A patient has been in the intensive care unit for 10 days. He has just been moved to the medical-surgical unit, and the admitting nurse is planning to perform a mental status examination. During the tests of cognitive function, the nurse would expect that
he:
a.
May display some disruption in thought content.
b.
Will state, "I am so relieved to be out of intensive care."
c.
Will be oriented to place and person, but the patient may not be certain of the date.
d.
May show evidence of some clouding of his level of consciousness.
ANS: C
The nurse can discern the orientation of cognitive function through the course of the interview or can directly and tactfully ask, "Some people have trouble keeping up with the dates while in the hospital. Do you know today's date?" Many hospitalized people have trouble with the exact date but are fully oriented on the remaining items.
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