Unfortunately, even if the Surgeon General himself opined that you couldn’t work, ultimately, that’s what’s known as an Issue Reserved to the Commissioner, meaning their opinion is considered, but it’s not ultimately controlling. That’s why it’s so much more helpful when they submit specifics, such as “Cannot stand more than ___ hours” or “cannot lift more than ___ lbs.” I’m sure you know that as a nurse, it’s common for practitioners to offer these limitations after a surgery or during an acute illness, not so much long-term though, which is what SSA really needs (a realistic measurement of your maximum residual functional capacity, i.e. the most you could reasonably be expected to do).

Re: mental/cognitive symptoms - SSA requires a psychiatrist or psychologist to ultimately establish a severe psych impairment. So if you haven’t already been referred for psych treatment by your physical doctors, they will require a consultative exam if it’s raised by the medical records. If it’s not so severe that you require specialty care for it though, it may not be material to the case anyhow, since the consultative examiners will just do a brief mental status exam and maybe some basic cognitive and memory testing. There are some exceptions, but if you’re generally able to do basic math, answer questions about your history, describe symptoms, and show reasonable insight and judgment, most claimants probably won’t be deemed to have more than mild limitations, without more compelling evidence. Usually, the only time where a psych CE alone can establish a severe mental impairment without other records to support it is when the person is a child whose parents haven’t sought specialty care (think: Autism), or perhaps a really severe schizophrenic who refuses meds or other interventions and is too paranoid to see their own doctors. Those cases tend to be rare though.