Social; Stratification Aspects and their Application to Nursing Career
The three sociological concepts that influence social stratification are that of gender, racial or ethnic affiliation as well as an individual’s social class. Social stratification based on gender often occurs when people are treated differently based on the fact that they are either male or female. Gender is relevant to nursing as it influences how a nurse will relate to a patient, especially when they are of the opposite sex. It is crucial for nurses to establish boundaries when they are dealing with their clients. I will apply this concept by ensuring that I maintain a professional relationship with a person placed under my care. It is possible for a relationship to develop with a person under my care because of the sharing of personal feelings, vulnerabilities, and information. Therefore, by defining clear boundaries I will able to maintain a professional relationship with patients of the opposite gender.
According to Shepard (2007), the concept of social status relies on the different classes held by people because of the variation in the power, prestige, material possessions, wealth, and the authority they have in the society. Consequently, these people are likely to experience a difference in the manner in which they access health care and education. As such, the difference in people’s resources is likely to promote inequality. Some of the social status is the upper class, usually the elites who are mostly heads of universities, multinational corporations and other institutions. Additionally, the upper middle class tends to be people who have technical and scientific knowledge. Architects, engineers, lawyers and the accountants represent this group. Usually, they are well educated, have a high income and social prestige. The lower middle are such are such as the clerks while there are also the poorest. Social status is relevant to being a nurse as it assists a nurse to understand that there are people of different status, therefore they are likely to have an idea of the kind of diseases various people are suffering from. For instance, nurses can explain the symptoms of a disease as having been caused by an individual’s lifestyle. A good example are diseases like obesity and cancer, which are lifestyle diseases mostly suffered by the rich and upper middle class (Shepard, 2007). I will apply the aspect of the different social status of individuals when advising patients on the preferable treatment and medication they should adopt. When suggesting to the doctor on the medications that should be prescribed to a patient, I will consider a patient’s financial capability. Therefore, for the lower middle class and poor patients I will recommend cheaper drugs and treatment methods. On the other hand, in the case of the affluent, I will give them a wide range of treatment method and drugs from which they can choose from given that they will be able to afford such treatment.
Race and ethnicity are another social stratum that exists in the society. Race usually categorizes people based on their biological features like the Whites, Blacks, and Asians. Furthermore, ethnicity affects people’s culture and their local language. The knowledge about different races is fundamental in nursing as it makes it possible for medical personnel to appreciate the different races, and as such, this will enable them to render services without discrimination. I will apply the concept of racial stratification by ensuring that I treat all patients with dignity regardless of whether they are white or blacks. I will regard my patients as individuals who need to be respected. Therefore, when offering my services I will give them equal priority and attach similar importance to their health because they are all human.
Deviant Behavior
Deviance refers to behavior that is unacceptable and one that goes against the societal norms. Murder is a deviant behavior because it goes against the societal normal of respecting and preserving the life of all kinds of people. A functionalist sociologist will care about a non-normative aspect of the act of murder. This is because the functionalist will feel that this deviance creates social stability as it plays the function of helping to determine what is normative or not (Shepard, 2007). Consequently, deviance makes it possible for the society to change and establish new punishments for the challenges that continually crop up in the society. Therefore, when there is deviant behavior like murder, the punishments imposed on the perpetrators of societal norms helps in affirming the social values. The final function of deviant behavior is that it will bring different kinds of people together. For example, the deviant act of murder will bring people together so that they can share in their moral stand and express disgust over the deviant act of murder.
The conflict perspective of deviant behavior is of the view that deviant behavior arises from social and economic causes. In this regard, it is assumed that the act of murder may have been caused by negative societal influence that promotes violence as well as economic causes like poverty. Therefore, the main goal is to instill protective measures that will protect people from attacks and try to reduce the disparity between the rich and poor through the creation of employment. The interactionist sociologist would care about the possibility that such a deviant behavior will reoccur. Usually, once an individual has gotten involved in a deviant behavior like murder it is assumed that they are likely to get worse. Therefore, they are earning a stigmatized label thus they eventually end up becoming continuously deviant. As such, the interactions sociologist will be concerned that the individual who engaged in murderous activities will not change but will instead become worse.
Reference
Shepard, J. M. (2007). Sociology. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
