Mini Cog Tool - MaineHealth

ADMINISTRATION 

The test is administered as follows: 

The Mini Cog 

1. Instruct the patient to listen carefully to and remember 3 unrelated words and then to repeat the words. 

2. Instruct the patient to draw the face of a clock on the sheet with the clock circle. After the patient puts the 

numbers on the clock face, ask him or her to draw the hands of the clock to read ten minutes after eleven 

(11:10). 

3. Ask the patient to repeat the 3 previously stated words. 

SCORING 

Give 1 point for each recalled word after the CDT distractor. 

Patients recalling none of the three words are classified as demented (Score = 0). 

Patients recalling all three words are classified as non-demented (Score = 3) 

Patients with intermediate word recall of 1-2 words are classified based on the CDT (Abnormal = 

demented; Normal = non-demented) 

Note: The CDT is considered normal if all numbers are present in the correct sequence and position, and the 

hands readably display. 

References 

Borson S. The mini-cog: a cognitive “vitals signs” measure for dementia screening in multi-lingual elderly. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2000; 

15(11):1021. 

try this: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults, The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, College of 

Nursing, www.hartfordign.org

Patient Name:______________________ Date:_____________ 

Patient ID #________________________ 

Instructions 

1) Inside the circle, please draw the hours of a clock as they normally appear. 

2) Place the hands of the clock to represent the time: “ten minutes after eleven o’clock”. 

try this: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults, The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, 

College of Nursing, www.hartfordign.org.

Patient Name:______________________ Date:_____________ 

Patient ID #________________________ 

The MINI-COG 

1. Instruct the patient to listen carefully and repeat the following: 

APPLE WATCH PENNY 

2. Administer the Clock Drawing Test. 

3. Ask the patient to repeat the three words given previously 

Scoring 

_________ ________ __________ 

Number of correct items recalled _______ [if 3 then negative screen. STOP] 

If answer is 1-2: 

Is CDT Abnormal? No Yes 

If No, then negative screen 

If Yes, then screen positive for cognitive impairment 

try this: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults, The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, 

College of Nursing, www.hartfordign.org

✁ 

from 

Issue Number 3, 2007 Series Editor: Marie Boltz, PhD, APRN, BC, GNP 

Managing Editor: Sherry A. Greenberg, MSN, APRN, BC, GNP 

New York University College of Nursing 

Mental Status Assessment of Older Adults: The Mini-Cog 

By: Deirdre M. Carolan Doerflinger, CRNP, PhD, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia 

WHY: There is increased incidence of cognitive impairment with age. Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. 

One in 10 individuals over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 are affected (Evans, et al, 1989). The advent of treatment for dementing 

illness necessitates the early identification of cognitive impairment using a reliable and valid tool which can be quickly implemented in 

the primary care setting. Early diagnosis allows the person to plan for the future; medications may slow disease progression, delay 

functional dependency and nursing home placement. Cholinesterase inhibitors show less effectiveness initiated later in disease course. 

BEST TOOL: The Mini-Cog exam is composed of three item recall and the Clock Drawing Test (CDT). This tool can be used to detect 

dementia quickly and easily in various settings, either during routine visits or hospitalization. Clinicians may use the tool to assess a 

person’s registration, recall and executive function. The scoring algorithm is as follows: Unsuccessful recall of all three items after the 

CDT distractor is classified as demented. Successful recall of all three items is classified as non-demented. Those individuals able to 

recall one or two of the items are classified based on the CDT. An abnormal CDT equates with demented and a normal CDT is 

considered normal and equates with non-demented (Borson, S., et al, 2000). 

TARGET POPULATION: The Mini-Cog is appropriate for use in all health care settings. It is appropriate to be used with older adults 

at various heterogeneous language, culture and literacy levels. 

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: The Mini-Cog was developed as a brief screening tool to differentiate patients with dementia from those 

without dementia. The Mini-Cog has sensitivity ranging from 76-99%, and specificity ranging from 89-93% with 95% confidence 

interval. A chi square test reported 234.4 for Alzheimer’s dementia and 118.3 for other dementias (p

Mini Cog Tool - MaineHealth

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