Mental Health Assessment Skills
6 weeks · 0 milestones
Demonstrate competency in structured mental status examination (MSE) in a supervised clinical setting. Proof requires: (a) a documented MSE for at least 3 supervised patient contacts (anonymised), covering all MSE domains: appearance, behaviour, speech, mood, affect, thought content, thought process, perception, cognition, and insight/judgement; and (b) a clinical supervisor's competency sign-off confirming the assessments were conducted under supervision and the student demonstrated appropriate interview skills. The proof documents the STUDENT'S assessment skill development under supervision — not clinical conclusions about the patients assessed. Peer verification is NOT accepted — clinical supervisor attestation is required.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Study the 10 domains of the Mental Status Examination: appearance and behaviour, speech, mood and affect, thought form, thought content, perceptual disturbances, cognitive function, insight and judgement, orientation, and memory. Under the supervision of a registered mental health nurse, psychiatry trainee, or consultant psychiatrist, conduct a practice MSE on a consenting volunteer (a peer, colleague, or simulated patient) and produce a written MSE report. The volunteer must be fully consenting and this is explicitly a practice exercise — not a clinical assessment of a real patient.
Proof required
Submit your written MSE report (structured by the 10 domains) and your supervisor's signed attestation that they observed you conduct the practice assessment. The volunteer's consent must be noted (name not required); no real patient is involved.
What gets checked
- All 10 MSE domains are present in the written report — a 7-domain MSE is not a complete MSE.
- Supervisor is a registered mental health professional — not a general nurse or peer student.
- Report uses the clinical vocabulary appropriate to each domain (e.g. 'mood' vs 'affect' distinction is correctly applied).