A psychiatric–mental health nurse is conducting an assessment of an adult, English-speaking client who is new to the facility. How can the nurse most accurately gauge the client's attention and concentration?
A) Ask the client to brainstorm objects beginning with the letter "S" for 30 seconds.
B) Ask the client to count down from 100, subtracting 7 from each previous number.
C) Ask the client to explain why the letter "Y" is considered to be both a vowel and a consonant.
D) Ask the client to count to 50 as quickly as he can.
Ans: B
Feedback:
Perhaps the most common method to assess attention and the ability to concentrate is testing of calculation by adding or subtracting several items. An example is the serial 7s test, in which examiners ask clients to start from 100 and recite the subtraction of 7s sequentially. The other listed tasks do not accurately assess a client's attention or concentration.
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