The nurse is performing a mental status examination. Which statement is true regarding the assessment of mental status?
a. Mental status assessment diagnoses specific psychiatric disorders.
b. Mental disorders occur in response to everyday life stressors.
c. Mental status functioning is inferred through the assessment of an individual's behaviors.
d. Mental status can be directly assessed, similar to other systems of the body (e.g., heart sounds, breath sounds).
ANS: C
Mental status functioning is inferred through the assessment of an individual's behaviors. It cannot be directly assessed like the characteristics of the skin or heart sounds.
You might also like to view...
When providing discharge instructions regarding circumcision care, the nurse would identify a need for further teaching when the mother says:
a. "I'll make sure to clean away any clear filmy substance that forms on the penis." b. "If any bleeding occurs I'll hold gentle pres-sure on the area and call the pediatrician if it continues." c. "When doing cord care, I'll be careful to avoid any alcohol draining to the circumcision site." d. "I will continue to apply petroleum jelly for a few days to prevent the site from adhering to the diaper."
The client scheduled for a prostatectomy asks whether he will have to have a urinary catheter in place after surgery. What is the nurse's best response?
A. "Possibly; it depends on where the surgeon makes the incision." B. "Yes, you will need the catheter at least for a day." C. "Yes, you will need the catheter until the sutures are removed." D. "No, the surgery will fix the problem and you will be able to urinate freely again."
The nursing student has an adequate grasp of nursing history when stating that after the fall of the Roman Empire, the knowledge of health practice was primarily preserved by
a. English monks in cloistered buildings. b. Jewish physicians who could translate into Latin. c. Roman priests who practiced medicine. d. Fortuna, who practiced midwifery.
A client has sustained a cerebral injury that is applying pressure to the corpus callosum. The nurse realizes that which of the following might occur with this client?
1. Temporary blindness 2. Temporary inability to talk 3. Temporary inability to walk 4. Temporary miscommunication between the sides of the brain