Social science is defined as “the scientific study of human society and social relationships”. (Oxford Dictionaries 2013a) It is important to understand that different people would interact differently, giving rise to different different culture, social norms, beliefs and religions. By improving our understanding and awareness, we would be able to treat patients more efficiently and effectively whilst respecting their culture and beliefs. There is an increasing number of diseases and societal problems such as addiction, obesity, violence and end-of-life care that cannot be addressed without taking into account the behavioural or social factors. (Mann 2012) Ethics can be defined as “moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity”. (Oxford Dictionaries 2013b) Doctors have a code of ethics that they should abide by when in medical practice. The aim of medical ethics is to protect and defend patients’ rights and dignity. (Elsayed et al. 2009) When these codes of ethics are taken in isolation, the principles are morally sound. However, they may conflict with each other. (Limentani, 1999) Social science and ethics are important modules in medical education because they go beyond the technical knowledge required to be a doctor. They give medicine a more humane aspect by letting doctors understand patients as people. This would in turn improve relationships between patients and doctors, allowing medicine to become more integrated into the community, thus making it more affective. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the importance of social science and ethics in medical education and medical practice. This will be achieved by addressing four main headings: social construction of medical and ... ... middle of paper ... ...med.2010.06.026. Ritzer, G. (2007) The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell Szczepura, A. (2011) 'Plenary Lecture Nutrition in an ethnically diverse society: what are some of the key challenges?', Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 70 (2), pp. 252-262. doi: 10.1017/S0029665111000085. Towle, A., Godolphin, W., Grams, G. and LaMarre, A. (2006) 'Putting informed and shared decision making into practice', Health Expectations, 9 (4), pp. 321-332. doi: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2006.00404.x. Waggoner, M. and Stults, C. (2010) ‘Gender and Medicalization.’ Sociologists for Women in Society Fact Sheet. SWS Network News 4 (Spring): pp. 1-4. World Health Organisation (2013) Social determinants of health: key concepts. Available at: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/finalreport/key_concepts/en/index.html (Accessed: 27/11/2013).
According to the World Health Organisation (2017) the social determinants of health are defined as the conditions where people are born, grown, work and live, which also includes the health system. The social determinants of health determined populations health’s outcomes and therefore linked with health inequalities (WHO, 2017)
Wilkinson, R.G. & Marmot, M.G. 2003, Social determinants of health: the solid facts, World Health Organization.
...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
Social Determinants of health is the “conditions in which people are born, live, work and age that affect their health” Healthypeople.gov. (2017). Social Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. [online] Available at: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. The determinants of health are important because it helps create policies to make changes, as well as improving public health conditions by addressing the different health outcomes an individual can face and improving the need for healthier conditions. Healthy People 2020 organizes the determinants of health in both a social and physical determinant which has an impact on health.
In the documentary of “Being Mortal”, surgeon Atul Gawande speaks about how being a doctor is one of the hardest things. For this reason, it is based off of what he mentioned “that in doctoring school they only teach you a small percent of what you actually need to know”. By this he was saying that the schools teach students on what to do with the concept of medical procedures and how to do them, but they do not teach you about the “being moral” side of dealing with a patient’s health issues. Later in the documentary, one of the doctors mentions that he “wishes he could do better, that he also feels like it is a failure for doctors and the mental mentality they use now was not trained to deal with surreal issues that they face now with patients
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are increasingly becoming a major problem of Public Health around the World. The impact of resources and material deprivation among people and populations has resulted in an increase in mortality rate on a planetary scale. Social determinants of health are defined as the personal, social, economic and the environmental conditions which determines the health status of an individual or population (Gardner, 2013). Today’s society is characterized by inequalities in health, education, income and many other factors which as a result is becoming a burden for Public Health around the world. Research studies have shown that the conditions in which people live and work strongly influenced their health. Individuals with high levels of education and fall within the high income bracket turn to have stable jobs, live in the best neighborhood and have access to quality health care system than individuals who have low education and fall with the low income bracket. This paper is to explain different social determinants of health and how they play ...
Ethics is another boundary of professional practice, unlike law which is more concretization, ethics is more abstract, different people have different judgement criteria, but most of the criteria is based on human rights and morals. The health professional works interact with different peoples, and the relationship between profession and clients need to keep at an appropriate distance. If professional practitioner keeps some distance with patients, the patient would feel alienation, and it will affect communication between the practitioner and the client. But if the relationship is too close, professional may disrespect client and easily cross the boundary of ethics. According to the statistics, unlike only a few people are well acquainted with the law, most physicians and nurse have the knowledge of ethics, and they acquire this knowledge during training and experience in working (Hariharan, Jonnalagadda, Walrond, & Moseley, 2006). Also, compare the research done by Roy Morgan (2015), health professions are mostly ethical. These all information indicate that in the healthcare system, medical staff, nurse or other practitioners were aware that the importance of the ethical problem in the practice. As a podiatrist, practice in the urban area or rural area can face the different challenge of ethical problems. For example, there is an ethical dilemma due to the moral distress
Hainer, Shala. Closing the Gender Gap in Medicine. Womenetics, 4 Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
With the expansion of the sociology of medicine, it has become increasingly important to consider its theories in terms of their effectiveness in application. While there is a range of concepts to evaluate, the focus here is specifically on the strengths and limitations of dualism and medicalization, as they represent significant aspects of both the medical model and its spread in contemporary society.
McGee, Glenn and Arthur L. Caplan. "Medical Ethics." Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997: Microsoft Corporation. CD-ROM.
People are faced with difficult decisions that affect their lives on a daily basis. Thinking these decisions through and taking full consideration off all aspects should be taken at all times. In the case study, a certain Ms. A, has been diagnosed with carcinoma of the cervix. She has been told that the disease is treatable by performing a hysterectomy, however, the thought of this makes her apprehensive. Consequently, her doctor is now faced with a dilemma, if he tells her the risks having her push back the surgery. So, he wonders if he should tell her husband about all the risks and just tell ms. A that things will go well. He has to weigh out all the consequences before coming to a concrete decision. Thus, if he informs her of the risks and she postpones it she risks the disease getting worse and if he tells only the husband she will be treated immediately
[1] Ethics is defined as “the code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviour of a person or a group with respect to what is right or wrong” (Samson and Daft, 2005, p.158)
These sociologists are able to study health care reform while it is happening and determine if the overhauls in aspects like cost can allow for improvements in health care for everyone. Medical sociologists are also responsible for reporting their knowledge to policy makers, who will then decide if processes such as building “medical homes” are worth their money. Without the knowledge of the medical sociologists, lawmakers would put all of the focus on the bottom dollar and forget to take into account what it is society needs most and can receive the greatest benefit from. The same goes for new, expensive medical technology. Technology is an ongoing area of study for medical sociologists, since it is constantly changing. Cost-benefit ratios are well known by medical sociologists, so technology is a good thing to consult with sociologists before implementing it into a health care system. Knowledge of these types is obtained by observing everyone involved, from the providers to the
Ethics are moral principles or values that govern the conduct of an individual or a group.It is not a burden to bear, but a prudent and effective guide which furthers life and success. Ethics are important not only in business but in academics and society as well because it is an essential part of the foundation on which a civilized society is built.