Medical and health professionals have a major impact in society, on a professional and power / status level. This essay will outline a major development in healthcare then analyse the inter-relationship of doctors in today’s society in terms of power and status, linking that with the major development in healthcare. It will then proceed to sum these points up using Marxist, feminist and functionalist views. The latter part of the essay will outline an understanding of the history of the NHS and what developments have happened to shape our society today. A major development, if not the biggest development of healthcare is the creation of the NHS itself, although this essay will be focusing on a development within the NHS. There have been many major developments in the healthcare industry over the years, one of those developments being the robotic arm used for heart surgery. In 2010 there was an article reviewing how a pensioner became the first patient to have surgery on his heart using a robotic Arm. Usually the surgery is done by hand, giving surgeons and their assistant’s dangerous exposure to levels of radiation for hours. However with this new machinery the operation was completed in just one hour. It was completed safely behind a screen in a non-radioactive room and was hailed an 'enormous success' by British doctors. Surgeons are often looked upon as one of the elite members of the healthcare profession, in turn giving themselves a high status in society. While it is true that being a surgeon is no easy task, ‘Salary For consultants on the new contract (covering 96% of surgeons), basic pay is £90,200 and average total earnings are £119,800’ (Dr Martin Elliott) with regards to their work you could argue this is a fitting s... ... middle of paper ... ...art operation using remote control-operated robotic arm | Mail Online [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1269681/British-man-worlds-heart-operation-using-remote-control-operated-robotic-arm.html (accessed 11.15.13). Health Promotion Service [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/Services/A-Z/HealthPromotionService/Pages/default.aspx (accessed 11.19.13). Medical Rape and the Medicalization of Childbirth [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/06/19/medical-rape-and-the-medicalization-of-childbirth/ (accessed 11.15.13). NHS Choices - History of NHS [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Documents/HistoryNHS.html (accessed 11.19.13). NHS Trust Development Authority | NHS Trust Development Authority [WWW Document], n.d. URL http://www.ntda.nhs.uk/ (accessed 11.15.13).
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
Her Majesty’s Government (2011) ‘Health and Social Care Bill.’ Bill 132. The Stationery Office, London
The object of this essay is to discuss the role of the Assistant Practitioner. How it has emerged; how it fits into the structure and skill mix of the NHS workforce and the effect it has had on that structure. It will also outline the principles of accountability and statutory regulations that govern the day to day practice of the role.
Taylor, S., & Field, D. (Eds.). (2007). Sociology of health and health care (4th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.
Sobnosky’s, entitled “Experience Testimony, and the Women’s Health Movement” article is a look at how the collective and ubiquitous experiences of women helped shaped a women’s movement that was geared towards helping women overcome their mistreatment by the health care system at large. Indeed, from a ‘macro standpoint’ the advances of medicine in the 1970’s and 1980’s did not seem to help women as much as they should have, because medical professionals based their interventions and interactions with women on antiquated, draconian beliefs in terms of how women should be treated. One of the biggest examples of this is women being treated (and it should be noted that the word “treated” could have a double meaning-one is treated as a patient and the other is treated as a human) poorly, is the recognition that women were usually ONLY treated by an obstetrician who in many cases did not have the knowledge nor the skills to be a general medical doctor for anyone. In other words, the fact that specialist doctors were also primary care doctors is a reflection of the fact that women were treated based on the fact that they were women as opposed to human
This paper is concerned with the major changes, which have taken place in the National Health Service (NHS) following the NHS and Community Care Act 1990.
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 ...
The concept of NHS came into power from 5th July 1948. Although, Bevan who had this ideology of ‘welfare state’ was successful in architecting NHS. In fact, the need for such a consolidation of service provision was initially identified in 1919 by the Dawson Committee report (Christopher, 2004). The state in which healthcare system operated before1948 was incomprehensive, full of inequality and even lacked in providing minimum adequate standards to the general public. The people living in poverty and on Low income (working class) were affected the most; whereas, rich families were able to afford the healthcare services adequately. The health insurance was provided under the National Insurance Act 191, but was only available to the workers, whereas, their dependants (wife and children’s) were excluded. Therefore, every time they used the services they were required to pay for it. Thus, because most...
This article explain how healthcare providers should treat people as individuals, not to discriminate and act as an advocate for individuals receiving care. Also, how nurses should provide individual holistic care by playing an active role in ensuring that services within the hospital or community reflect the diverse needs of every individual irrespective of their background and also highlight the purpose of the Equality Act 2010 to healthcare providers and who it protects as far as discrimination is concern.
...le feel comfortable yet not feel any pain before, during, and after surgery requires much more responsibility than it sounds but in the end it is probably one of the most rewarding careers out there.
The NHS was founded on similar principles as Canada- universal, free to a point, equitable and paid by central funding (Grosios et al, 2010). Over the years, the NHS has seen numerous organizational and political changes, but still remains universal and offers care to people who need it and are not able to pay for it. The NHS is funded by national insurance contributions and taxes. The healthcare policy and healthcare delivery is a responsibility of the central government in England, whereas in Wales, Scotland and Northern Island it is the responsibility of the local governments. In the UK, the NHS is composed of two major sections- one which deals with policy, strategy and management and other section that deals with medical care; this department is further subdivided into community care, pharmacy, dentistry and general medical practice. In Britain there are many barriers in seeking specialty care; one has to see a general practitioner first, who is a gate keeper and decides on where and who gets specialty care. It can often take years to bypass this gatekeeper because there are very few specialists in the country. In the past two decades, there has been a major shift in funding moving away from central government to local counties. The UK healthcare center is facing cutbacks in funding and complaints of long waits to see surgeons and specialists is common.
In this book, Riska and Wegar give insight into why many believe that women physicians will never be true equals in the American medical profession. They back many of their ideas up with personal experiences, hard facts and data. They discuss the idea of a ‘glass ceiling’ in which women are kept out of the top positions because of sexism. This book really helps research the ideas about women’s equality and the hardships that they have faced as they have developed in this career field. Not only does it tie in with the history, but it gives good evidence to support why it was so hard. Later on in the book, the authors also discussed women physicians as being the possible new force in today’s medicine. They talk about how women are now being overrepresented in comparison to males in some areas of the field. This book provides evidence of women’s suffrage in the field, but also how they are persevering and overcoming their
In the event of an individual falling ill, we as a nation are very lucky to have such excellent Physicians. Sociology has a variety of different perspectives when it comes to the understanding of the honest purpose of healthcare. With the new era emerging with new technology, humans have become inattentive to the environment and health wellness. I will be explaining the importance of healthcare from the Functionalistic Perspective, targeting three main factors; sick role, gatekeeper and social class. Along with some interesting facts, and studies of the environments role in health within a community.
The aim of this essay is to explore the role of the health professional. This essay will look into the different team members that would be dispatched to the scene of the major incident. It will look into different concepts, such as ethical and moral dilemmas the professional may have to deal with. It will also look in to the professional qualities and values needed to practise in a specific field and explain how and why a professional body regulates practise and conduct for specific professions.
... seen. Robotics would be a beneficial tool to surgeons and doctors making surgery much more precise and safer for the patients. The implementation of robots in the medical field would not only change the medical field, but the entire world.