NCTRC Risk Management Protocols 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A recreational therapist discovers a participant has an undisclosed latex allergy before a craft activity using latex balloons. What is the FIRST priority action?
- Remove the participant from the activity area immediately (Correct answer)
- Document the allergy in the participant's chart
- Notify the supervisor about the undisclosed allergy
- Continue the activity while monitoring the participant
Correct answer: Remove the participant from the activity area immediately
Immediate removal from the allergen environment is the first priority to prevent an allergic reaction before any documentation or notification occurs.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes a 'near miss' in recreational therapy risk management?
- An incident that caused minor injury to a participant
- An event that could have caused harm but did not (Correct answer)
- A situation requiring emergency medical response
- A staff error that was caught by a supervisor
Correct answer: An event that could have caused harm but did not
A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury or damage but had the potential to do so.
Question 3: When conducting a community outing with participants who have cognitive impairments, what risk management strategy is MOST important for supervision ratios?
- Use the same ratio as facility-based programming
- Increase supervision ratios based on individual participant needs and community environment (Correct answer)
- Rely on participants to self-monitor their own safety
- Assign one staff member to manage the entire group
Correct answer: Increase supervision ratios based on individual participant needs and community environment
Community outings with cognitively impaired participants require higher supervision ratios due to unfamiliar environments and increased risk factors.
Question 4: A facility's risk management plan should be reviewed and updated at minimum:
- Every five years
- Only after a serious incident occurs
- Annually or when significant changes occur (Correct answer)
- Whenever new staff are hired
Correct answer: Annually or when significant changes occur
Risk management plans should be reviewed at least annually and updated whenever significant organizational, programmatic, or regulatory changes occur.
Question 5: Which documentation practice BEST supports risk management after a participant incident?
- Document only the final outcome of the incident
- Record factual, objective observations using specific behavioral terms (Correct answer)
- Include staff opinions about the cause of the incident
- Wait until the end of the shift to document for accuracy
Correct answer: Record factual, objective observations using specific behavioral terms
Objective, factual documentation using specific behavioral terms provides the most defensible and useful record for risk management purposes.
Question 6: A participant with a history of seizures wants to participate in an aquatics program. The MOST appropriate risk management approach is to:
- Exclude the participant from all aquatic activities
- Obtain physician clearance and implement seizure-specific water safety protocols (Correct answer)
- Allow participation with only verbal monitoring from the pool deck
- Require a family member to be present during all aquatic sessions
Correct answer: Obtain physician clearance and implement seizure-specific water safety protocols
Physician clearance combined with individualized safety protocols allows inclusion while managing the specific risks associated with seizure disorders in aquatic settings.
Question 7: When a recreational therapist identifies a potential safety hazard in the program environment, they should:
- Fix it only if it is within their job description
- Report it through the facility's established hazard reporting system and take immediate corrective action if possible (Correct answer)
- Wait for the maintenance department to identify it independently
- Mention it verbally to a colleague and continue programming
Correct answer: Report it through the facility's established hazard reporting system and take immediate corrective action if possible
Hazards should be reported through formal channels while taking immediate corrective action if within one's capacity to do so safely.
NCTRC Risk Management Protocols 4
A recreational therapist discovers a participant has an undisclosed latex allergy before a craft activity using latex balloons.
What is the FIRST priority action?