Sociology of Health and Medicine Essay
Respond to discussion Include citations/Use in text citation where needed All sources must be 5 years old or newer Only needs to be about a paragraph long More like a discussion rather than a paper Please add to the discussion in your peer responses with informative responses, instead of posts similar to “great idea! I really agree with you.” Each response needs to have a citation POST 1 (Holly) Sociology is the study of groups of people, their beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, values, and cultural norms, and why groups of people think, act, and react in a similar manner. (DCN, n.d.) It is important for the health care professional to learn about sociology because we work with so many different types of people from all over the world. We must know about cultures and viewpoints represented from all walks of life. An example from my own personal nursing experience is my own father in law, Bernie. He came to live with us after his wife suddenly passed away. He had dementia and it became increasingly worse in the year and a half we kept him in our home. We noticed that the need for him to be social was extremely important but the larger the crowd the more his dementia intensified. The cost of an assisted living was out of our budget. We got home health care workers through his VA benefits and that helped some in taking the burden off of us. Then Covid struck and the option for a facility was gone. Bernie recently passed away in our home under hospice care. Sociology of Health and Medicine Essay. I can’t help but think he may have lived longer if his social needs were met in a facility where dementia was the norm such as a memory care unit. They could have met his physical needs as well and in addition, he could have maintained his overall health and well-being. As a rehabilitation nurse, I see this dilemma so often as it can be a financial burden on families when they are met with the challenge of caring for a family member. Reference: Denver College of Nursing. (n.d.) Sociology of Health and Medicine.Retrieved from dcn.instructure.com POST 2 (Danielle) “Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Considering all human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious traditions; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture.” (What is Sociology?, 2020). As health care professionals we deal treating people of all types therefore it is important for us to know what makes up peoples cultures, beliefs, healthcare routines, & behaviors. I work in a busy acute care hospital on a med/surg oncology unit. We currently have a patient that has been with us for many months. Sociology of Health and Medicine Essay.Came in with mild health issues but more psychiatric related issues as well as he was homeless. We have been unable to get him into a longer term facility because he has become so comfortable with being with us in the hospital that he finds a way to for lack of better word mess up any chances he does get to leave. As a staff we have had to make sure we give him time otherwise he becomes depressed. This can be hard to do when we have other physically sick patients that require attention. We are making it an effort to ensure his social needs are meet, some of the staff got him some books for Christmas because he loves to read. We have realized if he is paid more attention to & keep busy he is more willing to cooperate with cares such as showering & hygiene care. References What is Sociology? (2020, October 19). https://www.asanet.org/about/what-sociology.
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Before applications of medical sociology are addressed, a look at the theory and general practice of medical sociology is appropriate. The theory of sociology concerns “understanding the meaning of social action” which comprises the subjective elements of human beings; it explores human beings and their relationship to social agencies and the hierarchical structures of society which determine the quality of that relationship; and it addresses questions of social order in the midst of disruptive and disorganizing elements in society (Turner, 1987, p. 3, emphasis added). When applied to medicine, sociology becomes the means by which health care personnel can see the whole picture, including historical, economical, cultural, and political forces.
There has been a controversy surrounding the authority of medical sociology as a critical voice of the current health system. First is the concern that most of the medical sociologists do not go to medical school; they are not trained professionals. However, many view this prejudice as a historical and social power problem. For instance, in the past, the doctor’s word was not questioned or scrutinized as it
Sociology of Health and Medicine Essay