Mental Status Exam Flashcards
1
Q
MSE Components
A
- General
- Behavior
- Motor
- Mood
- Affect
- Thought Process
- Thought Content
- Associations
- Speech
- Language
- Cognition
- Fund of Knowledge
- Memory
- Orientation
- Concentration
- Insight
- Judgment
2
Q
General
A
- General appearance
- Grooming
- Dress - casual, scrubs, gowned, disheveled
- Eye contact
Scrubs = possible safety risk or flight risk
3
Q
Behavior
A
Level of cooperation
(Cooperative, superficially cooperative, uncooperative)
4
Q
Motor
A
- Movements (increased/decreased)
- Agitation
5
Q
Mood
A
Internal subjective feeling
(e.g. How patient feels; typically in quotes)
6
Q
Affect
A
Interviewer’s experience of patient
- Full range
- Restricted
- Constricted
- Blunted
- Flat (rare)
- Bright
- Congruent/incongruent
- Inappropriate to context (congruent but disturbing)
7
Q
Constricted vs. restricted affect
A
- Constricted: volitional reduction in expression range and intensity
- Restricted: reduction in expression range and intensity
8
Q
Thought Process
A
Rate, organization, goal orientation
(e.g. disordered)
- Adult normal: goal-oriented
- Child 12 and under: concrete thinking
9
Q
Thought Content
A
- Obsessions
- Delusions (e.g. paranoia)
- SI/HI
- AVH
10
Q
Associations
A
How thoughts are linked together
- Intact, logical, linear:
- A → B → C → D
- Circumstantial - eventual return to original point
- Loose - Nonsensical, can be somewhat organized
11
Q
Speech
A
- Rate (e.g. rapid, scanning)
- Rhythm (e.g. disjointed)
- Volume (e.g. loud, soft-spoken)
- Tone (e.g. positive inflection)
- Articulation
- Spontaneity
- Interruptible vs. pressured
12
Q
Language
A
Symbolic understanding and use of words/vocabulary
13
Q
Cognition
A
- Proverbs
- Serial 7s
- Spell “world” backwards
14
Q
Fund of Knowledge
A
Expected knowledge compared to peer group (e.g. average for age)
- Name the past 3 presidents of the United States
15
Q
Memory
A
Recent, remote, working memory
