Professional Practice and Safety Questions and Answers Flashcards
6 cards from real MLPAO practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Professional Practice and Safety Questions and Answers flashcards as text
What is the purpose of the 'two-patient identifier' rule in medical laboratory practice in Ontario?
Answer: To prevent errors by confirming the correct patient identity before specimen collection or result reporting
The two-identifier rule prevents specimen and result misidentification by requiring confirmation of at least two unique patient identifiers (e.g., name and date of birth) at every critical step in the pre-analytical and post-analytical process.
When a medical laboratory technologist refuses to perform a test that they believe may cause patient harm, which professional right is being exercised?
Answer: Right of conscientious objection or professional refusal
MLTs have a professional right to refuse to perform a test or procedure they have legitimate concern may cause patient harm, provided they report the concern through appropriate channels and do not abandon the patient.
Under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), what is the employer's obligation regarding laboratory workers exposed to biological hazards?
Answer: Inform workers of hazards, provide appropriate PPE, and implement engineering controls to minimize risk
Under OHSA, employers must inform workers of workplace hazards, provide appropriate PPE, and implement engineering and administrative controls to protect workers from biological hazards.
What does 'peer review' mean in the context of laboratory quality assurance?
Answer: Systematic comparison of laboratory practices, results, or interpretations against those of peers to identify areas for improvement
Peer review in laboratory quality assurance involves systematic comparison of laboratory performance (results, interpretations, practices) against recognized standards or peer institutions to identify discrepancies and improvement opportunities.
What is the appropriate response when a laboratory receives a telephone request to release patient results to someone claiming to be the patient's physician?
Answer: Verify the caller's identity using established laboratory protocols before releasing information
Before releasing patient health information by telephone, the laboratory must verify the caller's identity using established protocols such as call-back procedures or registered access codes.
A laboratory quality improvement initiative identifies that 15% of urine cultures are being collected using an incorrect collection method, leading to a high contamination rate. Which step of the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle would involve implementing staff education and procedure updates to address this?
Answer: Do
The 'Do' phase of PDSA involves implementing the planned changes — in this case, executing the staff education sessions and distributing updated collection procedures.