What is the standard sequence of steps in a suicide risk assessment?

• A. Assess mood, cognition, memory, and attention; document findings; refer to psychiatry.
• B. Assess risk factors; monitor patient; discharge if stable; schedule follow-up in a month.
• C. Assess ideation, intent, plan, means, means access, protective factors, and immediacy of risk; implement safety precautions.
• D. Assess family history; genetic testing; hospitalize.

Answer: (C)

Assessing suicide risk requires examining the specific elements that indicate how imminent and how severe the danger is, so you can take appropriate safety actions right away. The best sequence starts with exploring suicidal ideation (are self-harm thoughts present), then intent (is there a determination to act), then any plan (are there concrete details), followed by means (access to what would be used) and means access (whether those methods are readily available), and then protective factors and the immediacy of risk. After this assessment, you implement safety precautions to protect the patient, such as removing means, ensuring supervision or hospitalization if needed, and arranging ongoing support. This approach directly informs how urgent the situation is and what steps are necessary to keep the patient safe. Other options skip essential components, such as the focus on immediate risk and concrete safety actions, or rely on unrelated factors like mood or genetic testing, which do not constitute the standard, action-oriented risk assessment sequence.