can someone help me here?

Agnus · Jan 17, 2002

frappachino,

check your e mail, for response.

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jan 17, 2002

To check judgement, ask them about a hypothetical situation in which you KNOW what most people would do if in the same situation.

Eg. If you fell in your home, and couldn't get up, what would you do? The obvious answer is call for help. Wether they have a cordless phone, emergency button/necklace to push, or just have to yell, most people would call for help, at least after trying several times to crawl, get up, etc.

You may think that is easy, but I can tell you some folks do not think like that, and frankly, to lay on the floor for 2 days b/c you didn't want to inconvenience anyone, in your own urine and stool, with a cordless phone besdie you, is using poor judgement.

This is a true example. We had an elderly woman who had no one to help her, she fell with cordless phone beside her a few times. She would never call for help. Last time the aide found her on the floor and the woman told her to leave her alone, she would be fine. She had the nurse paged, who was sick of her shenanigans, and said, if she won't accept help, put the cordless phone at her side, do waht you can, and leave her there. Next day, she was found dead in same spot. Sad, but true. Not sure my resonse would have been the same as the other nurses, but in any event, the pt regularly used porr judgement which placed herself in jeopardy on a routine basis.

second question. Not sure. I'd have to look that up, psych is not my forte.

l-andrée · Jan 17, 2002

To assess judgement in a patient, the questions in a neuro/mental status exam are to ask him what he would do in several situations, like what would he do if he smelled smoke in a crowded theater, if he saw a 2 years old child playing with a kitchen knife, or just what would he wear on a rainy day. I'm sure you get the idea.

There's also a more specific test called Folstein's mini-mental status exam that you probably could find in textbooks. It'a scaled exam measuring different aspects of mental status by asking very specific questions.

As for perceptions, from a neuro point of view, I would say it probably relates to abstract reasoning (frontal lobe), and interpretation of data and formulation of concepts (association cortex).

Sorry if you needed psych answers... I hope this helps you somehow anyway. And good luck with your test!!!

prn nurse · Jan 17, 2002

the way we perceive something is based primarily on memory . This part of the question can have several answers, it is a complex question. But, we visually see something happening or hear something, or feel something...via senses, and our brain has to process it...to tell us what it is. If you have experienced that object (thing) before, then memory interprets it for you. An example, a friend of mind witnessed three pedestrians as they were hit by a car (drunk driver). As the victims were flying thru the air and falling,(their bodies , purses, shoes, glasses, etc.) her mind told her it was garbage flying out of the back of a garbage truck. She had to have several moments to process what had taken place and was able to when she saw the victims on the ground and went to their aid. But she originally believed it was a garbage truck blowing because there was no prior experience to associate with this event and interpret it. So, memory and experience affects perceptions. I think memory comes under cognitive thinking,..I forget exactly which part of the brain is responsible for cognition. Envoirment and culture also affect how one perceives events and people. But first is memory and personal experience.

frappachino · Jan 18, 2002

thanks a lot!!!!

those really hleped

u guys give great explanations