IMARYVILLE NURSING 660 EXAM 1
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
sequencing - putting events in proper sequence to help the patient slow down the events and process
them
theming - theme identification helps the patient to identify patterns of behavior
recognizing - helps the patient to know that his feelings are understood and accepted and encouraged
him to continue to express them
validating - the recognition and acceptance of another persons thoughts, feelings, sensations, and
behaviors as understandable
Mental Status Exam (MSE) - the psychological equivalent of a physical exam that describes the mental
state and behaviors of the person being seen. includes both objective observations of the clinician and
subjective descriptions given by the patient
why do MSE - provides information for diagnosis and assessment of disorder and response to treatment,
provides a snapshot at a point in time, if another provider sees your patient it allows them to determine
if the patients status has changed without previously seeing the patient
components of MSE are? - appearance, behavior, speech, mood, affect, thought process, thought
content, cognition, insight/judgement
what are the 3 parameters of orientation - person, place, time
how do you test short term memory - ask the patient to recall 3 objects after about 2-5 minutes
how do you test long term memory - ask the patient a question about the past such as what color suit
did you wear to your wedding, or what was the make of your first car
Math - any simple mathematical test, often use serial 7s, start at 100 and subtract 7, then 7 from 93 etc
word finding - ask patient to name as many items in a catagory, such as fruits or animals,in a minute
attention/concentration - ask the patient to spell a 5 letter word forward and backward, world is often
used
naming objects - present an object, such as pen or watch and ask patient to name it
following commands - start with a 1 step command (touch your nose with your right hand then test a 3
step command "take a piece of paperin your right hand, fold it in half, put it on the floor
testing judgement - ask about a hypotheticl situation such as what would you do if you fond a stamped
letter
, erikson stages - infant-18 months- trust vs mistrust-related form of psychopathology psychosis,
addictions, depressin
18 months to 3 years-autonomy vs shame and doubt-paranoia, obcessions, compulsions, impulsivity
3-5 years-initiative vs guilt-conversion disorder, phobia, psychosomatic disorder, inhibition
5-13 years-industry vs inferiority-creative inhibition, inertia
13-21 years-identity vs role confusion-delinquint behaviorgender related identity disorder, borderline
psychotic behaviors
21-39 years-intimacy vs isolation-schizoid personality, distantiation
40-65 years-generativity vs stagnation-midlife crisis, premature invalidism
65 and older-ego integrity vs dispair-extreme alienation, dispair
four lobes of the cerebral cortex - frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
frontal lobe - located at the front of the brain, associated with reasoning, motor skills, higher level
cognition, and expressive language-recieves information from various lobes of the brain and utilizes this
information to carry out body movements
parietal lobe - middle section of the brain, associated with processing tactile sensory information such as
pressure, touch and pain, the somatosensory cortex is located in this lobe and is essential to the
processing of the bodys senses
temporal lobe - located in the bottom section of the brain, location of primary auditory cortex which is
important for interpreting sounds and the language we hear
hippocampus - located in the temporal lobe, heavily associated with formation of memories, damage to
the temporal lobe causes problems with memory, speech perception and language skills responsible for
processing of long term memory and emotional responses
occipital lobe - located in the back portion of the brain and is associated with interpreting visual stimuli
and information, the primary visual cortex which recieves and interprets information from the retinas of
the eyes is located in the occipital lobe
thalamus - responsible for relaying information from the sensory receptors to proper areas of the brain
where it can be processed
hypothalamus - responsible for behaviors such as hunger and thirst as well as the maintainence of body
temp
limbic system - the limbic system is a network of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, controls
behaviors essential to life of all mammals
1st cranial nerve - smell, a function of the 1st olfactory cranial nerve is only evluated after head trauma
or when lesions of the anterior fossa (menigiomas) are suspected or patients report abnormal smell or
taste, pt is asked to identify odors, alcohol, ammonia and other irritants which test the nociceptive
receptors of hte 5th (trigeminal) cranial nerve are used only when malingering is suspected
