Hierarchy and Power in Australian Healthcare

Running Head: HIERARCHY AND POWER IN AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE 1
HIERARCHY AND POWER IN AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Surname, Initial, Unit Code, Assignment Name

Hierarchy And Power in Australian Healthcare 2
HIERARCHY AND POWER IN AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE
Introduction
Healthcare in any society is very crucial as it determines how healthy the population is.
Australia is no exception in making the healthcare system one of the most effective systems in
the modern world. Hierarchy and power distribution are part and parcel of the Australian
Healthcare system. This power is distributed at all levels of the healthcare system starting from
the topmost ministry of health to the smallest unit of this system. This paper, therefore,
examines the entire Australian healthcare system, how power is distributed and various sources
of power and authority.
As any society around the world, medical practitioners have to be organized and
function in respect to authority that exists. This is where sociology comes in with theories and
concepts of what is acceptable and in what way. These sociology theories and concepts are
accepted globally and are practiced widely around the world. This paper, therefore, evaluates
these theories and their applicability in the Australian healthcare system.
Hierarchy and power distribution has an effect on the functionality of the whole system.
This effect is extended to how individual medical practitioners carry out their duties and hence
their performance. This paper, therefore, examines the effect that hierarchy and power
distribution has on a medical practitioner at a professional and personal level.
Hierarchy and Power Distribution in Medical Facilities
Australia is among the leading countries in providing sound and quality healthcare. This
has been enabled by proper organization and management of the facilities concerned with the
provision of health care in the country. This country follows a strict hierarchical or
organizational structure in placing of administration staff, doctors, nurses, and low-level
executives. Below is a hierarchical order of a typical Australian hospital showing different levels
of power from the topmost senior medical officers to an intern (Hierarchystructure.com, 2018).
Surname, Initial, Unit Code, Assignment Name

Hierarchy And Power in Australian Healthcare 3
Theories and Concepts Applicable
Healthcare system arrangements differ all-over the world. There quality effectiveness of
this crucial society is the qualified workforce, provision of quality medicine, functional
equipment among other services offered by the administration staff. There exist theories in
sociology that enable us to view the social world from different perspectives. These theories
exist to explain a particular phenomenon in society and help in predicting how different
situations will work in the world we live in. functionalist theory is discussed below in relation to
the functionality of the healthcare system in Australia.
Surname, Initial, Unit Code, Assignment Name