NR548 PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT
REVIEW EXAM 1 (WEEKS 3-4)
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. During the psychiatric interview, a patient provides unnecessary detail but eventually
answers the original question. How should the PMHNP document this thought process?
A. Circumstantiality
B. Tangentiality
C. Flight of ideas
D. Derailment
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Circumstantiality is characterized by a patient who includes
excessive, unnecessary detail but eventually reaches the point or answers the question.
Tangentiality never returns to the original point.
2. When assessing an elderly patient for depression, which of the following tools is most
appropriate for a quick screening in a primary care setting?
A. PHQ-9
,B. GDS (Geriatric Depression Scale)
C. HAM-D
D. Zung Self-Rating Scale
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The GDS is specifically validated and designed for the geriatric
population, focusing on symptoms relevant to older adults, though the PHQ-9 is also used
widely.
3. Which component of the Mental Status Examination (MSE) is being assessed when the
PMHNP asks the patient to interpret the proverb ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk’?
A. Judgment
B. Insight
C. Concentration
D. Abstract Reasoning
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Proverb interpretation is a standard way to assess abstract
vs. concrete reasoning. Concrete thinkers will focus on the literal milk and crying.
4. A PMHNP is conducting a risk assessment for a patient with suicidal ideation. According to
the ‘IS PATH WARM’ mnemonic, what does the ‘P’ represent?
A. Psychosis
, B. Plan
C. Purposelessness
D. Previous attempt
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: In the IS PATH WARM mnemonic, P stands for Purposelessness
(feeling no reason for living).
5. A patient exhibits ‘waxy flexibility’ during the physical exam. This is a characteristic finding
in which condition?
A. Catatonic Schizophrenia
B. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
C. Parkinson’s Disease
D. Serotonin Syndrome
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Waxy flexibility is a psychomotor symptom of catatonia where a
patient’s limbs remain in the position they are placed by the examiner.
6. Which part of the brain is primarily responsible for the ‘executive functions’ assessed
during the MSE, such as planning and impulse control?
A. Occipital Lobe
B. Parietal Lobe
REVIEW EXAM 1 (WEEKS 3-4)
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. During the psychiatric interview, a patient provides unnecessary detail but eventually
answers the original question. How should the PMHNP document this thought process?
A. Circumstantiality
B. Tangentiality
C. Flight of ideas
D. Derailment
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Circumstantiality is characterized by a patient who includes
excessive, unnecessary detail but eventually reaches the point or answers the question.
Tangentiality never returns to the original point.
2. When assessing an elderly patient for depression, which of the following tools is most
appropriate for a quick screening in a primary care setting?
A. PHQ-9
,B. GDS (Geriatric Depression Scale)
C. HAM-D
D. Zung Self-Rating Scale
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The GDS is specifically validated and designed for the geriatric
population, focusing on symptoms relevant to older adults, though the PHQ-9 is also used
widely.
3. Which component of the Mental Status Examination (MSE) is being assessed when the
PMHNP asks the patient to interpret the proverb ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk’?
A. Judgment
B. Insight
C. Concentration
D. Abstract Reasoning
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Proverb interpretation is a standard way to assess abstract
vs. concrete reasoning. Concrete thinkers will focus on the literal milk and crying.
4. A PMHNP is conducting a risk assessment for a patient with suicidal ideation. According to
the ‘IS PATH WARM’ mnemonic, what does the ‘P’ represent?
A. Psychosis
, B. Plan
C. Purposelessness
D. Previous attempt
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: In the IS PATH WARM mnemonic, P stands for Purposelessness
(feeling no reason for living).
5. A patient exhibits ‘waxy flexibility’ during the physical exam. This is a characteristic finding
in which condition?
A. Catatonic Schizophrenia
B. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
C. Parkinson’s Disease
D. Serotonin Syndrome
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Waxy flexibility is a psychomotor symptom of catatonia where a
patient’s limbs remain in the position they are placed by the examiner.
6. Which part of the brain is primarily responsible for the ‘executive functions’ assessed
during the MSE, such as planning and impulse control?
A. Occipital Lobe
B. Parietal Lobe
