Mental Status Exam (MSE)
Used as a systemic observation of the patient’s behaviour
Used if one person interacts with another
Used to overcome daily pseudo-mental status by organise (clinician) notes
Categories Description Example
Appeared and behaviour Appearance: How is the Harry appeared tired and
person dressed. But the clothes that he wears
remember the social and wasn’t washed for 3 weeks.
cultural context. Physical
ticks. Does he move slowly
in relation to his age.
Facial expressions.
Thought process Flow and rate of speech: Mike’s thoughts didn’t make
pattern, referred to as loose sense, it was hard to extract
association. a narrative from the story he
Content: Evidence of told since his he kept
delusions, delusions of jumping from event to event.
grandeur, Hallucinations. Is
the person in contact with
reality
Mood and affect Mood: Feeling state of the Charles kept smiling and
individual. making jokes, however he
Affect: What we say at a was told this morning that
given point and is it his wife, whom he loved,
appropriate. wanted a divorce.
Intellectual functioning Is the person able to recallJohn uses words that he
memories? How is does not understand, to
appear smarter than he is.
Sensorium Aware of surroundings. Mary didn’t know the exact
Does the person know what date, but she knew what
is the time and date, where time the appoint was. While
he is? Ted had no idea where the
place was and how he got
there.
Used as a systemic observation of the patient’s behaviour
Used if one person interacts with another
Used to overcome daily pseudo-mental status by organise (clinician) notes
Categories Description Example
Appeared and behaviour Appearance: How is the Harry appeared tired and
person dressed. But the clothes that he wears
remember the social and wasn’t washed for 3 weeks.
cultural context. Physical
ticks. Does he move slowly
in relation to his age.
Facial expressions.
Thought process Flow and rate of speech: Mike’s thoughts didn’t make
pattern, referred to as loose sense, it was hard to extract
association. a narrative from the story he
Content: Evidence of told since his he kept
delusions, delusions of jumping from event to event.
grandeur, Hallucinations. Is
the person in contact with
reality
Mood and affect Mood: Feeling state of the Charles kept smiling and
individual. making jokes, however he
Affect: What we say at a was told this morning that
given point and is it his wife, whom he loved,
appropriate. wanted a divorce.
Intellectual functioning Is the person able to recallJohn uses words that he
memories? How is does not understand, to
appear smarter than he is.
Sensorium Aware of surroundings. Mary didn’t know the exact
Does the person know what date, but she knew what
is the time and date, where time the appoint was. While
he is? Ted had no idea where the
place was and how he got
there.
