A Survey of Interdisciplinary Differences in Attitudes and Morale within a Psychiatric Hospital

It is clear from a number of research studies that staff attitudes and morale in psychiatric hospitals are influenced by diverse factors. Although staff morale has been studied in several health and human service organizations, there have been few systematic studies of the professional staff in a psychiatric hospital. In particular, little attention has been paid to the effect staff members’ disciplinary affiliations have on their morale and attitudes. The effects of staff members’ dual allegiances (to their discipline and to their interdisciplinary unit) have also not been examined. Conflict may develop in psychiatric hospitals because members of different disciplines are required to work closely together. Competition may develop along interdisciplinary lines, having serious ramifications on patient care. In an effort to examine this problem, we decided to explore the differences in attitudes and experiences among members of different disciplines working in the same psychiatric hospital. A study was designed to investigate how various disciplines which make up a treatment team perceive current working conditions, their degree of involvement in decision making, their satisfaction with the work of other staff members, the quality of supervision, and their contact with other members of their profession. A comparison of these interdisciplinary attitudes may illuminate factors that could create tension in the multidisciplinary setting of the psychiatric hospital