A Short Clinical Rating Scale for Use by Nursing Personnel

Abstract

THERE are available presently several rating scales for use by a nursing staff which are useful in the quantitative assessment of various pathologic behaviors in psychiatric Patients.^1-9Since these have been designed, developed, and applied in quite different contexts, it is unrealistic to expect any single instrument to be best suited for all purposes.⁹The choice of any particular scale depends to a large extent on the intended use of the data, to a considerable degree on the characteristics of the patient sample and the number, type, and training of the raters, and to a lesser degree on the availability of certain types of data processing facilities. While some scales are well suited for weekly or monthly ratings by less Well-trained raters, to assess treatment effects,^4-7they are not designed for use in other research situations where continuous or daily longitudinal behavioral data are necessary. The scales