Hi. I'm Cathy with Level Up RN, and in this video, we are going to talk about the key components of
a mental status examination. And you'll notice that some of these components really are part
of our general survey of any patient in any setting. So just as a review, your general survey
is when you walk into your patient's room, and you make observations about their appearance, their
behavior, their speech, their hygiene, etc. So you'll notice, when I go through these components,
that some of those components are here in that mental status examination as well. And sometimes,
in the mental healthcare setting, we do a quick, mini mental status examination. And other times,
providers may do a more in-depth examination to determine the patient's mental status.
So some of the components that will likely be part of that mental status examination include
appearance. So what is the patient wearing? Is it appropriate for the weather? How is their hygiene
and grooming? Does it look like they're taking care of themselves? Those are things you're
going to want to note. Also, their behavior. Is the patient cooperative, or are they agitated or
distressed? Definitely make note of that. Motor activity. How is the patient's posture? Do they
have involuntary motor movements? So, for example, if they have a tremor, then that may be indicative
of Parkinson's disease, but it also could be a side effect of a bipolar medication,
such as lithium. Also, the patient's speech. What is the amount of verbalization? What is their rate
and tone of speaking? Do they have slurred speech? So if they have slurred speech, then that would be
indicative of substance abuse. If they're talking super fast and moving from one topic to another
without any pauses, then you might suspect mania. So these are all important things to note.
Mood and affect. So these are kind of two different things. The patient's mood is how the
patient reports feeling to you, and their affect is their expression. And sometimes these things
will line up, but sometimes not. So you definitely want to make note of their mood and affect.
You want to evaluate the patient's thought process and content. So is their thinking organized and
linear? Are they having delusions? Are they suicidal? Are they homicidal? These things are
going to be important to find out. If the patient is suicidal, you're definitely going to want to
get one-on-one observation for that patient to keep them safe. Perception. Is the patient
having hallucinations? Are they hearing voices? You definitely want to ask these things directly
when you are interviewing the patient. Cognition. Is the patient alert and oriented? How is their
short-term and long-term memory? Insight. Is the patient aware of their own illness? What is their
understanding of their illness? And judgment. Is the patient able to make good decisions?
So those are some key components of the mental status examination. Even though I don't work
in a psychiatric setting, for every patient I take care of, I kind of do a mini mental health
examination as I'm caring for them because I need to make plans for my patients as far as their
discharge. Are they able to go home and take care of themselves and take care of their new ostomy or
their wound VAC, or do I need to recommend that they be discharged to a skilled nursing facility
or long-term care facility? So evaluating these things and really seeing where your
patient stands as far as their cognition, their mood, and ability to take care of themselves is
going to be important in any setting. All right. Hopefully, that's helpful. And I'll see you with
another video soon. Thanks so much for watching. I invite you to subscribe to our channel and share
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