The Nurse's Theory Of The Conflict Theory In Nursing

The American Nurses Association defines nursing as, “The protection, promotion and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations.” In other words, nurses protect and promote the health of patients by taking care of not only the illness but by advocating for both the individual and their families. Nurses not only administer medicine, perform physical exams and conduct research, but they interpret patient information and act as a liaison between the doctor and the patient. Nurses provide health promotion and counseling. Nurses

While a nurse’s first goal should be to help people, a conflict theorist would also recognize it as a business in which quality health care goes to the highest bidder. Most healthcare professionals are paid a relatively high salary. On top of that the cost or running a hospital and providing treatment is extremely high as well. A conflict theorist would see this cost of medicine and salaries as perpetuating inequality and contributing to the poor health of the lower class. A conflict theorist would also find inequality within the nursing profession itself. One could also perceive that nurses themselves face inequality within their jobs. Eighty three percent of registered nurses are caucasian which might cause one to think there is a hiring bias of some sort. However, minorities only make up around twenty eight percent of BSN students. So the majority of persons holding the right degree to be hired as a nurse are caucasian, hence why they make up the majority of the field. The question then is, why aren’t there more minorities in school to become nurses. According to data posted by the Oregon Center for Nursing, only seventeen percent of applicants were minorities. Based on this information, it appears that there is not a clear hiring or acceptance bias, rather minorities are not interested in pursuing nursing as a profession. A conflict theorist would claim that this lack of diversity in the force also contributes to unequal health care. People of all different backgrounds and values come to doctors and nurses looking to get care. However patients that feel they can not relate to