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Neurological Status Assessment. Neurological status assessment forms part of the overall patient assessment process. The mental status examination is an assessment of current mental capacity through evaluation of general appearance behavior any unusual or bizarre beliefs and perceptions eg delusions hallucinations mood and all aspects of cognition eg attention orientation memory. This typically includes a physical examination and a review of the patient s medical history but not deeper investigation such as neuroimaging it can be used both as a screening tool and as an investigative tool the former of which when. Note if patient is awake and alert.
Level of consciousness pupillary reaction. However unless you work in a neuro unit you won t typically need to perform a sensory and cerebellar assessment. Level of consciousness 1. Note if patient is awake and alert. Assessing bilateral muscle strength. A neurological assessment is an evaluation of a person s nervous system which includes the brain spinal cord and the nerves that connect these areas to other parts of the body.
A neurological examination is the assessment of sensory neuron and motor responses especially reflexes to determine whether the nervous system is impaired.
The mental status examination is an assessment of current mental capacity through evaluation of general appearance behavior any unusual or bizarre beliefs and perceptions eg delusions hallucinations mood and all aspects of cognition eg attention orientation memory. The neurologic examination begins with careful observation of the patient entering the examination area and continues during history taking. However unless you work in a neuro unit you won t typically need to perform a sensory and cerebellar assessment. The comprehensive assessment a thorough neurologic assessment will include assessing mental status cranial nerves motor and sensory function pupillary response reflexes the cerebellum and vital signs. A neurological assessment involves checking the patient in these main areas in which changes are most likely to occur. Patients with an impaired level of consciousness or obvious neurological dysfunction require a thorough assessment as is practicable in the circumstances.