Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Block 8 week 1 > Mental Status Exam - Gardner > Flashcards

Mental Status Exam - Gardner Flashcards

1
Q

What is the purpose of the mental status exam?

A

It describes the mental state and behaviors of the person being seen. It includes both objective observations of the clinician and subjective descriptions given by the patient.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

A mental status exam provides what?

A
  1. a snap shot at a point in time
  2. information for diagnosis and assessment of a disorder
  3. information to compare to previous MSE to gauge improvement or a worsening picture
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is needed to properly assess the MSE?

A
  1. the patient’s history - including education, cultural and social factors
  2. important to ascertain what is normal for the patient
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the categories assessed in the MSE?

A
  1. observations
  2. mood
  3. perception
  4. thoughts
  5. behavior
  6. insight
  7. judgment
  8. cognition
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is included in the observation category?

A
  1. appearance - includes grooming, appropriateness, dress
  2. speech - includes rate, rhythm and volume
  3. eye contact
  4. motor activity - includes movement and gait
  5. affect - includes type, range, congruency and stability
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

How might you describe appearance?

A
  1. well groomed, neat, good hygiene, good self care, adequate
  2. disheveled, inappropriate, poor hygiene
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

How might you describe speech?

A
  1. rate - regular, increased/pressured, decreased
  2. rhythm - articulation, prosody (patterns, stress/intonation and rhythm), dysarthria (difficulty with speech due to muscles), monotone, slurred
  3. volume - loud, soft, mute
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

How might you describe eye contact?

A
  1. good, appropriate
  2. intermittent
  3. poor
  4. intense
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

How might you deserve motor activity?

A
  1. normal motor activity and gait
  2. psychomotor agitation
  3. pyschomotor retardation
  4. tics, restelessness
  5. akathesia - can’t stop moving feet
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How might you describe affect?

A
  1. type - euthymic (normal mood), dysphoric (depressed, irritable, angry), euphoric (elevated, elated), anxious
  2. range - full (normal), restricted, blunted or flat, labile (labile = all over the place)
  3. congruency - does affect match the mood (mood congruent or mood incongruent)
  4. stability - stable vs. labile
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How might you assess mood?

A
  1. use patient’s report of their emotional state (in quotes)

2. use a numbering system - such as 1/10

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

How would you assess perceptions?

A

This involves how the patient is perceiving their reality. Examples include - preoccupations, illusions, ideas of reference (pt feels like they are receiving messages i.e. from media), auditory or visual hallucinations, derealization and depersonalization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How would you assess thought content?

A

This refers to the themes that occupy the patients thoughts. Examples include:

  1. suicidal ideation - active, passive, plan, intent
  2. homicidal ideation - active, passive, plan and intent
  3. delusions - grandiose, paranoid, religious
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How would you assess thought process?

A

This describes the rate of thoughts, how they flow and how they are connected. Examples:

  1. normal - tight, logical, linear, coherent, goal -directed
  2. abnormal - associations are not clear, organized or coherent. Examples are - circumstantial (get to point but takes long time), tangential (never get to point), loose, flight of ideas, word salad (normal tone but makes no sense), thought blocking (distracted, answer after long pause because distracted by internal stimuli)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How might you describe behavior?

A
  1. normal - calm and cooperative
  2. abnormal - guarded, hyperactive, irritible (refers to attitude), aggressive, hostile, uncooperative, vague, ‘one word’ answers
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

How might you assess insight and judgement?

A
  1. insight = awareness of one’s own illness/situation
  2. judgement = the ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s behavior and make decisions to safeguard his/her well being and that of others
  3. descriptive range - good-fair-poor
17
Q

How might you assess memory/concentration?

A

This refers to assessing the level of consciousness. Can do this by assessing orientation (orient to time, place, person - description is alert and oriented X3), memory and attention.

18
Q

Memory and attention can be determined by what?

A

The interview itself gives lots of clues but can also do some tests:

  1. spell WORLD backwards, count backward in 7’s
  2. ask the pt to remember 3 words and then recall them
  3. ask them to interpret a proverb
19
Q

What is the MMSE?

A
  1. mini mental state exam - also called Folstein exam
  2. 30 item screening tool
  3. useful for documenting serial cognitive changes and cognitive impairment. It is important to document not only the total score but also what items were missed.

Block 8 week 1 (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions