ABSTRACT
Having identified the criteria which physicians use in deciding to treat critically ill patients, we will attempt in this and in subsequent chapters to identify the characteristics of physicians which are associated with preferences for conservative norms concerning patient care, on the one hand, and for more permissive norms on the other. A number of variables will be examined in this and in the subsequent chapter, including organizational setting, professional and social values, and personal characteristics of the physician, such as social class origin and religious affiliation. In a sense, we are asking whether the physician is autonomous in making these decisions or whether his decisions are influenced by his organizational affiliations or by ethical orientations which predated his medical training.
