Exam 5: Mental Status Assessment

A patient repeats,"I feel hot.Hot,cot,rot,tot,got.I'm a spot." The nurse documents this as an illustration of:

The nurse is assessing a 75-year-old man.As the nurse begins the mental status portion of the assessment,the nurse expects that this patient:

During a mental status assessment,which question by the nurse would best assess a person's judgment?

A patient describes feeling an unreasonable,irrational fear of snakes.His fear is so persistent that he can no longer comfortably look at even pictures of snakes and has made an effort to identify all the places he might encounter a snake and avoids them.The nurse recognizes that he:

A patient is admitted to the unit after an automobile accident.The nurse begins the mental status examination and finds that the patient has dysarthric speech and is lethargic.The nurse's best approach regarding this examination is to:

The nurse is assessing the mental status of a child.Which statement about children and mental status is true?

A woman brings her husband to the clinic for an examination.She is particularly worried because after a recent fall,he seems to have lost a great deal of his memory of recent events.Which statement reflects the nurse's best course of action?

The nurse discovers speech problems in a patient during an assessment.The patient has spontaneous speech,but it is mostly absent or is reduced to a few stereotypical words or sounds.This finding reflects which type of aphasia?

A patient has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.During a recent interview,he shows the nurse a picture of a man holding a decapitated head.He describes this picture as horrifying but then laughs loudly at the content.This behavior is a display of:

A patient repeatedly seems to have difficulty coming up with a word.He says,"I was on my way to work,and when I got there,the thing that you step into that goes up in the air was so full that I decided to take the stairs." The nurse will note on his chart that he is using or experiencing:

Which of these individuals would the nurse consider at highest risk for a suicide attempt?

The nurse is conducting a patient interview.Which statement made by the patient should the nurse more fully explore during the interview?

A 30-year-old female patient is describing feelings of hopelessness and depression.She has attempted self-mutilation and has a history of suicide attempts.She describes difficulty sleeping at night and has lost 10 pounds in the past month.Which of these statements or questions is the nurse's best response in this situation?

A 26-year-old woman was robbed and beaten a month ago.She is returning to the clinic today for a follow-up assessment.The nurse will want to ask her which one of these questions?

A 23-year-old patient in the clinic appears anxious.Her speech is rapid,and she is fidgety and in constant motion.Which of these questions or statements would be most appropriate for the nurse to use in this situation to assess attention span?

During reporting,the nurse hears that a patient is experiencing hallucinations.Which is an example of a hallucination?

The nurse is planning health teaching for a 65-year-old woman who has had a cerebrovascular accident (stroke)and has aphasia.Which of these questions is most important to use when assessing mental status in this patient?

The nurse is performing a mental status examination.Which statement is true regarding the assessment of mental status?

The nurse is assessing a patient who is admitted with possible delirium.Which of these are manifestations of delirium? Select all that apply.