NURS 301 - Health Assessment Exam Review 2 (TEST BANK)

1. During an examination, the nurse can assess mental status by which activity? a. Examining the patient’s electroencephalogram b. Observing the patient as he or she performs an intelligence quotient (IQ) test c. Observing the patient and inferring health or dysfunction d. Examining the patient’s response to a specific set of questions ANS: C Mental status cannot be directly scrutinized like the characteristics of skin or heart sounds. Its functioning is inferred through an assessment of an individual’s behaviors, such as consciousness, language, mood and affect, and other aspects. PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding (Comprehension) REF: p. 67 MSC: Client Needs: Psychosocial Integrity 2. The nurse is assessing the mental status of a child. Which statement about children and mental status is true? a. All aspects of mental status in children are interdependent. b. Children are highly labile and unstable until the age of 2 years. c. Children’s mental status is largely a function of their parents’ level of functioning until the age of 7 years. d. A child’s mental status is impossible to assess until the child develops the ability to concentrate. ANS: A Separating and tracing the development of only one aspect of mental status is difficult. All aspects are interdependent. For example, consciousness is rudimentary at birth because the cerebral cortex is not yet developed. The infant cannot distinguish the self from the mother’s body. The other statements are not true. PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Understanding (Comprehension) REF: p. 68 MSC: Client Needs: Psychosocial Integrity