MMSE Orientation to Place 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the MMSE Orientation to Place section, how many total points can a patient earn?
- 3 points
- 4 points
- 5 points (Correct answer)
- 6 points
Correct answer: 5 points
The Orientation to Place section awards up to 5 points, one for each correctly identified location item.
Question 2: A patient correctly names the country, state, and city but cannot name the hospital or floor. What is their Orientation to Place score?
- 2
- 3 (Correct answer)
- 4
- 5
Correct answer: 3
The patient scores 3 points for correctly identifying country, state, and city, missing 2 points for hospital and floor.
Question 3: Which of the following questions is MOST appropriate for the 'building' component of MMSE place orientation when administered in a hospital?
- What state are we in?
- What is the name of this hospital? (Correct answer)
- What floor are we on?
- What country are we in?
Correct answer: What is the name of this hospital?
Asking the name of the hospital assesses the 'building' component of place orientation in a hospital setting.
Question 4: When the MMSE is administered in an outpatient clinic rather than a hospital, the 'floor' question is best replaced with:
- The patient's home address
- The name of the clinic or office (Correct answer)
- The nearest major intersection
- The name of the examiner
Correct answer: The name of the clinic or office
In outpatient settings, the floor/ward question is adapted to ask about the specific clinic or office name.
Question 5: A patient undergoing MMSE says 'I'm in Chicago' when they are actually in a Chicago suburb. The examiner should:
- Accept it as correct since it is geographically close
- Mark it incorrect since the specific city name was not given (Correct answer)
- Give half credit for the response
- Skip the city question entirely
Correct answer: Mark it incorrect since the specific city name was not given
Standard MMSE scoring requires the exact correct answer; an approximation of the city is typically marked incorrect.
Question 6: Which component is NOT typically included in the five MMSE Orientation to Place questions?
- Country
- State
- Street address (Correct answer)
- Floor
Correct answer: Street address
Street address is not a standard MMSE place orientation item; the five items are country, state, city/town, building/hospital, and floor/ward.
Question 7: A patient with moderate Alzheimer's disease is most likely to fail which place orientation item first as the disease progresses?
- Country
- State
- City
- Floor or ward (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Floor or ward
More specific, immediate-environment items like floor or ward are typically lost first, followed by city, state, and eventually country as dementia advances.
MMSE Orientation to Place 2
In the MMSE Orientation to Place section, how many total points can a patient earn?