Gardner: Mental Status Exam Flashcards
What components are included when observing a patient’s speech?
rate: regular, increased, decreased
rhythm: articulation, prosody, monotone, slurred
volume
What are some things that you will observe about a patient during a mental status exam?
appearance
eye contact
motor activity/gait
affect (emotional state)
What is akathesia?
inability to stop moving the feet
Normal mood is also called (blank)
euthymic
What are four components of affect that you will observe during a mental status exam?
type: euthymic, dysphoric, euphoric, anxious
range: full, restricted, flat, labile
congruency: does what they’re saying match their mood
stability: stable vs labile (fluctuating)
How do you assess the patient’s “mood?”
use the patient’s report
When assessing perception, you are aiming to understand how the patient is perceiving their world. Give some examples of perceptions…
preoccupations
illusions
ideas of reference
hallucinations
When assessing thought content, what are things you look for?
suicidal ideation: active, passive, plan, intent
homicidal ideation
delusions: grandiose, paranoid, religious
Thought process is how are they thinking/connecting their thoughts. How might you describe a normal thought process? How night you desribe an abnormal thought process?
tight, linear and logical, coherent, goal oriented;
loose, flight of ideas, word salad, thought blocking
Some examples of abnormal behavior
guarded hyperactive irritable aggressive hostile vague
Awareness of one’s own illness or situation
insight
The ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s behavior and make decisions to safeguard his/her well being and that of others
judgement
How do you assess the patient’s memory and attention?
during the interview
List the components of the mental status exam
Appearance Behavior Speech Mood Affect Thought process Thought content Cognition Insight/Judgment
Useful for documenting serial COGNITIVE changes
Mini mental status exam
