Define near miss and list two examples of near-miss reporting triggers.

• A. A near miss is an event that could have caused harm but did not; examples include equipment failure that did not harm, near-error in documentation.
• B. A near miss is any minor incident that caused harm.
• C. A near miss is a completed maintenance task with no issues.
• D. A near miss is a routine patient check with no findings.

Answer: (C)

A near miss is an event that could have caused harm but did not, meaning the potential harm was averted before reaching the patient or outcome. Reporting triggers are things you observe that signal a safety risk and should be reported so the underlying system can be improved. Two common near-miss reporting triggers are equipment failure that did not cause harm, and a near-error in documentation where an error almost occurred but was caught in time. The other options describe events that actually caused harm or are routine, so they don’t fit the idea of a near miss.