CMN 548 Introduction to PMHNP Comprehensive Final Exam
Review Questions and 100% Correct Answers 2026 Update Guide
Module 1 – Collecting the Psychiatric History and Performing a Psychiatric Assessment
Differentiate between primary,
secondary, and tertiary prevention. What
are some examples of each?
- Primary: The goal is to protect healthy people
from developing a disease or experiencing an
injury
o Education about good nutrition,
exercise, dangers of tobacco, alcohol,
drugs, Regular exams and screening
tests to monitor risk factors for illness,
Education and legislation about proper
seatbelt and helmet use
- Secondary: Interventions that happen after an
illness or serious risk factors have already been
diagnosed. Goal is to slow or stop progress of
disease in early stages; to limit long-term
disability and prevent re-injury
o Telling people to take daily, low-dose
aspirin to prevent a first or second heart
attack or stroke, Recommending regular
exams and screening tests in people
with known risk factors for illness,
Providing suitably modified work for
injured workers
- Tertiary: Focus on helping people manage
complicated, long term health problems such as
diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic
musculoskeletal pain. Goals include preventing
further physical deterioration and maximizing
quality of life
o Cardiac or stroke rehabilitation program,
Chronic pain management program,
Patient support groups
What are some ways
to assess abstract thinking?
- asking a proverb or asking to identify
, similarities between pairs of objects
Define autonomy,
beneficence, confidentiality, and
nonmaleficence.
- Autonomy – respect for the patient's right to
self-determination.
- Beneficence – the duty to 'do good'
o Beneficence is defined as kindness
and charity, which requires action on
the part of the nurse to benefit others.
An example of a nurse demonstrating
this ethical principle is by holding a
dying patient's hand.
- Non-Maleficence – the duty to 'not do bad'.
Nonmaleficence is the obligation of a
physician not to harm the patient. This
simply stated principle supports several
moral rules − do not kill, do not cause pain
or suffering, do not incapacitate, do not
cause offense, and do not deprive others of
the goods of life. Justice – to treat all people
equally and equitably
- Confidentiality: “the principle of keeping
secure and secret from others, information
given by or about an individual in the course
of a professional relationship,”1 and it is the
right of every patient, even after death.
Define: flight of ideas,
clanging, neologisms,
circumstantiality, and echolalia.
• Flight of ideas: Associative looseness
• The client may say sentence after
sentence, but each sentence may relate
to another topic, and the listener is
unable to follow the client's thoughts.
• Clanging: speech in which word choice is governed by
word sound rather than meaning; word choice may show
rhyming or punning associations
• Neologisms: the creation of new "words"
• Circumstantiality: excessively indirect speech;
speech is liable to be overinclusive and include irrelevant
detail
• Echolalia: The client repeats the words
spoken to him.
Clang association • Meaningless
rhyming of words, often forceful, such
as, "Oh fox, box,
and lox."
, speech repeats words or phrases of interviewer
Define: cultural awareness,
cultural competence, cultural humility, and
cultural perceptivity.
• Cultural awareness: the foundation of
communication and it involves the ability of
standing back from ourselves and becoming
aware of our cultural values, beliefs and
perceptions.
• Cultural competence: having the knowledge,
abilities, and skills to deliver care congruent with
the client’s cultural beliefs and practices.
• Cultural humility: defined as a “process that
requires humility as individuals continually
engage in self-reflection and self-critique as
lifelong learners and reflective practitioners”
in an effort to address power imbalances and
to advocate for others.
• Cultural perceptivity: Cultural perception is
defined as how the beliefs, values, traditions,
and societal norms shape the way a person
views the world. People gain information
based on their life experiences, which come
from their culture.
Differentiate the following Disorders of Speech: aphonia, dysarthria, and aphasia.
• Aphonia: loss of ability to speak through disease of or damage to the larynx or mouth.
• Dysarthria: where you have difficulty speaking because the muscles you use for speech are wea
• Aphasia: loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage.
What is the Mini Mental State Exam?
• The MMSE is effective as a screening tool for cognitive impairment with older, community dwelling,
hospitalized and institutionalized adults. Assessment of an older adult’s cognitive function is best achieved
when it is done routinely, systematically and thoroughly.
• The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a tool that can be used to systematically and thoroughly asse
mental status. It is an 11-question measure that tests five areas of cognitive function: orientation, registration,
attention and calculation, recall, and language. The maximum score is 30. A score of 23 or lower is indicative
cognitive impairment. The MMSE takes only 5-10 minutes to administer and is therefore practical to use
repeatedly and routinely
What are the core skills of Motivational Interviewing? Bickley 166
• Open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summaries
Differentiate: static tremors, athetosis, chorea, and dystonia.
