Stratification is the geological term which is used to describe rock layers created by a natural process on earth. In this case, stratification is used to mean the hierarchy of positions with regards to the social status, economic productions, social rewards, class and many others within an organization. More specifically, this paper major on the class stratification in a social organization; in this case, the social organization of choice is a hospital. The class system of social stratification which is money and wealth possession oriented. In this class stratification, those born in low-income families are in lower class while those who have accumulated more wealth remains in the upper class ( McLeod, 2013). This is witnessed in a hospital all over the world.
Hospital is social institutions which are tasked to ensure that patient within the society are equally treated and access healthcare in the society. Hospital is a social institution where the class stratification has been witnessed on many occasion, and it’s has resulted in too many effects which some are adverse. In the years 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that almost 24% of the patient who visits hospitals is discriminated in hospitals. The report claims that nurses are the perpetrators of this act with their statistics stands at 12% ( Jones et al ., 2011). First, the hospital is majorly run by the medical professionals. The role of these individuals is to discharge their duties to all the patients without discrimination. The hospital is an environment where the emergency is prone and its needs flexibility in roles and urgency. However, due to social stratification primarily due to class, some of the medical professionals are always not ready to perform their work well. Alternatively, these people perfume their roles depending on the type of patient they are handling. It is not once or twice that we have heard that people who are well off economically are given more attention by the medical professional than those who happen to be coming from the poor background.
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Class stratification affects the positions in the in the hospital as wells other organization. The current society is not based on merits. Currently, the big posts in the hospitals, for instance, the Hospital administrators other management positions are not selected based on merits. However, they are based on the class and status in the hospital and community as a whole. These individuals have a certain level which makes them be the favorites of this position even if they are not qualified.
Class and the status stratification affect the hospitals in regards to the services provided and the positions within its environment. Currently, those individuals presumed to be rich in the society are given state of the art treatment in hospitals, while the poor are kept in the waiting line for a long time. Alternatively, significant positions in hospitals are only held by the wealthy, while the poor medical professionals languish on junior positions despites their qualifications.
One form of class stratification in hospitals is the promotion inequalities within the care institutions. In hospitals, some juniors professionals have strived for the institutions for quite long; they also have qualifications and precious knowledge in their areas of specialization. These individuals are often given no attentions regarding promotions. The positions they should be holding in the hospital are given other unqualified and unjustified leaders since they have money and wealth which has put them in such situations.
Karl Mark’s theory has it that in society, there are two distinct classes. According to him, there is the bourgeoisie which he also refers it as the owners of the firms. On the other hand, there is the proletariat whom he refers to as the workers. He argues that the owners only give the employees what is enough for them to survive. This is what is witnessed in Hospitals. The lower class professionals and the patients are only given what is sufficient for them to survive. The selfish individuals who have occupied the upper positions due to cooked qualifications, status and positions they hold in hospitals give fewer attentions to the poor patients and poor medical professionals ( Chan, 2013).
There are several issues which can be done to ensure that equity in the hospital is achieved. First, the employees should be vetted and be merited to be given positions in the upper manager of the institutions. The hospital board and management should qualification is checked before appointing the directors. Alternatively, the hospital should ensure that integrality is at the core of promotion in the entire institutions. Lastly, the hospital boards and managers should make sure that policy which enhances equity in care is installed within the premises. They should make sure that there exist feedback and reporting system where the patients who happen to be treated with less respect due to their class reports.
References
Chan, T. W. (Ed.). (2010). Social status and cultural consumption . Cambridge University Press.
Jones, A. M., Rice, N., Robone, S., & Dias, P. R. (2011). Inequality and polarization in health systems' responsiveness: a cross-country analysis. Journal of health economics , 30 (4), 616-625.
McLeod, J. D. (2013). Social stratification and inequality. In Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 229-253). Springer Netherlands.
