C) may take a little longer to respond, but his general knowledge and abilities should not have
declined.
D) will have had a decrease in his response time because of language loss and a decrease in general
knowledge. ANS> C) may take a little longer to respond, but his general knowledge and abilities
should not have declined.
Page: 72. The aging process leaves the parameters of mental status mostly intact. There is no
decrease in general knowledge and little or no loss in vocabulary. Response time is slower than in
youth. It takes a bit longer for the brain to process information and to react to it. Recent memory,
which requires some processing is somewhat decreased with aging, but remote memory is not
affected.
-29. The nurse is preparing to do a mental status examination. Which statement is true regarding the
mental status examination?
A) A patient's family is the best resource for information about the patient's coping skills.
B) It is usually sufficient to gather mental status information during the health history interview.
C) It takes an enormous amount of extra time to integrate the mental status examination into the
health history interview.
D) It is usually necessary to perform a complete mental status examination to get a good idea of the
patient's level of functioning. ANS> B) It is usually sufficient to gather mental status information
during the health history interview.
Page: 73. The full mental status examination is a systematic check of emotional and cognitive
functioning. The steps described here, though, rarely need to be taken in their entirety. Usually, one
can assess mental status through the context of the health history interview.
-30. During a mental status examination, the nurse wants to assess a patient's affect. The nurse
should ask the patient which question?
A) "How do you feel today?"
B) "Would you please repeat the following words?"
C) "Have these medications had any effect on your pain?"
D) "Has this pain affected your ability to get dressed by yourself?" ANS> A) "How do you feel
today?"
declined.
D) will have had a decrease in his response time because of language loss and a decrease in general
knowledge. ANS> C) may take a little longer to respond, but his general knowledge and abilities
should not have declined.
Page: 72. The aging process leaves the parameters of mental status mostly intact. There is no
decrease in general knowledge and little or no loss in vocabulary. Response time is slower than in
youth. It takes a bit longer for the brain to process information and to react to it. Recent memory,
which requires some processing is somewhat decreased with aging, but remote memory is not
affected.
-29. The nurse is preparing to do a mental status examination. Which statement is true regarding the
mental status examination?
A) A patient's family is the best resource for information about the patient's coping skills.
B) It is usually sufficient to gather mental status information during the health history interview.
C) It takes an enormous amount of extra time to integrate the mental status examination into the
health history interview.
D) It is usually necessary to perform a complete mental status examination to get a good idea of the
patient's level of functioning. ANS> B) It is usually sufficient to gather mental status information
during the health history interview.
Page: 73. The full mental status examination is a systematic check of emotional and cognitive
functioning. The steps described here, though, rarely need to be taken in their entirety. Usually, one
can assess mental status through the context of the health history interview.
-30. During a mental status examination, the nurse wants to assess a patient's affect. The nurse
should ask the patient which question?
A) "How do you feel today?"
B) "Would you please repeat the following words?"
C) "Have these medications had any effect on your pain?"
D) "Has this pain affected your ability to get dressed by yourself?" ANS> A) "How do you feel
today?"
