Mental Status Examination (MSE)
The mental status examination systematically assesses a patient's psychological functioning, forming the basis of psychiatric assessment.
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What you must know about Mental Status Examination
The MSE assesses appearance, behaviour, speech, mood and affect, thought, perception, cognition, and insight.
Mood is the patient’s subjective emotional state; affect is the observed expression of emotion.
Assess thought process (how thoughts flow) and thought content (delusions, obsessions).
Perception covers hallucinations and illusions.
Cognition includes orientation, attention, memory, and concentration.
Insight is the patient’s awareness of their own illness and need for treatment.
NMCN Exam Tips
How this topic appears in the NMCN exam
Distinguish mood (subjective) from affect (observed).
Insight = the patient’s awareness of their illness.
Orientation to time, place, and person is part of cognition.
Hallucinations fall under "perception" in the MSE.
Practice Question
Test yourself
In the mental status examination, the term 'affect' refers to:
Explanation
Affect is the observed, outward expression of emotion (e.g., flat, blunted, appropriate). Mood is the patient's sustained, subjective emotional state that they report. Insight refers to awareness of illness.
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