Sociology of Medicine - Essay Example

Sociology of Medicine Discuss the idea that the norms for medical practice vary. If one takes a close look at the social environment that is formed by humans, one will be able to notice that it is largely guided by different rules and regulations. Indeed, it is thought that the legal system was established to make sure that the people who comprise the society will not be able to perform actions that undermine the fundamental principles of harmony and prosperity. That is why to a certain extent that stability of the community rests on the uniformity of norms that are being promoted in it. However, there is an idea which states that norms that are applied to medical practice vary. There is no doubt that this phenomenon is important from the sociological point of view. So, it may be necessary to analyze the different points of view on this issue. On the one hand, the fact that norms for medical practice vary can be viewed from a positive perspective. Indeed, this allows them to be more flexible and adapt to every particular situation (Wallace, 2009). There is no doubt that this is a rather important characteristic as medicine is an area which should taken into account all the conditions in order to bring benefits to the people. This means that norms for medical practice should vary as this ensures that a person and one’s problems are not caught into one size fits all approach and are being treated without any regard to their uniqueness. In other words, variation of norms contributes to the effectiveness of medicine to a certain extent. On the other hand, the previously mentioned idea also causes some troubles when it comes to interacting with the patients. This, there might be a situation when a part of the country has adopted a different set of norm if compared to other places. All this leads to a state when people might feel deprived of certain conditions that they deem to be beneficial. In other words, if taken to an extreme, unification of norms may surely cause some problems, but on average it ensures that patients around the country are treated equally (Prakash & Bhardwaj, 2011). It is beyond any doubt that health care is an important part of social life, so the principle of equality and uniformity should be maintained there in order not to disrupt the social environment. Nevertheless, if one perceived the issue from a broad perspective, one will be able to notice that variation of form with regard to medical practice reflects the modern approach towards organization of the social environment. Indeed, the contemporary society may be characterized by a respect for diversity that is being promoted as well as desire to structure the society in a way that would make every part of the population comfortable (Rhoads, 1991). It is quite obvious that with this goal in mind, there is no other way but to adopt norms for medical practice that vary since this would adequately address different challenges that are posed by working with a diverse population. Keeping in mind all the points which were brought up earlier, one might conclude that the idea that norms for medical practice vary is an important concept which reflects the complexity of this area of social life. Indeed, the various norms provide people with the desired flexibility to address the peculiarities and respect the diversity. On the other hand, lack of uniformity might contribute to decrease in stability of the social environment which surely has negative consequences. Nevertheless, one would make no mistake that the fact that norms for medical practice vary in no coincidence; this is a state of affair which was supported by the society which promotes appreciation of diversity of its citizens, trying to incorporate their peculiar features in a harmonious way. 2. Discuss the major issues facing nurses today. Include both those discussed in the text and others with which you are familiar to explicate your arguments. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the art of medicine is one of the earliest since it can be traced in one of its forms almost up to the very dawn of civilization. Indeed, in spite of the fact that primitive medicine heavily relied on spirits to do the treatment, as the centuries went by, this part of social life adopted a more secular as well as scientific approach towards treatment of deceases. Nowadays, the people are able to witness a highly developed system of relations that exists in medicine. However, it is clear that this system features lack of balance, since the majority of money, prestige and appreciation is granted to doctors, while nurses are rarely adequately acknowledged as an irreplaceable part of the medical world. It may be particularly important to explore the issues that the contemporary nurses face. The first one that comes to mind rather easily is the lack of proper respect for the profession (Holland, Allen & Cooper, 2012). Indeed, there is peculiar paradox: while a doctor surely performs the most responsible and decisive actions, the job of a nurse also has a direct affect on the well being a patient (Clarke, 2010). Nevertheless, the efforts of the former are often recognized in terms of salary as well as reputation, the image of a nurse is practically invisible in the public discourse. It is quite obvious that such state of affairs might be rather traumatic for the people who design to become nurses since they are not able to feel the respect that they earned by their difficult job. Another issue that should be taken into account is staffing. As it has been previously mentioned, the job of a nurse is surely not a prestigious one; however, it is an essential part of procedures in hospitals and must be performed on a daily basis. Keeping in mind that many people are scared off by the working conditions, it would be logical to state that there is a shortage of nurses (Hughes, 2008). All this leads to the fact that the amount of load that is put on a single nurse is higher than it could have been if the staffing was done properly. So, extra work is a reality that is not advertised, but will surely be faced by nurses. Finally, there is one more issue that must be addressed while considering the peculiarities of job of a nurse. Thus, the latter face many dangers on their work: they could become ill while helping sick patients; they work with needs and blood which makes them quite vulnerable when it comes to various health conditions that are transmitted via blood; at times they are one on one with a patient which might pose a physical threat to them (“Top Issues for Staff Nurses”, n.d.). All this is the reality of an ordinary day that is lived by a nurse. What is more important is that all this can hardly be avoided since being in close contract with the patients, including physical contact is an irreplaceable part of their job. As one can easily see, in the course of performing their professional duties, nurses often face issues that other people may not have ever experienced. To begin with, in spite of the fact that job of a nurse is an important one, it is largely overlooked by the society. Indeed, these people are not able to make as much money or gain as good reputation as doctors, though they put do their best to help patients. Secondly, the staffing is something that should be improved as insufficient number of nurses increases the load on them significantly. Finally, safety on the job is something that should be taken into careful account. References Clarke, J. (2010). Health, illness, and medicine in Canada (6th ed.). Toronto: Oxford University Press. Holland, P., Allen, B., & Cooper, B. (2012, January 1). Analysis of the First National Survey on Nurses’ Attitudes to Work and Work Conditions. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://anmf.org.au/documents/reports/What_Nurses_Want_Report.pdf Hughes, R. (2008). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Prakash, A., & Bhardwaj, D. (2011). Medical audit (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical. Rhoads, J. (1991). Critical issues in social theory. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Top Issues for Staff Nurses. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/Staff-Nurses/staffnurses Wallace, J. (2009). Norms and practices. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Read More