Differences between clinical and nursing inpatient staff: implications for training in behavioral rehabilitation

Line-level staff have been trained in behavioral rehabilitation strategies by program developers who believe that this training may lead to better quality of inpatient care. The effects of staff training, however, may be mitigated by characteristics of the various disciplines that constitute the staff. Differences in nursing versus clinical staff may be particularly relevant to inpatient staff training in behavioral rehabilitation. To identify these differences, 80 clinical and 210 nursing staff members at a state hospital completed measures of work-related stress, knowledge of behavior therapy, and impressions of behavioral interventions. Results showed that clinical staff had significantly more formal education and knowledge of behavioral treatment. Nursing staff reported greater work-related stress. Despite these differences, the two samples did not differ in terms of commitment to social learning ideology or perceptions of barriers to behavior therapy. Moreover, the pattern of staff variables that predict social learning ideology or perceptions of barriers to behavior therapy was similar across samples. The impact of differences in clinical and nursing staff on staff training is discussed.