How to Perform a Mental Status Exam: A Guide by Dr. Rajesh Tampi
In Episode 1.3 of Psychiatry Boot Camp, we explore one of the most essential tools in psychiatry: the Mental Status Examination (MSE). Whether you're a medical student, resident, or practicing clinician, mastering the MSE is a non-negotiable skill in evaluating psychiatric patients accurately and comprehensively.
Guiding us through this foundational topic is Dr. Rajesh Tampi, a global leader in psychiatry. He currently serves as:
• Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Psychiatry
• Past President of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
• Chair of Psychiatry at Creighton University School of Medicine
Dr. Tampi's expertise, particularly in geriatric psychiatry and psychiatric education, makes him the perfect teacher for this topic.
🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ The components of the Mental Status Exam (MSE)
✔️ How to assess appearance, behavior, speech, mood, and affect
✔️ Techniques for evaluating thought process, content, and perception
✔️ Cognitive domains including attention, memory, and orientation
✔️ How to document MSE findings clearly and concisely
✔️ Tips for adapting the MSE for different patient populations
✔️ Geriatric considerations in mental status assessment
Whether you're conducting a routine psychiatric evaluation or a consult in a hospital setting, the MSE helps anchor your clinical impression and guides further assessment and treatment.
📌 Why the MSE Matters:
The Mental Status Examination is to psychiatry what the physical exam is to general medicine. It allows the clinician to make real-time assessments of a patient’s cognitive and emotional functioning. More than just a checklist, the MSE offers insight into how the patient experiences the world—and how their psychiatric state affects their behavior, perception, and interaction.
This episode provides a structured, practical approach to mastering this core competency while integrating clinical wisdom from decades of psychiatric practice.
👨⚕️ Meet Dr. Rajesh Tampi:
Dr. Tampi is a nationally recognized educator, clinician, and author. His contributions to geriatric psychiatry and medical education have shaped the training of countless future psychiatrists.
He brings clarity, structure, and clinical richness to the teaching of the MSE, helping viewers understand not just what to observe, but why it matters in diagnosis and management.
🎯 Who Should Watch This Episode:
• Psychiatry residents and medical students
• Physician assistants, NPs, and therapists in behavioral health
• Internists and neurologists doing cognitive assessments
• Mental health professionals working with older adults
• Anyone preparing for psychiatry board exams or OSCEs
This episode is also ideal for educators looking to introduce the MSE in classroom or clinical settings.
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💬 Discussion Starter:
How do you teach or conduct the MSE in your setting? Have you developed any personal strategies or documentation styles that help you? Share with us in the comments!
📌 Timestamps (Suggested Breakdown):
00:00 – Introduction to the Mental Status Examination
02:10 – Appearance, Behavior, and Speech
05:00 – Mood and Affect
08:30 – Thought Process and Thought Content
12:20 – Perceptions and Hallucinations
15:00 – Cognition, Orientation, Memory
18:10 – Insight, Judgment, and Summary
21:00 – MSE Documentation Tips
24:00 – Geriatric Considerations
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