• Static tremors: *tremors that are most prominent at rest, and that may decrease or disappear with
voluntary movement
*ex: pill-rolling tremor of parkinsonism
• Athetosis: *movement disorder characterized by involuntary convoluted, writhing movements
, *most commonly involve the face and distal extremities
*often associated with spasticity
*causes: cerebral palsy
• Chorea: *movement disorder characterized by brief, rapid, jerky, irregular, and unpredictable
movements
*occur at rest or interrupt normal coordinated movements
*seldom repeat themselves (unlike tics) and appear to flow from one muscle to the next
*"dance-like" movements
*hyperkinesia- movements occur on their own without conscious movement
*usually involves the face, head, lower arms, and hands
*causes: Sydenham's chorea (with rheumatic fever) and Huntington's disease
• Dystonia: *movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive
movements of abnormal postures, often involving larger portions of the body, including the trunk
*may result in grotesque, twisted postures
*causes: drugs, such as phenothiazines, primary torsion, spasmodic torticollis
What are ways to assess a patient’s level of attention?
• Attention span is tested by giving a set of instructions to the patient and observing whether the patient
follows them properly. Recent memory can be tested by asking a question the nurse can corroborate, such
as asking the patient what he or she had for breakfast.
What are the epidemiological characteristics of mode of suicide – men vs women?
What is the name of cranial nerve 5? How would you assess CN5?
• Trigeminal nerve
• It has three sensory branches (ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular), and it is tested by lightly touchi
the face with a piece of cotton wool followed by a blunt pin in each division on each side of the face
What are the symptoms of Bell’s Palsy? Which cranial nerve is involved?
• Bell's palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. It begins suddenly and
worsens over 48 hours. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve (the 7th cranial nerve). Pain
and discomfort usually occur on one side of the face or head.
What information would you include in: Past Psychiatric
History, Chief Complaint, Past Medical History, Identifying Data, and
Social and Developmental History.
• Past psych hx: 2480 explores psychiatric illness prior to the current presentation
including the nature of symptoms, course, and treatment. Details of past episodes
including age of onset, context,nature and duration of episodes, the diagnosis offered,
treatment applied and its setting, degree of response, treatment adherence, and attitudes
toward treatment. Table 7.1-2
• CC: 2479 the chief complaint is recorded in the patient’s own words, for example,
“I have been depressed for months” or, “I have a lot of anxiety in public speaking.”
• PMH: 2484 A well-developed past medical history archives both current and past
major medical disorders, surgeries, hospitalizations and significant physical trauma, such
as head injuries. In psychiatry, neurological and endocrine disorders are of particular
interest because of the significant overlap in symptoms and signs with psychiatric
syndromes. For female patients, obtaining a reproductive and menstrual history is
important, as well as a careful assessment of potential for current pregnancy and plans
for future pregnancy.
• ID: including age, gender,(and race if clinically relevant)
Review Questions and 100% Correct Answers 2026 Update Guide
Module 1 – Collecting the Psychiatric History and Performing a Psychiatric Assessment
Differentiate between primary,
secondary, and tertiary prevention. What
are some examples of each?
- Primary: The goal is to protect healthy people
from developing a disease or experiencing an
injury
o Education about good nutrition,
exercise, dangers of tobacco, alcohol,
drugs, Regular exams and screening
tests to monitor risk factors for illness,
Education and legislation about proper
seatbelt and helmet use
- Secondary: Interventions that happen after an
illness or serious risk factors have already been
diagnosed. Goal is to slow or stop progress of
disease in early stages; to limit long-term
disability and prevent re-injury
o Telling people to take daily, low-dose
aspirin to prevent a first or second heart
attack or stroke, Recommending regular
exams and screening tests in people
with known risk factors for illness,
Providing suitably modified work for
injured workers
- Tertiary: Focus on helping people manage
complicated, long term health problems such as
diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic
musculoskeletal pain. Goals include preventing
further physical deterioration and maximizing
quality of life
o Cardiac or stroke rehabilitation program,
Chronic pain management program,
Patient support groups
What are some ways
to assess abstract thinking?
- asking a proverb or asking to identify
, similarities between pairs of objects
Define autonomy,
beneficence, confidentiality, and
nonmaleficence.
- Autonomy – respect for the patient's right to
self-determination.
- Beneficence – the duty to 'do good'
o Beneficence is defined as kindness
and charity, which requires action on
the part of the nurse to benefit others.
An example of a nurse demonstrating
this ethical principle is by holding a
dying patient's hand.
- Non-Maleficence – the duty to 'not do bad'.
Nonmaleficence is the obligation of a
physician not to harm the patient. This
simply stated principle supports several
moral rules − do not kill, do not cause pain
or suffering, do not incapacitate, do not
cause offense, and do not deprive others of
the goods of life. Justice – to treat all people
equally and equitably
- Confidentiality: “the principle of keeping
secure and secret from others, information
given by or about an individual in the course
of a professional relationship,”1 and it is the
right of every patient, even after death.
Define: flight of ideas,
clanging, neologisms,
circumstantiality, and echolalia.
• Flight of ideas: Associative looseness
• The client may say sentence after
sentence, but each sentence may relate
to another topic, and the listener is
unable to follow the client's thoughts.
