🏥 USMLE Exam Prep

Sentinel events in healthcare are defined as:

A Common errors
B Unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury not related to natural disease course
C Minor incidents
D Scheduling errors

✓ Correct Answer: Option B

Sentinel event (TJC): unexpected event involving death, permanent harm, or severe temporary harm. Requires root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective action plan. Examples: wrong-site surgery, suicide in care.

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