Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) Practice Exam

Which of the following questions addresses recent memory?

1. What did you have for breakfast?

2. Where were you born?

3. What's your mother's name?

4. What year is it?

The correct answer is: What did you have for breakfast?

The question that addresses recent memory is the inquiry about what someone had for breakfast. Recent memory typically refers to the ability to recall events or information that happened shortly before the present time, usually within the last few hours or days. Asking about breakfast, which occurs earlier in the day, allows an assessment of the individual's ability to remember recent events. In contrast, questions about where a person was born and their mother’s name relate to long-term memory; these pieces of information do not change and are typically learned much earlier in life. Asking what year it is also assesses orientation to time rather than recent memory, as it relates to a current timeframe rather than recalling a specific personal experience from a short time ago. Thus, focusing on what was eaten for breakfast directly evaluates someone's capability to retrieve information from their recent past.