E. Souder et Ps. O'Sullivan, Nursing documentation versus standardized assessment of cognitive status in hospitalized medical patients, AP NURS RES, 13(1), 2000, pp. 29-36
Although the literature discusses the importance of assessing cognitive sta
tus, little research has explored the concordance of nurses' documentation
of cognitive status and standardized assessment. This study examined nurses
documentation of cognitive status in 42 medically hospitalized individuals
(mean age 51.9, SD = 10.1 years) using a variety of standardized measures.
Although the charr review revealed no documentation of impaired cognitive
status, impaired performance in 24 to 67% of the cognitive measures was ide
ntified. This study suggests nurses are missing cognitive impairment in hos
pitalized patients by limiting assessment to orientation. Use of a combinat
ion of several brief screening measures, such as the Clock Drawing Test and
the standardized Mini-Mental State Examination, would provide timely, effe
ctive, and inexpensive assessment of cognitive status. Copyright (C) 2000 b
y W.B. Saunders Company.