Impact of Hierarchy and Power Dynamics on Australian Healthcare

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the Australian healthcare system, examining its historical development, contemporary structure, and government policies. The core of the essay explores the interplay of hierarchy and power within the system, drawing on sociological theories such as functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to understand the dynamics of patient-physician relationships, inequalities in healthcare access, and the social construction of health and illness. The essay defines key terms like health, medicine, hierarchy, and power, and then applies these concepts to the Australian context, illustrating how these theories help to explain the complexities of healthcare delivery and patient experiences. The functionalist perspective is used to show how good health is vital for society, the conflict theory highlights inequalities, and symbolic interactionism demonstrates how health and illness are socially constructed. The essay concludes by reflecting on the implications of these insights for health practitioners, emphasizing the need to understand the social and power dynamics influencing healthcare.

Running head: HIERARCHY AND POWER ARE INTRINSIC TO THE CURRENT HEALTH
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HIERARCHY AND POWER ARE INTRINSIC TO THE CURRENT HEALTH CARE
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Institution
Student
Date

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HIERARCHY AND POWER ARE INTRINSIC TO THE CURRENT HEALTH CARE
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Introduction
The modern health care system in Australian offers widespread access to a comprehensive range
of services, mainly supported through overall fiscal policy. Since the year 1984, a collective
health system has been offered in this country by the Commonwealth Government, called
Medicare. In the modern health care system, Medicare is now occasionally applied to designate
the Australian health care system despite the fact that it specifically denotes access to medical
care (medical Medicare) and hospitals (hospital Medicare) (Hall, 2015). In this particular essay I
will analytically discourse the Australian antiquity of the health care systems, the contemporary
nature and the policies set aside by the country’s government to recover health care. In addition,
the paper discusses sociological theories in which there are innumerable sub-theories such as
conflict theory and symbolic interaction theory. As (Kleinman, 2010) points out, it is from these
particular theories, perspectives, and concepts one gets to comprehend and evaluate the
communal interactions, relations as well as behavior of citizens in Australia. Moreover, this
essay shall evaluate the associations of the sociological theories to the health care systems in
Australia. Finally, I will explain how this discussion impacts on me as a health practitioner.
Definition of terms
Before going deeper into the explanation of our topic of interest, it is important we define
various key terms which shall be mentioned extensively in the course of the essay. These
conceptions are medicine, health, hierarchy, and power. Stokols, et al. , (2013) defines health as
the degree of an individual’s mental, social, and physical well-being. On the other hand,
medicine refers to a societal institution which aims at preventing, diagnosing, and treating

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illnesses and consequently promotes health in its various aspects. In our context, hierarchy shall
be used to denote an organization or a system of individuals or groups positioned one above the
other according to their social status or authority. Emanuel, (2011) in his work defines power as
the capability to influence or direct somebody’s code of conduct or a certain course of events.
With the above definitions on mind, we now turn to our discussion on how they interrelate the in
knitting the general health care system in Australia with a close reference to the arguments
explained by the sociological theorists. Commonly, the three sociological perspectives, namely,
Functionalism, Conflict theory, and Symbolic interactionism are used in our field of study to
offer a more comprehensive understanding than any other theoretical approaches.
Snapshot and assumptions of sociological theories
1. Functionalism theoretical perspective: Effective medical and good health are vital for
the smooth performance of the society. Patients ought to take the “sick role” in attempt
to be alleged as justifiably ill and then be exempted from their common responsibilities.
The patient-physician connection is hierarchical that is the medicine practitioner offers
guidelines, and the patient is expected to adhere to them (Treviño, 2014) .
2. Conflict theory Theoretical perspective: Societal inequity symbolizes the quality of
health care as well as the eminence of health. Individuals from underprivileged
community backgrounds have high chances of becoming ill and receiving insufficient
health care (Turner, 2013). Moderately to upturn their revenues, doctors have attempted
to regulate the practice of medication and to describe community difficulties as medical
difficulties.

