Decision-making, professional discipline, and program affiliation: selection of an inpatient treatment alternative

Used a hypothetical case history to examine the clinical decision-making of a group of 75 mental health practitioners representing the disciplines of alcohol/drug counseling, nursing, psychiatry, psychology, and social work. The variables of professional discipline, program affiliation, work setting, and influential case history items were studied in relation to clinicians' selection of an inpatient treatment alternative. All clinicians, including para-professionals, performed similarly in that they followed an internally consistent process of reasoning in identifying influential case history items and using them in decision-making. Program affiliation and work setting had no biasing effect on decision-making, and only social workers showed a clear indication of a "set" related to their professional discipline. The implications of these findings for multi-disciplinary settings are discussed.