Every time I see a patient with cognitive deficits, I ask the same questions:
"Who is the President?"
And
"Who do you think is going to be the next President?"
It's my own little unofficial poll. I'm not really getting any reasonable answers yet though. Most people just look at me, shake their head, and say, "I have no idea." Which is probably a reasonable answer right now. Most people who hazard a guess usually say Trump.
In terms of assessing current events knowledge, it would be just as easy to ask them to name a few candidates. But that's not as fun.
Although I do worry that at some point somebody will complain that I'm trying to talk politics with them. Which is why I'm careful not to give any sort of opinion of my own. I just listen.
When I had my stroke, the doctor asked my address. I couldn't remember, but he did give me points for telling him he could look in my wallet and get it off my driver's license. The next day, he asked the names of common items in the room, and then pointed to the little windy stem on his watch. "what's this called??" "windy stem thingy?" I didn't know that *before*.
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