The nurse is planning health teaching for a 65-year-old woman who ...

[Mollykgkg]

The nurse is planning health teaching for a 65-year-old woman who has had a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and has aphasia. Which of these questions is most important to use when assessing mental status in this patient?
 
  a. Please count backward from 100 by seven.
  b. I will name three items and ask you to repeat them in a few minutes.
  c. Please point to articles in the room and parts of the body as I name them.
  d. What would you do if you found a stamped, addressed envelope on the sidewalk?

Question 2

The nurse is performing a mental status examination. Which statement is true regarding the assessment of mental status?
 
  a. Mental status assessment diagnoses specific psychiatric disorders.
  b. Mental disorders occur in response to everyday life stressors.
  c. Mental status functioning is inferred through the assessment of an individual's behaviors.
  d. Mental status can be directly assessed, similar to other systems of the body (e.g., heart sounds, breath sounds).

[batool]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: C
Additional tests for persons with aphasia include word comprehension (asking the individual to point to articles in the room or parts of the body), reading (asking the person to read available print), and writing (asking the person to make up and write a sentence).

Answer to Question 2

ANS: C
Mental status functioning is inferred through the assessment of an individual's behaviors. It cannot be directly assessed like the characteristics of the skin or heart sounds.