A nurse counseling a patient diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) should understand that the assessment of highest priority is:

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Assessments that relate to patient safety take priority. Patients diagnosed with dissociative identity disorders may be at risk for suicide or self-mutilation; therefore, the nurse must be alert for hints of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness, low self-esteem, and impulses to self-mutilate. The distractors are important assessments but rank beneath safety.

A Nurse Counseling a Patient Diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder