
- The supervisor must provide written justification for the absence.
- The memo implies attendance will be tracked for performance reviews.
Correct answer: The supervisor's absence is permissible under the memo's language.
The words 'encouraged, but not required' and 'optional' make clear that non-attendance is acceptable and carries no stated consequence.
Question 6: Which revision best improves clarity? Original: 'The patient, who had been seen by multiple providers, was given instructions that were confusing to him by the discharge nurse.'
- The discharge nurse gave the patient confusing instructions. (Correct answer)
- Instructions were given to the patient by the discharge nurse that confused him after being seen by providers.
- The patient had been confused by instructions given after multiple providers saw him.
- Confusing instructions were given to the patient, who the discharge nurse saw.
Correct answer: The discharge nurse gave the patient confusing instructions.
Option A converts the passive, convoluted structure into a direct subject-verb-object sentence, eliminating ambiguity.
Question 7: A statement reads: 'Most users who received training found the new module intuitive.' Which conclusion is NOT supported by this statement?
- Some trained users found the module intuitive.
- A majority of trained users had a positive experience with the module.
- All users found the new module intuitive after training. (Correct answer)
- Training was provided to at least some users.
Correct answer: All users found the new module intuitive after training.
'Most' does not mean 'all' — concluding that every user found the module intuitive overstates what the statement supports.
Epic Skills Assessment Epic Skills Assessment: Verbal Reasoning 5
A protocol states: 'Notify the charge nurse immediately if a patient's oxygen saturation falls below 90%.' A patient's reading is 91%.
What does the protocol require?