N1I02 Week 9: Conducting a General Survey & Assessment of Mental Status

Preparation, Knowledge and Understanding: Practice Questions

General Survey
1. What are the 4 components of the general survey?

2. Why do we prioritize acute signs of distress (ABCD) when beginning our general survey?

3. When considering nutrition, weight within a normal range for age and build and even distribution of
fat would be an expected finding. What would be unexpected?

4. When assessing LOC we would want to make sure the patient is not confused, drowsy or disoriented,
and is able to answer questions and follow directions. We would assess if they were:
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5. When assessing mobility we would expect to notice that a patient’s gait is smooth, balanced, had
oppositional arm swing, and shoulder width base. What would be some unexpected findings when
assessing gait?

6. When assessing behavior, what is the difference between mood and affect?

Mental Status Assessment

1. When would we do a full mental status assessment?

2. What may impact mental status assessment but have nothing to do with a mental disorder?

3. Is the mental status assessment objective, subjective or both?

4. What are the components of the Mental Status Assessment? Fill in the blanks

________________________: General presentation to others

 Posture
o Is the patient standing erect? Is the patient standing comfortably?
 Body Movements
o _________________________________________________________
 Dress
o Is the dress appropriate for the setting, gender, occupation? Do the clothes fit?
 _____________________
o Is the patient hygienic? Is the patient clean and groomed?
Behaviour: Emotions
 _________________________
o How awake, alert, and aware is the patient?
 Facial Expression
o Is there eye contact? (tracking)
 Speech
o What is the quality, speed and articulation of the speech?
 Mood and Affect
 o “How do you feel?” (mood)
o Match this with the way they react to a situation (affect) – Do they have appropriate or
inappropriate affect? (ex. of inappropriate below)
 Incongruent affect: ________________________________________________
 ______________ (no reaction) or _____________ (little emotion) – ex. talking
about family member’s death with little/no emotion, no facial expressions,
monotone voice
 Overreactions (emotional response that is excessive in relation to the situation)
Cognitive: Attention, orientation and memory
 Orientation (x3): ____________________________________
 Attention Span
o Completion of thoughts, distractibility
 ___________________
o Recall what you just said
 ___________________
o 24 hour recall
 ____________________
o Verify past events (historical events ex. place of birth)
 New Learning- 4 unrelated words test
Thought process and content
 Thought processes - Complete thoughts that are logical, coherent and relevant
 Thought content – Is what they say consistent and logical?
- fears?
- delusions?
 Perceptions – ex. How do you think people feel about you?