SCFHS Health Administration exam questions

The Health Administration exam in every GCC country

From each regulator's own exam pages; anything a regulator does not publish says so. Assessment mode also depends on your licence title, so confirm your route on your eligibility notice.

12 worked Health Administration practice questions

Original exam-style questions from the bank, spread across the blueprint domains. They are not real or recalled exam questions. Try each one, then open the answer for the rationale and reference. None of them appear in the free mock exam, so reading them will not spoil it.

1. Question 1 · Communication and Relationship Management

   Before negotiating a supplier contract, the hospital identifies its best alternative to a negotiated agreement. What does this give the hospital?

   1. AA walk-away point against which any offer can be judged
   2. BA guarantee that the supplier will accept the price
   3. CA way to avoid discussing the price
   4. DA reason to make the first offer very high
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. A walk-away point against which any offer can be judged

   Knowing the best alternative sets a limit below which the hospital should not agree, which improves bargaining power. It does not guarantee agreement or replace discussion.

   Reference: Fisher, Ury & Patton, Getting to Yes, 3rd ed. (2011)

2. Question 2 · Finance

   The salary of the hospital's general manager is divided among clinical departments by floor area. How is this cost classified?

   1. AA direct cost of each department
   2. BA variable cost of each patient
   3. CAn indirect cost allocated to departments
   4. DA capital cost
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. An indirect cost allocated to departments

   Costs that cannot be traced to one department and are shared by allocation are indirect. Direct costs are traced to a department, variable costs change with volume, and capital costs buy long-lived assets.

   Reference: Gapenski, Healthcare Finance: An Introduction to Accounting and Financial Management, 7th ed. (2019)

3. Question 3 · General Management

   Which function of management compares actual performance with standards and corrects deviations?

   1. APlanning
   2. BOrganising
   3. CLeading
   4. DControlling
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. Controlling

   Controlling monitors performance and takes corrective action. Planning sets goals, organising arranges resources, and leading directs and motivates people.

   Reference: Robbins & Coulter, Management, 14th ed. (2018)

4. Question 4 · General Management

   A manager delegates the task of reviewing infection data to a supervisor. Which element of the delegation stays with the manager?

   1. AResponsibility for doing the task
   2. BUltimate accountability for the outcome
   3. CAuthority needed to complete the task
   4. DThe technical steps of the task
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Ultimate accountability for the outcome

   Responsibility and authority can be delegated, but the manager remains accountable for results. The other options are passed on with the task.

   Reference: Robbins & Coulter, Management, 14th ed. (2018)

5. Question 5 · General Management

   A project has task A of 2 days, then tasks B (6 days) and C (3 days) in parallel, and then task D (4 days) that needs both B and C. What is the minimum project duration?

   1. A15 days
   2. B9 days
   3. C12 days
   4. D11 days
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. 12 days

   The critical path is the longest path, A, B, D, which is 2 plus 6 plus 4, giving 12 days. Adding all tasks gives 15, which ignores parallel work, and the others are not valid paths.

   Reference: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 6th ed. (2017), critical path method

6. Question 6 · Human Resources

   A ward needs 3 nurses on duty in each of 3 shifts, every day of the week. Each nurse works 5 shifts per week. Ignoring leave, how many full-time equivalent nurses are required?

   1. A9
   2. B11.4
   3. C15.75
   4. D12.6
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. 12.6

   There are 3 nurses times 3 shifts times 7 days, which is 63 shifts a week. Dividing by 5 shifts per nurse gives 12.6. Nine ignores the weekly coverage, 11.4 and 15.75 come from wrong shift counts.

   Reference: Buchbinder & Shanks, Introduction to Health Care Management, 3rd ed. (2016)

7. Question 7 · Finance

   A hospital compares two screening programmes by the cost for each life-year gained. Which type of economic evaluation is this?

   1. ACost-effectiveness analysis, which uses natural units
   2. BCost-benefit analysis, which values outcomes in money
   3. CBreak-even analysis, which finds the volume that covers costs
   4. DVariance analysis, which compares budget with actual spending
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Cost-effectiveness analysis, which uses natural units

   Cost-effectiveness analysis expresses results in natural units, such as cost per life-year gained. Cost-benefit analysis converts outcomes into money, break-even finds the volume that covers costs, and variance analysis compares budget with actual.

   Reference: Drummond et al., Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes, 4th ed., 2015

8. Question 8 · Finance

   A hospital has 12 million in accounts receivable and its average net patient revenue is 400,000 per day. What are the days in accounts receivable?

   1. A3 days
   2. B48 days
   3. C12 days
   4. D30 days
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. 30 days

   Days in accounts receivable equal receivables divided by average daily revenue: 12,000,000 / 400,000 = 30 days. The other values come from dividing or scaling the numbers wrongly.

   Reference: Gapenski and Pink, Understanding Healthcare Financial Management, 7th ed., 2015

9. Question 9 · General Management

   A hospital can choose option A, which has a 60% chance of saving 100,000 and a 40% chance of saving nothing, or option B, which saves 50,000 for certain. Which choice has the higher expected value, and by how much?

   1. AOption A, by 10,000
   2. BOption B, by 10,000
   3. COption A, by 50,000
   4. DThey are equal at 50,000
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Option A, by 10,000

   Expected value of A = 0.6 x 100,000 = 60,000, which is 10,000 above the certain 50,000. B does not exceed A, 50,000 is the gap only if A were 100,000, and the two are not equal.

   Reference: Gapenski and Pink, Understanding Healthcare Financial Management, 7th ed., 2015

10. Question 10 · General Management

    A hospital pharmacy ranks stock items by annual consumption value in an ABC analysis. How should the Class A items be managed?

    1. AWith loose control and bulk ordering, as they are low in value
    2. BWith an annual review, as they are the largest group in the store
    3. CWith one routine for the whole stock, to keep things simple
    4. DTight control with frequent review, as they hold most of the value
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D. Tight control with frequent review, as they hold most of the value

    Class A holds the few items that make up most of the spend, so tighter control gives the biggest saving. Class C items, which are many but low in value, need the least control. Uniform routines or rare review ignore this difference.

    Reference: Gapenski and Pink, Understanding Healthcare Financial Management, 7th ed., 2015

11. Question 11 · Quality Management

    The daily count of medication errors on a control chart is plotted, and one point falls above the upper control limit. How should this be treated?

    1. AAs a possible special cause that needs investigation
    2. BAs normal variation that can be left alone
    3. CAs proof that the control limits were drawn wrongly by the analyst
    4. DAs a reason to widen the limits
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. As a possible special cause that needs investigation

    A point outside the limits suggests something unusual has happened, so it should be investigated. Normal common-cause variation stays within the limits, and limits are not widened to hide signals.

    Reference: Montgomery, Introduction to Statistical Quality Control, 8th ed., 2019

12. Question 12 · Quality Management

    A hospital wants to look at a new chemotherapy process before launch and rank the possible failures by severity, how often they occur and how easily they are detected. Which tool fits?

    1. ARoot cause analysis done after an event has occurred
    2. BA patient satisfaction survey
    3. CA Gantt chart of the project tasks
    4. DFailure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: D. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)

    FMEA is a proactive method that scores each failure mode and gives a risk priority to rank them. Root cause analysis looks back at events, surveys measure experience, and Gantt charts schedule tasks.

    Reference: Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis tool, 2004

Health Administration reference books and guidelines

Every question in this bank names the textbook or guideline its answer rests on. These are the sources our Health Administration questions cite most often - the reading list to revise from alongside the bank.

Where your regulator publishes a reading list, use the editions it names. Exam questions are not taken from any one book.