Parsons Sick Role Model - Assignment Example

I agree with this strength because sick people are actually not able to perform normal duties. This is because their health conditions and metabolic activities are impaired. Parson argues that the sick are supposed to be exempted from normal obligations until they recover. Parson enables people to understand the reasons for the sick not working properly; hence, people are made to appreciate the sick role and volunteer to help them during the recovery process (Hart 28). The model also enables doctors to build beneficial relationships with the patients, which prevents physicians from acting on their own interests rather than the interests of the physicians.

The weakness in Parsons's sick role model is that the model did not consider chronic illnesses and disabilities. I agree with this weakness because Parson was too specific to acute illnesses and avoided a sick role that is permanent and not transitional. Acute illnesses are characterized by patient passivity and physician assertiveness while chronic illnesses involve physicians participating in a treatment plan and patients bearing the responsibility of helping themselves (Hart 32). As people advance in age, chronic illnesses they suffer from in their life can deviance labels, which is not actually the case.