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The purpose of this assignment is to give us a perspective of what it is like to engage in an objective analysis of a real social setting. The place where I decided to do my participant observation was at a nursing home while watched the Cans as well as nurses do their job and watched the residents as well. Cited to do my participant observation on a Sunday from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm as that is when there is more activity going on when the residents re getting ready to go to church, supper, and come back and go to bed. Summary As stated before, I decided to do my participant observation exercise in the nursing home during the evening where the residents are getting ready to go to supper and come back and go to bed. At 4:30, the residents were just getting back from chapel and needed to use the restroom to go to supper, which started at 5:30.
Many residents had their lights on and wanted to be the first ones to be attended. I knew this as I walked down the hallway could hear some residents tell the Cans to help them. During this time, the nurses ere working on passing the medicine and charting other things. At 5:30, the residents wanted to go to supper as soon as possible so that they would not be late. When everyone was at the dining room, the Cans had to help feed those who could not feed themselves. By 6:30, everyone wanted to be out of the dining room to go to bed.
During this time, the nurses were once again passing medicine to those who get it after meals. The Cans once again had many lights to answer as fast as they could to ensure that the resident was happy and pleased with their service. During this time, resident 1 had her eight on and when it was explained to her that those who were at a risk of falling if unattended had to be attended first. She got upset and said that she should be assisted first. Resident 2 also had her light on and got upset because the Cans were taking longer to attend her.
Residents 3 and 4 are married and needed assistance in getting their clothes picked out for the next day and wanted to get washed up and into their pajamas. By 7:30, the residents who had alarms as a result of being at a high risk of falling were in bed as well as those who complained for wanting to go to bed first. Overall, everyone wanted to be the first to go to bed and get assistance with other things. Sociological Analysis 1 . Achieved Status refers to a social position that a person attains through personal effort or assumes voluntarily. The nurses as well as the Cans had to go to college in order to be able to work at a nursing home.
On the other hand, most of the residents that live in the nursing home had to make a living by going to college as well. For example, resident 5 became a nurse when she was young and as a result still has money of her 2. Values refer to the standards by which members of a particular culture define what is good or ad, moral or immoral, proper or improper, desirable or undesirable, beautiful or ugly. In the nursing home, the staff values the resident as they respect their age and understand that they are not able to do daily activities as they did when they were younger and that the majority of them need assistance. . Sanctions refers to rewards for good or appropriate behavior and/or penalties for bad or inappropriate behavior. In the nursing home, when the workers do their job right with a good attitude, they receive compliments from both the residents and other workers such as the Department of Nursing. If they do not do their job very well, they might get called to the office to talk about what is expected from them. The residents, on the other hand, have dally activities that work as rewards for being good residents and keeping them happy. 4.
Religion refers to a social institution that involves shared beliefs, values, and practices related to the supernatural that unites believers into a community. On Sundays, the residents have an option of going to chapel. Every Sunday, different religions (Catholic, Presbyterian, etc. ) come to the nursing home to do church service. Many residents like to attend church. . Material Culture refers to the tangible objects that members of a society make, use, and share. All of the residents in a nursing home have material creations such as jewelry, telephones, and religious objects.
The building in which they reside is also another example of a material culture. 6. Social group refers to two or more people who interact with one another and who share a common identity and a sense of belonging or ‘We-news. ” Many workers in the nursing home are friends that have interaction both in and out of work. Also, most of the residents knew each other before they came to the nursing home. As they came into the nursing home to live, they often interact with each other and sit together during meals. 7.
Role strain refers to the stress that arises from incompatible demands among roles within a single status. In the nursing home, while I was doing my participant observation, I saw that the Cans were experiencing this role strain. This is due to having only 4 Cans working on the floor and trying to get their job done on time and making residents as happy as possible. 8. Language refers to a system of shared symbols that enables people to communicate with one another. In the nursing home, most of the people can elk and therefore use English as their language to communicate.
For those who cannot talk, due to progressed Dementia and other health issues, they are not able to communicate with others. 9. Second shift refers to having to perform housework and/or child care tasks after coming home from a job. This applies to many workers that have to go home after work to perform housework. Others have children that they have to take care of while cleaning and doing everyday chores. 10. Analogical refers to a new residence. In this case, the new residents that are coming to live in the nursing home are having a new place to live. The residents then need to adapt to the new environment.
Conclusion While conducting my participant observation, I noticed that there are times where residents expect too much from the Cans. This is due to them getting upset if they are not the first they assist to put to bed or take to supper. As a result, Cans experience a role strain. On the other hand, Cans try their best to meet the residents needs and wants. Not all residents are demanding as there are those who are caring and understanding of the Cans.