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3. Symbolic interactionism Theoretical perspective: Health and sickness are societal
constructions: Mental and physical situations have petite or no objective authenticity but
instead both are deliberated as healthy or ill situations if only they are demarcated as such
by the society. General practitioners “manage the situation” to show their power as well
as medicinal knowledge (Mead, Morris, Daniel , & Hans , 2015).
The Functionalist Approach
This theory was conceived by Talcott Parsons in the year 1951. According to Parsons, effective
medical care and good health are necessary for a society to function smoothly. Poor health
hampers citizen’s ability to carry out their roles in society, and if a large number of people are
sick, the functioning and stability of the entire society suffer (KAMARA, 2015). For the last few
decades, Australia has been subjected to frequent occurrence of premature deaths among the
young energetic individuals. This happening has been said to prevent people from conducting
their social obligations fully. In addition, the situation, just as Parsons emphasizes represents an
“underprivileged return” to Australia for the several expenses of pregnancy, birth, children care,
as well as the socialization of individuals who face demise early in their life time. Deprived
therapeutic care is similarly dysfunctional for the social order, as individuals who are sick
encounter severe difficulties in attaining their healthy status again and individuals who are
healthy have high chances of becoming ill (ABC News, 2017).
Parsons argued that for one to be considered as acceptably sick, various anticipations, called the
sick role, should be portrayed. These anticipations include the observation that the individual did
not lead to his or her own health challenge. If every expectation is met, the theorist said that ill
individuals are treated as ill by their friends, families, among other people they know, and

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therefore get exempted from their common responsibilities to all these individuals. At times they
are even advised to stay in bed when actually want to appear full of life and healthy (Treviño,
2014).
Parsons said that medical doctors as well have a key role to accomplish. Most importantly, they
are supposed to make a diagnosis of the individual’s sickness, determine how to administer
treatment, and aid the patient gain their heath. In order to do that, they require the cooperation of
the sick person, who is supposed to respond to the doctors queries precisely and adhere to the set
instructions. The theorist hence saw the doctor-patient affiliation as hierarchical: the medical
doctor provides the guidelines (or, much correctly, gives recommendation and directions), and
the patient obeys by following them (KAMARA, 2015).
The Conflict Approach
The conflict theory highlights disproportion or inequity in the quality of health care delivery and
of health (Turner, 2013). As pointed out before, the quality of health care and health fluctuates
significantly around the globe and as well within Australia. The social order’s discriminations
along gender lines, public classes, culture, and race are replicated in Australian’s health care and
health. Individuals from underprivileged societal settings are more probable to go sick, and the
moment that happens, insufficient health care facilities makes it more problematic for those
people to gain health again. As we will know, in several parts of Australia, the indication of
inequalities in health care and health is massive and melodramatic (Godding, 2014).
The conflict theory, besides, reviews determinations by medical doctors over the years to
regulate the practice of medication and to describe various community difficulties as therapeutic
ones. Australian doctors’ enthusiasm for doing that has been deemed both good and bad.
Arguing for the positive side, these physicians are held to be the most competent specialists to

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detect health challenges and to render medication to patients who suffer from these
complications. On the bad side, they have furthermore noted that their financial position shall
expand if they make it in describing communal difficulties as medicinal difficulties and in
dominating the management of these complications. The moment these glitches become
“medicalized,” their conceivable societal backgrounds and so latent resolutions are abandoned
(Loseke, 2008).
However, various instances in the Australian health care system exemplify conflict theory’s
disparagement. In this country, substitute or unconventional medicine is emerging progressively
widespread, but so has disapproval of it by the therapeutic institution. Doctors might
conscientiously feel that medicinal substitutes are insufficient, unproductive, or even hazardous,
but they also figure out that the usage of these substitutes is economically detrimental to their
own practices (Acton, 2012). Eating maladies as well show conflict theory’s reproach. Majority
of the girls and women in Australia who have eating illnesses obtain assistance from a medical
doctor, a psychoanalyst, a psychologist, or any other health-care specialist. Even though this
health care is sometimes very useful, the description of eating complaints as a therapeutic
difficulty nevertheless offers a noble source of revenue for the experts who treat it and disguises
its ethnic backgrounds in the society’s customary of magnificence for women (Australian
Government Department of Health, 2016).
Critics argue that the conflict approach’s evaluation of medicine and health is excessively
punitive and its disapproval of doctors’ inspiration far too skeptical. Systematic medicine has
significantly enhanced the health of individuals around the globe leave alone Australia. Though
medical doctors are undoubtedly driven, as several people are, by financial contemplations, their
determinations to spread their scope into earlier nonmedical zones likewise stem from

