

Is the patient pleasant, agitated or cooperative?Īre the patient’s behaviors appropriate for the situation?ĭoes the patient know where he is and why he’s there?Ĭan the patient tell you the day of the week and the complete date? Is does the patient use a normal volume, quantity, and tone while talking? How long is the patient’s attention span? Is the patient awake? If not, can you wake up the patient?Ĭan the patient stay focused on your conversation or questions? Is the patient dressed neatly showing clear attention to detail? What is the patient’s physical appearance? The components of a mental status exam example are: Often, you need several interactions along with information about the individual’s normal level of function in a mental status exam cheat sheet before you can come up with a meaningful conclusion about the patient’s condition. The results recorded in the mental status exam form can only produce a “snapshot” of your patient. Forming actual diagnoses using a mental status exam cheat sheet is the last step in this process and it goes way past the scope of this article.Įven for those who have had much knowledge and experience to produce diagnoses, this won’t be a possibility after only one encounter with the patient. Knowing when to stop a more comprehensive examination takes some experience. In some cases, the condition of the patient prevents a comprehensive, ordered assessment of his mental status and as such, flexibility becomes important. The primary goal here is to discern when such abnormalities exist then classify them as specifically as possible. In the course of practicing medicine daily, you may encounter persons with cognitive abilities that are significantly impaired, disordered thought processes, altered memory capacity, and otherwise, abnormal mental status. This interview can provide a chance to consciously consider the elements of a mental status exam template. Throughout the course of a normal interview with a patient, most of the information relevant to his assessment is indirectly gathered. In practice, providers don’t really perform mental status examinations explicitly designed to evaluate the mental status of an individual. The components of a mental status exam template
