Mental Status Exam
This refers to how a patient looks at the examiner during an interview, which can be normal, avoidant, or intense.
What is eye contact? ¿Qué es el contacto visual?
These include hallucinations or illusions—sensory experiences without external stimuli.
What are perceptions?¿Qué son las percepciones?
This assesses awareness of person, place, time, and situation.
What is oriented to (x4)?¿A qué está orientado (x4)?
This describes the patient’s rate, volume, and fluency of verbal expression (e.g., pressured, slow, slurred).
What is speech?¿Qué es el habla?
This refers to what a person is thinking about, such as delusions, obsessions, or suicidal ideation.
What is thought content?¿Qué es el contenido del pensamiento?
This refers to overall cognitive ability, including vocabulary, reasoning, and fund of knowledge.
What is intellectual functioning?¿Qué es el funcionamiento intelectual?
This reflects how a patient interacts with the examiner, such as cooperative, guarded, or hostile.
What is attitude/behavior?¿Qué es la actitud/comportamiento?
This describes a person’s ability to make sound decisions and understand consequences.
What is judgment?¿Qué es el juicio?
This describes whether a patient can recall recent and remote information appropriately.
What is memory intact for (recent/remote)?¿Para qué está intacta la memoria (reciente/remota)?
This is the patient’s sustained internal emotional state, often described in their own words.
What is mood?¿Qué es el estado de ánimo?
This refers to awareness and understanding of one’s own condition or situation.
What is insight?¿Qué es la percepción?
This describes changes in level of consciousness, such as alert, drowsy, or lethargic.
What is state/transition?¿Qué es estado/transición?
This is the observable expression of emotion, such as flat, blunted, or labile.
What is affect?¿Qué es el afecto?
This term combines awareness of illness with the ability to make appropriate decisions.
What is insight/judgment?¿Qué es la percepción/el juicio?
This term describes shifts between levels of awareness or responsiveness over time.
What is state/transition?¿Qué es estado/transición?