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straightforward philosophies that publics’ health and lives shall advance if these determinations
do well.
The Symbolic Interactionist Approach
The symbolic interactionist approach stresses that healthiness and sickness are community
constructions (Mead, Morris, Daniel , & Hans , 2015). That is different mental and physical
disorders have diminutive or no objective authenticity but in its place are reflected as healthy or
ill situations if only they are demarcated as such by the community and its members. A good
example illustrating symbolic interactionist theory’s concerns is the development of the
diagnosis of ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in Australia. ADHD is a
neurodevelopmental illness (a challenge linked to brain development) which leads to unwary
behaviour, hyperactivity, and attention difficulties (Digital Phenix , 2017). A few years, the
patients were perceived to be simply as excessively energetic. Soon after Ritalin, a medication
which decreases hyperactivity was established, their conduct came to be viewed as a medicinal
challenge and as a result the ADHD diagnosis was progressively executed, and thousands of
children in Australia sought help from doctors’ offices where they were given Ritalin or related
treatments.
In another recent instance, an effort to redefine obesity illness is today ongoing in the Australia.
As (Department of Health & Human Services, State Government of Victoria, Australia,
2017)says, this ailment is a recognized wellbeing peril, but a “fat acceptance” or “fat pride”
program comprised primarily of heavy people is disagreeing that health hazards of obesity are
overstated and calling responsiveness to community’s discernment against overheavy
individuals. Even though this refinement is surely unsuccessful, critics maintain that the program
is going too far in its attempt to diminish health perils associated with obesity.

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The figurative interactionist approach has as well delivered significant educations of the interface
between health-care professionals and patients. Deliberately or not, general practitioners in
Australia “regulate the situation” to show their power and medicinal knowledge. Patients
typically are impelled to wait for longer times for the medical specialists to arrive, and the
physician is frequently wearing a white lab coat; and he or she is also habitually referred to as
“Doctor,” but patients or clients are frequently addressed by their first names. Doctors
characteristically use multifaceted therapeutic terminologies to designate a patient’s ailment
rather than the simpler expressions used by general public and the ailing clients as well (Jennifer
et al, 2010).
Criticizers burden the symbolic interactionist methodology for suggesting there is no disease
with neutral realism. Numerous severe health conditions among Australians are witnessed and
put individuals at jeopardy for their wellbeing irrespective of what they perceive or their social
order reasons.
Conclusion
How this discussion may impact me as a health practitioner
The Discussion in this Essay offers an overview of the debate about the correlation between
social hierarchies, power of medical specialists, and the current health care system in Australia.
From it I get to understand that all clinical professionals need to comprehend various aspects of
their client base so that they can offer the best services. Nurses ought to understand who their
facility consumers are and who they are probable to be taking care of in attempt to give the most
outstanding patient experience. The sociological principles discoursed in this assignment provide
me with a deep comprehension, and thus institutes valuable hypothetical awareness; one of its

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vital advantages is that it prepares me for the encounters I shall bump into as a professional. It is
evident that a thorough mindfulness of the societal dissemination of health offers physicians with
a grander conception of the diversity of patients they are possible to come across, and the health
subject matters mostly concomitant to people from diverse social settings. The benefits of this
emerge unblemished when consideration is set to the area where the professional is employed.

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