MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 51: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 51

6. Elsewhere, the author writes in more detail about public hospitals in Canada. Based on the information in the passage, these hospitals are most likely:

  • A. offering a lower standard of care than private hospitals do.
  • B. unable to afford efficient, time-saving technology.
  • C. under pressure to provide better care without increased resources.
  • D. overly focused on costs rather than patient care.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

C This is a New Information question.

A: No. The author does not compare public and private hospitals.

B: No. Technology is the subject of paragraphs 1 and 2, not paragraph 3 in which the author discusses the state of hospitals and other publicly funded institutions. There is no evidence in the passage that public hospitals are unable to afford any particular type of technology, only that they are under pressure to be cost-effective.

C: Yes. See paragraph 3: "Those who provide our public services are expected to do so efficiently. Physicians and nurses in the hospital where my mother was treated are expected to work efficiently.… They are constantly enjoined to become efficient, to remain efficient, and to improve their efficiency in the safeguarding of the public trust." This answer choice paraphrases the idea that hospitals and their employees are under pressure to be more efficient. We are not told what country the author is writing about in the passage; however, this choice represents a reasonable (compared to the other choices) analogy to draw, even if the author is not discussing Canada in the passage text.

D: No. The author describes the demands placed on public services from the outside. The hospital's own focus is outside the scope of the argument. This choice is also too extreme; the existence of pressure to reduce costs does not necessarily guarantee that costs have taken precedence over patient care within the hospital itself.

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