The Importance of Obtaining Sociological Knowledge for Medical Professionals - Case Study Example

Case Study on Domestic Violence Report Submitted by [Client’s Name] Submitted to [Professor’s Name] [Subject] The world has become a complex environment where virtually everything relates to everything else in one context or the other. With the increasing rate of development of technology and communication, the world becomes a very small place. Because of this ‘crunching’, people are no longer isolated from each other like they were some fifty years ago. People began to connect, ideas became intertwined, and knowledge became more dispersed. Problem solving in the workplace no longer needs the brains of geniuses but rather a collective effort of many people who are experts in their fields. Similarly, this social trend allows people to evaluate problems from different perspectives in order for them to gain a better understanding of the issues involved. In this regard, health care professionals should not only focus on what they do best – identify and treat health and medical conditions of their patients. They should also equip themselves with knowledge of other types of social, scientific, and managerial disciplines that would aid them in their treatment and prevention process of health care and medical conditions. One of the most important bodies of knowledge health care professionals should be aware about, or should gain better understanding of, is sociology. Sociology is the science that devotes to the understanding of human interactions. Human beings are feeble and weak and more often than not, their weaknesses are displayed in aggressive behaviors (Geen 1995). Often times, this aggression results in battery, mauling, and other physical contacts that yields nasty results, particularly requiring medical attention and health care (Hillbrand 2001). This type of aggression requiring medical and health care intervention is very common in today’s world that they become a concern not only for policy makers and sociologists but also to the health care professionals as well. This paper will discuss the sociological dimension of aggression and its implication in health care as seen in the case of Greg and Annalise. Greg and Annalise seems to live a perfect life until Annalise got promoted from her work whereas Greg was not unable to get the promotion he has always wanted. Adding to the tension is the fact that Annalise’s pay is significantly higher than Greg’s, making her the breadwinner of the family. As a result, Greg displayed aggressive behavior towards Annalise even in minor issues that could have been resolved easily in normal circumstances. This aggression is displayed in various ways including agitated behavior, quick temperament, raised voice, and physical violence. As a result, Annalise is subjected to Greg’s physical display of aggression resulting to her contusions and fractures from a recent fight. Aggressive behaviors, like the one displayed by Greg, can be caused by frustration, stress, or the inability to communicate strong negative emotions (Krantz & McCeney 2002). People generally lose control over their temper and emotions when there is something that troubles them. The greater the issues are, the more likely it is that they lose focus on what they do and how they usually do it. Various researches established the fact that frustrations and stressful situations eventually lead to aggressive behaviors (Banudra et al 1996) as a way to channel pent up emotions and frustrations. People that are experiencing emotional stressors and frustrations are less likely to think of the consequences of their actions the moment they performed the act as their rationality is clouded by the emotions they feel. As a result, they justify their frustrations and stress by displaying aggression towards the people near them, hurting them in the process both emotionally and physically. Frustrated individuals are more likely to display aggression through violence compared to individuals who are not experiencing any frustrations (Tedeschi & Felson 1994). Frustrations have their way of altering the internal wirings of individuals – the way they talk, the way they think, and the way individuals see the world in general. Deeper stages of frustrations alter the rationality of individuals and are often channeled through violent means. This explains why most domestic violence is done by individuals who have a lot of frustrations in life, particularly in their work and in their relationships. As Bandura et al (1996) puts it, individuals either isolate themselves from the rest of the world by turning cold or project to the world the exact emotions they have through aggressive behaviors. Stress almost always accompanies frustrations. Stress is a preliminary form of psychological interference that, when left on its own, is more likely to develop into frustrations (Green 1995). Early signs of stress include inability to sleep well, lack of mental focus, bingeing and substance abuse. Most people relieve themselves from stressful behaviors in healthy ways like going to vacation or spending quality time with family and friends or getting some forms of recreation and exercise. Other people however release tensions from stress through violence and erratic behaviors. Lastly, the inability of individuals to express themselves or communicate their thoughts in a coherent and healthy manner is a huge factor in the development of aggressive behaviors. People don’t get frustrated and easily heal; they go though a series of thought process that shaped their actions and perspectives. More negative emotions form more negative thoughts and actions. If people in frustrated frames of mind and in stressful situations would be unable to express themselves or would fail to communicate themselves efficiently to those around them, it is very likely that they will act in an aggressive manner in order for them to release the tension that they feel and actually feel good momentarily (Tedeschi & Felson 1994; Bandura et al 1996), only to regret the things they have done later (Geen 1995). Understanding the elements involved in aggressive behaviors as well as the processes that occured along the way is not only beneficial for nurses and health care professionals. This understanding also allows them to see things beyond the fractures and the bruises. As a part of a bigger agency, the health care profession is a rich source of information on domestic violence, particularly gaining a deeper understanding of the context of how the elements leading to violence developed. Because nurses and health care professionals interact directly with the victims and the witnesses of such violence, they get valuable information from these key people who can be useful both to the health care organization as a whole or to other stakeholders. Victims of aggression are usually left in vulnerable states because of their negative experiences. More often than not, they would need someone to listen to their predicaments. While nurses and health care professionals could not do anything to prevent events like this from occurring, particularly if these events take place outside the domain where nurses and health care professionals normally operate, they can, however, approach victims of aggression in an appropriate manner. As frontlines in the field, they are expected to empathize with the victims and in some ways, provide comfort whenever necessary. They should be very careful around victims of physical abuse as tactless and senseless chatter can cause long-term psychological damage to the patient victims who are already in vulnerable states. In view of this, health care professionals must be oriented and trained to listen to the patients vent out their feelings about their negative experience in the hands of their aggressors. Their training must also include ways to properly comfort the patients as well as the appropriate questions to ask or the topics to discuss in front of the patients. More importantly, health care professionals can use their special position in the frontlines to help massive changes to occur. They can delve deeper into the issues involved in such agitated behaviors and can help propose better solutions by coordinating with other agencies that are committed to stopping domestic violence and battery. By reporting the factors of the social trends that results to mild, moderate, and serious health care concerns to the authorities, like fractures and battery caused by domestic violence, or other social issues that have serious medical impacts like the prevalence of cases of depression since the economy slumped, or the increase in the trend of parental irresponsibility leading to various diseases and illnesses of kids and children, or the increase in cholesterol level among old people due to the lack of exercise and similar cases, health care professionals can be a part of the massive call to comprehensively change the society for the better. This just proves the importance of acquiring sociological knowledge in understanding contemporary health issues. The more health care professionals understand the underlying factors that result to medical issues, the more likely it is that the issues can be addressed on a social level. Hence, these medical issues can be resolved on a larger scale and can be expected to be resolved permanently. Health care professionals are no longer isolated in their clinics; they are a part of a bigger society that demands more comprehensive care. By sharing their knowledge about health care issues, and by acquiring knowledge on various fields of expertise, health care professionals can actually contribute to the greater cause that aims to make this world a better place. References Bandura, A., Barbaninelli, C., Caprara, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 11,364-374. Geen, R. Y. (1995). Human aggression. In A. Tesser (Ed.), Advances in social psychology (pp. 383-417). New York: McGraw-Hill. Krantz, D. S., & McCeney, M. K. (2002), Effects of psychological and social factors on organic disease: A critical assessment of research on coronary heart disease. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 341-369. Tedeschi, J. T., & Felson, R B. (1994). Violence. aggression and coercive action (read pages 347-371). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Hillbrand, M. (2001). Homicide-suicide and other forms of co-occurring aggression against self and against others. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32(6),626-635. Read More