TEACH FOR NURSES LESSON PLAN
Chapter 5: Mental Status Assessment
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. Define the behaviors that are considered in an assessment of a person’s mental status.
2. Describe relevant developmental care related to the mental status examination.
3. State the purpose of a mental status examination.
STUDENT RESOURCES
understand
• Textbook Chapter 5
• Sherpath for Medical-Surgical Nursing*
• Animations (Evolve website)
• Answer Keys: Study Guide & Lab Manual
• Audio glossary (Evolve)
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apply
• Case Studies (Evolve)
synthesize
• SimChart*
• Simulation Learning System*
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
before class
• Nursing Curriculum Standards (below)
in class
• PowerPoint Presentations (Evolve)
after class
• Test Bank (Evolve)
• HESI Practice Tests*
* Sold separately from textbook.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Content Focus
Content Highlights
Learning Activities
STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION
DEFINING MENTAL
Have the students review
the assessment list in this
section and share what
they would ask to
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TEACHING STRATEGIES
Content Focus
Content Highlights
Learning Activities
The Aging Adult
Have the students make a
list of the different
COMPONENTS OF THE
MENTAL STATUS
EXAMINATION
OBJECTIVE DATA
Thought Processes and
Perceptions
Cognitive Function
Additional Testing with
Persons with Aphasia
Use segments of movies or
other visual materials and
ask students to describe
the mental status of the
personality portrayed,
educationally challenged
individuals, Rain Man for a
psychiatric disorder, Terms
of Endearment for anger,
and A Beautiful Mind for a
psychiatric disorder
(schizophrenia).
• Activity: Have students shadow a psychiatric nurse in either an outpatient or inpatient setting.
Instruct them to write a short paper on their observations, including but not limited to the following:
o The nurse’s attitude and demeanor toward the patient
o Questions asked that clearly revealed the extent of the problem
o Suggestions from the nurse about documentation
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TEACHING STRATEGIES
Content Focus
Content Highlights
Learning Activities
photos: one of a person
with a neat, well-groomed
appearance and the other
with a disheveled
appearance. Have students
compare the photos and
make assumptions based
on appearance.
Try the Four Unrelated
Words Test on the class.
Give each student or group
of students a separate list
of words, and use the lists
to test for recall as
described in the text.
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TEACHING STRATEGIES
Content Focus
Content Highlights
Learning Activities
Explain how various
behavior and cognitive
function even when not
symptoms of aphasia.
Obtain input from the class
on variables that might
IN-CLASS/ONLINE CASE STUDY
A.P. is a 73-year-old woman who presents to the women’s health clinic for an annual physical examination. She states that she is having difficulty
sleeping and has been having panic attacks for the past year, since the death of her son.
Subjective Data
Objective Data
Vital signs: T 37 P 80 R 18 BP 140/68
Weight: 140
Height: 5 feet, 5 inches
Questions
1. On which components of the health history should the nurse focus the mental health exam?
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2. What specific observations should the nurse make with regard to mental status?
3. Why is it important to obtain a thorough past medical history for this patient?
4. What specific questions should the nurse consider asking when obtaining the past medical history?
5. What specific questions should the nurse ask regarding the panic attacks?
6. Create a problems list from the data provided.
7. What teaching and nursing interventions should be included in the plan of care for this patient?
Answers
1. During the health history, the nurse notices and compares the patient’s appearance, behavior, and cognitive functions with the
characteristics of a healthy personality. The thought processes should also be assessed. Data collection begins when the nurse first sees the
3. It is important for the nurse to obtain a thorough past medical history to assess previous coping strategies and identify the person’s previous
problems. This will assist the nurse in providing a baseline for interviewing and determine whether this patient has previous experience with
mental health disorders. In addition, the nurse will gain insight into previous coping strategies to determine whether these strategies were
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NURSING CURRICULUM STANDARDS
QSEN/NLN COMPETENCIES
• Teamwork and Collaboration/Professional Identity
o Thought Processes and Perceptions
NURSING CONCEPTS
The following conceptual themes and specific concepts match those presented in Giddens, J. F. (2017). Concepts for nursing practice (2nd ed.).
St. Louis: Elsevier. The specific exemplars chosen and listed below for each concept have been tailored specifically to correspond to the Jarvis
textbook.
A full Concept-Based Curriculum Map covering the entire book can be found in the “Download by Resource Type” folder on Evolve.
THEME: Attributes and Resources
• Concept: Family Dynamics
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o Exemplar: Thought Processes and Perceptions
Concept: Cognition
o Exemplar: Cognitive Functions
BSN ESSENTIALS
• Essential VIII: Professionalism and Professional Values
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN THE STUDY GUIDE
Note: Answers to these questions can be found on Evolve site. Click here.