• Clanging: speech in which word choice is governed by
word sound rather than meaning; word choice may show
rhyming or punning associations
• Neologisms: the creation of new "words"
• Circumstantiality: excessively indirect speech;
speech is liable to be overinclusive and include irrelevant
detail
• Echolalia: The client repeats the words
spoken to him.
Clang association • Meaningless
rhyming of words, often forceful, such
as, "Oh fox, box,
and lox."
, speech repeats words or phrases of interviewer
Define: cultural awareness,
cultural competence, cultural humility, and
cultural perceptivity.
• Cultural awareness: the foundation of
communication and it involves the ability of
standing back from ourselves and becoming
aware of our cultural values, beliefs and
perceptions.
• Cultural competence: having the knowledge,
abilities, and skills to deliver care congruent with
the client’s cultural beliefs and practices.
• Cultural humility: defined as a “process that
requires humility as individuals continually
engage in self-reflection and self-critique as
lifelong learners and reflective practitioners”
in an effort to address power imbalances and
to advocate for others.
• Cultural perceptivity: Cultural perception is
defined as how the beliefs, values, traditions,
and societal norms shape the way a person
views the world. People gain information
based on their life experiences, which come
from their culture.
Differentiate the following Disorders of Speech: aphonia, dysarthria, and aphasia.
• Aphonia: loss of ability to speak through disease of or damage to the larynx or mouth.
• Dysarthria: where you have difficulty speaking because the muscles you use for speech are wea
• Aphasia: loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage.
What is the Mini Mental State Exam?
• The MMSE is effective as a screening tool for cognitive impairment with older, community dwelling,
hospitalized and institutionalized adults. Assessment of an older adult’s cognitive function is best achieved
when it is done routinely, systematically and thoroughly.
• The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a tool that can be used to systematically and thoroughly asse
mental status. It is an 11-question measure that tests five areas of cognitive function: orientation, registration,
attention and calculation, recall, and language. The maximum score is 30. A score of 23 or lower is indicative
cognitive impairment. The MMSE takes only 5-10 minutes to administer and is therefore practical to use
repeatedly and routinely
What are the core skills of Motivational Interviewing? Bickley 166
• Open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summaries
Differentiate: static tremors, athetosis, chorea, and dystonia.
• Static tremors: *tremors that are most prominent at rest, and that may decrease or disappear with
voluntary movement
*ex: pill-rolling tremor of parkinsonism
• Athetosis: *movement disorder characterized by involuntary convoluted, writhing movements
, *most commonly involve the face and distal extremities
*often associated with spasticity
*causes: cerebral palsy
• Chorea: *movement disorder characterized by brief, rapid, jerky, irregular, and unpredictable
movements
*occur at rest or interrupt normal coordinated movements
*seldom repeat themselves (unlike tics) and appear to flow from one muscle to the next
*"dance-like" movements
*hyperkinesia- movements occur on their own without conscious movement
*usually involves the face, head, lower arms, and hands
*causes: Sydenham's chorea (with rheumatic fever) and Huntington's disease
• Dystonia: *movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive
movements of abnormal postures, often involving larger portions of the body, including the trunk
*may result in grotesque, twisted postures
*causes: drugs, such as phenothiazines, primary torsion, spasmodic torticollis
What are ways to assess a patient’s level of attention?
• Attention span is tested by giving a set of instructions to the patient and observing whether the patient
follows them properly. Recent memory can be tested by asking a question the nurse can corroborate, such
as asking the patient what he or she had for breakfast.
What are the epidemiological characteristics of mode of suicide – men vs women?
What is the name of cranial nerve 5? How would you assess CN5?
• Trigeminal nerve
• It has three sensory branches (ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular), and it is tested by lightly touchi
the face with a piece of cotton wool followed by a blunt pin in each division on each side of the face
What are the symptoms of Bell’s Palsy? Which cranial nerve is involved?
• Bell's palsy is an unexplained episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis. It begins suddenly and
worsens over 48 hours. This condition results from damage to the facial nerve (the 7th cranial nerve). Pain
and discomfort usually occur on one side of the face or head.
What information would you include in: Past Psychiatric
History, Chief Complaint, Past Medical History, Identifying Data, and
Social and Developmental History.
• Past psych hx: 2480 explores psychiatric illness prior to the current presentation
including the nature of symptoms, course, and treatment. Details of past episodes
including age of onset, context,nature and duration of episodes, the diagnosis offered,
treatment applied and its setting, degree of response, treatment adherence, and attitudes
toward treatment. Table 7.1-2
• CC: 2479 the chief complaint is recorded in the patient’s own words, for example,
“I have been depressed for months” or, “I have a lot of anxiety in public speaking.”
• PMH: 2484 A well-developed past medical history archives both current and past
major medical disorders, surgeries, hospitalizations and significant physical trauma, such
as head injuries. In psychiatry, neurological and endocrine disorders are of particular
interest because of the significant overlap in symptoms and signs with psychiatric
syndromes. For female patients, obtaining a reproductive and menstrual history is
important, as well as a careful assessment of potential for current pregnancy and plans
for future pregnancy.
• ID: including age, gender,(and race if clinically relevant)
