Kaitlyn Greiner

Sociology 2010 Paper: Option 1

In this paper, I will be examining my decision to be a Health Science major at Clemson

University. I chose this major in order to achieve my later goal of being a physician assistant.

Many sociological factors in my life have contributed to this decision. After analyzing my life, I

have found that I have many interests. I could have been happy with studying a variety of

different majors here at Clemson University, but I have been socialized by the American culture.

Overall, the American culture values a high level of education. My decision is related to

many of the core values of the United States. Some of the core values that have been influential

factors in my decision are achievement and success, individualism, hard work, efficiency and

practicality, science and technology, material comfort, equality, and education (Henslin, 2011).

Personally, one of my own core values is helping others. This value was also heavily influenced

by my American culture and morals, though. In the recent years, America has begun to shift

toward a more sedentary lifestyle, which is leading to high obesity rates. Also, the population of

America has begun to age (Henslin, 2011). The increases in obesity and aging rates in this

country have made me feel the need to go into the medical field as well.

Another sociological factor that greatly influenced my decision to study health science

was my social group. The group dynamic at my high school peer pressured me into choosing a

major in the medical field. Because so many students had chosen a major in medicine,

groupthink seemed to occur during my senior year of high school. Many of my peers had been

told that they must go into the medical field from a very young age. It seemed as though they had

no choice in the matter. It was expected that students from my high school study a “well-

regarded” subject after graduation. Standards were very high and everyone who graduated was

expected, not only to attend college, but also to acquire a very successful occupation. This

secondary group definitely had a greater impact on my decision than my primary group. My

family and close friends were not interested in these “high-esteemed” majors. They valued my

happiness and encouraged a less stressful major. Although they did not have as large an impact

in my decision, I still receive positive sanctions from my primary group. These positive sanctions

are satisfying because I feel that I am making this group proud. Growing up in America and

previously attending “magnet” schools for my entire life, I have been socialized to achieve

success in terms of money and respect. I will be able to acquire this success more easily these

days because of the existence of the phase of life called transitional adulthood. This phase

implies that one is not truly an adult yet and occurs between the ages of 18 and 29 (Henslin,

2011). This is when many students continue their education after college. If accepted to

physician assistant school after college, I will also be continuing my education in this transitional

phase. At this point, I will shift to being financially independent. This is a standard in my social

structure. Because women are still a minority group in the United States, I wish to overcome the

stereotype that women cannot provide for themselves or their families. A goal of mine is to have

the ability to provide for my future children and myself independently.

The other main sociological factor that influenced my decision to be a health science

major is social class. My parents are of the upper middle class. Therefore, I was expected from a

young age to gain a high level of education. When I was born, my parents purchased pre-paid

college tuition for me. It is assumed that if you are of the upper middle class that you will attend

college because you can afford it and you should acquire high paying careers just like your

parents. My parents experienced intergenerational mobility and they expect, in the back of their

minds, that I do the same. Overall, social class is determined by property, power, and prestige

(Henslin, 2011). According to Forbes Magazine, 79% of respondents voted that the careers with

the highest levels of prestige, behind firefighters, are doctors, nurses, and scientists (Riper,

2006). Although I did not consciously feel that I was attempting to acquire prestige through my

major and career goals, the prestige factor was most likely prevalent in making a career in

medicine seem more appealing when I was making my decision.

Gender was another major social cause in determining my field of study. Women have

overcome many barriers involving gender roles from the past. Now, all people are encouraged to

attend college, including women. Women have made great strides regarding education. Females

numerically dominate all of my health science classes here at Clemson. Although women have

overcome many obstacles due to traditional gender roles in the recent years by means of

education, they are at a disadvantage in the workplace (Henslin, 2011). The physician assistant

career is very similar to that of a career in nursing, which is typically thought of as being

dominated by women. 70% of physician assistants today are women. It is more profitable for a

woman to become a physician assistant because they may make more than female doctors

according to a 2012 Yale study (Dubois, 2013). A wage gap still exists between males and

females. It seems to be more acceptable in American culture that a woman has a job that assists a

male in his dominant career because of patriarchy. Men often times make up the majority of the

dominant careers. For example, as of November 2012, 64% of doctors were male and only 28%

were female in the United States (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013).

I have experienced various sociological consequences as a result of my decision to study

health science. My first experienced consequence was group membership. I am a part of the

health science major here at Clemson. Being in a certain major exposes students to the same

people each year. As a result, study groups form and friendships are made. I have joined the

medical fraternity at Clemson, Alpha Epsilon Delta. I also belong to a volunteer staff at a free

medical clinic. I worked at this clinic last summer to gain experience for my major.

I am exposed to various social classes through these group memberships, therefore social

class is another social consequence of my decision. I was exposed to a higher class than my own

when working alongside doctors at the clinic and when interacting with other students in my

major. I have found that many students in the health science major have at least one parent who

is a physician, while I do not. I have also been able to interact with people in extreme poverty at

the free medical clinic. The patients that we treated were legally in poverty, therefore unable to

afford medical treatment. Being exposed to this class of people was a much more enriching

experience for me and contributed even more to my desire of going into the medical field to help

people in need. Exposure to these opposite ends of the spectrum has taught me a great deal about

our society.

Another social consequence stems from my culture and social groups within this culture.

Most people are impressed and offer positive sanctions when they know that I am a health

science major because they know that it is a challenging major. It all circles back to America’s

core values. America values hard work and my primary and secondary groups both provide

positive sanctions because of this value. To me, it is important to make my family proud and,

because they are American, they value these core aspects. The students from my hometown are

also more accepting of me knowing that I am entering the medical field.

This analysis of my own life decisions has encouraged me to understand more about how

gender affects career choices in the medical field. I would like to know why women still tend to

choose careers that are subservient of a dominant one, like nursing and physician assisting. I

want to know if it is because it is more profitable for them to choose one of these careers because

of the wage gap or if it is due to another issue. The reason I wish to be a physician assistant,

rather than a physician is that I would like to have children in the future; therefore I want to work

regular hours, without being on call. I would like to know if family is a priority for women in

choosing their career. Another reason for women choosing these submissive careers could be that

women may not feel they are capable of being physicians. I would like to explore all of these

possibilities through conducting a survey of young adult, females wishing to enter into a career

in the medical field. I would target certain medical majors at various colleges because they are

on their paths to their future careers. I would like to target several different types of colleges,

such as liberal arts and universities, in order to obtain a diverse sample. These samples would

also be easily accessed because I could distribute the surveys in a classroom setting. On the

surveys, I would ask questions to determine their reasoning for deciding to enter into their

desired career in the medical field.

References

Dubois, S. (2013, March 11). 5 professions ruled by women. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved from

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/jobs/2013/03/11/5-professions-ruled-by-

women.fortune/4.html

Henslin, J.M. (2011). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn

& Bacon.

Kaiser Family Foundation. (2013). Distribution of physicians by gender. Kaiser Family

Foundation. Retrieved from http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/physicians-by-gender/

Riper, T. V. (2006, July 28). America’s most admired professions. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved

from http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/28/leadership-careers-jobs-

cx_tvr_0728admired.html