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
sequencing - putting events in proper sequence to help the patient slow down the events and process
them
theming - theme identification helps the patient to identify patterns of behavior
recognizing - helps the patient to know that his feelings are understood and accepted and encouraged
him to continue to express them
validating - the recognition and acceptance of another persons thoughts, feelings, sensations, and
behaviors as understandable
Mental Status Exam (MSE) - the psychological equivalent of a physical exam that describes the mental
state and behaviors of the person being seen. includes both objective observations of the clinician and
subjective descriptions given by the patient
why do MSE - provides information for diagnosis and assessment of disorder and response to treatment,
provides a snapshot at a point in time, if another provider sees your patient it allows them to determine
if the patients status has changed without previously seeing the patient
components of MSE are? - appearance, behavior, speech, mood, affect, thought process, thought
content, cognition, insight/judgement
what are the 3 parameters of orientation - person, place, time
how do you test short term memory - ask the patient to recall 3 objects after about 2-5 minutes
how do you test long term memory - ask the patient a question about the past such as what color suit
did you wear to your wedding, or what was the make of your first car
Math - any simple mathematical test, often use serial 7s, start at 100 and subtract 7, then 7 from 93 etc
word finding - ask patient to name as many items in a catagory, such as fruits or animals,in a minute
attention/concentration - ask the patient to spell a 5 letter word forward and backward, world is often
used
naming objects - present an object, such as pen or watch and ask patient to name it
following commands - start with a 1 step command (touch your nose with your right hand then test a 3
step command "take a piece of paperin your right hand, fold it in half, put it on the floor
testing judgement - ask about a hypotheticl situation such as what would you do if you fond a stamped
letter
, erikson stages - infant-18 months- trust vs mistrust-related form of psychopathology psychosis,
addictions, depressin
18 months to 3 years-autonomy vs shame and doubt-paranoia, obcessions, compulsions, impulsivity
3-5 years-initiative vs guilt-conversion disorder, phobia, psychosomatic disorder, inhibition
5-13 years-industry vs inferiority-creative inhibition, inertia
13-21 years-identity vs role confusion-delinquint behaviorgender related identity disorder, borderline
psychotic behaviors
21-39 years-intimacy vs isolation-schizoid personality, distantiation
40-65 years-generativity vs stagnation-midlife crisis, premature invalidism
65 and older-ego integrity vs dispair-extreme alienation, dispair
four lobes of the cerebral cortex - frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
frontal lobe - located at the front of the brain, associated with reasoning, motor skills, higher level
cognition, and expressive language-recieves information from various lobes of the brain and utilizes this
information to carry out body movements
parietal lobe - middle section of the brain, associated with processing tactile sensory information such as
pressure, touch and pain, the somatosensory cortex is located in this lobe and is essential to the
processing of the bodys senses
temporal lobe - located in the bottom section of the brain, location of primary auditory cortex which is
important for interpreting sounds and the language we hear
hippocampus - located in the temporal lobe, heavily associated with formation of memories, damage to
the temporal lobe causes problems with memory, speech perception and language skills responsible for
processing of long term memory and emotional responses
occipital lobe - located in the back portion of the brain and is associated with interpreting visual stimuli
and information, the primary visual cortex which recieves and interprets information from the retinas of
the eyes is located in the occipital lobe
thalamus - responsible for relaying information from the sensory receptors to proper areas of the brain
where it can be processed
hypothalamus - responsible for behaviors such as hunger and thirst as well as the maintainence of body
temp
limbic system - the limbic system is a network of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, controls
behaviors essential to life of all mammals
1st cranial nerve - smell, a function of the 1st olfactory cranial nerve is only evluated after head trauma
or when lesions of the anterior fossa (menigiomas) are suspected or patients report abnormal smell or
taste, pt is asked to identify odors, alcohol, ammonia and other irritants which test the nociceptive
receptors of hte 5th (trigeminal) cranial nerve are used only when malingering is suspected
