Sample Ethnography Paper

       This is a sample paper that received an A last year. Please take a look at how she tells the story of what she sees, how she ties it into the readings for class, and the way she cites sources. All of this is correct and this is what I hope to see from all of you.

 

    Working in the medical field, I have had the opportunity to interact with people of different backgrounds and social classes. I work in a multispecialty medical practice located in uptown New Orleans which accepts most insurance companies from private insurances to Medicare and Medicaid. We see patients from both sides of the spectrum; some are very wealthy, while others are low and working class patients. I have worked in the medical field for a few years now, and before taking this Sociology class I had never noticed certain characteristics that I have observed lately in our patients. I have realized that someone’s social class is revealed in many unexpected ways. My recent observations are reflective of sociological thesis of class.

          One of my observations is that patients have very distinctive ways of interacting with one another depending on their social class. As children, interaction with others is a very critical part of the socialization process. It is then when we learn how to form social ties. There is one major difference between the way children from low and middle upper classes socialize. In her article Invisible Inequality, Annette Lareau agrees that “middle-class children’s involvement in adult-organized activities led to mainly weak social ties” (Lareau, 764). While low-class children are on the street learning how to mingle with other kids, the upper class children spend most of their time in planned activities and do not get many opportunities to play with other children. When those children grow up, their social class is reflected in the way they interact with other adults. I have noticed that lower and working class patients are over all more sociable than middle and upper class patients. When they come in the office, most lower class patients greet the whole waiting room out loud. Some of them also strike a conversation very easily with other patients who are perfect strangers. They start talking about the weather and end up talking about their children, their jobs, etc. To someone just coming in, they seem like old friends. On the other hand, middle class and wealthy patient are not as sociable towards other patients. They are pretty quiet and reserved. Most of these patients bring a book or pick up a magazine and quietly wait to be called. I have only witnessed wealthy patients start a conversation with other patients that are their acquaintances, never with people they do not know.

          Another difference between lower and middle class patients, especially the elderly ones, is their interaction with family members. Family ties are important to everyone, but particularly lower class families. They depend on each other as a support network to survive poverty. “Working-class and poor families were…much more likely than their middle-class counterparts to see or speak with kin daily” (Lareau, 765). These interactions strengthen their relationships. I have observed these strong ties prove very valuable, especially when it comes to elderly patients. Most low-class elderly patients are brought in by family members, not only by their immediate family like a son or a daughter, but also extended family like a niece or a nephew. Sometimes it even becomes a family field trip. Today for example we had an elderly patient that came in with her middle-aged daughter, and three great-grandchildren. It is very rare to see elderly low-class patients come in by themselves. The opposite is true with upper and middle class elderly patients. Some of them come in with their spouse or a family member, but many of them are by themselves. Also many of them come in with hired help, or are brought in from nursing homes.

          The last major difference I have noticed is the patient’s compliance with medications and medical procedures in relation to their social class. Low-class patients are not very compliant when it comes to taking their medication. Part of the problem is that they cannot always afford their medicine. Since Medicaid (the free government insurance for low-income patients) only covers five prescriptions a month, very often patients have to choose between paying their utilities and buying their medicine. Another problem is that these patients do not always understand the doctor’s instructions on how or when to take a new medication, or which test needs to be done before their next visit. Even if they do not fully understand, they usually seem intimidated and do not ask for clarification. They “seem wary of supplying the doctor with accurate information” (Lareau, 769). Upper-middle class patients are the complete opposite. They are not intimidated by the doctor’s authority. They ask questions and make sure they understand the instructions before leaving the office. This is a behavior that is taught to upper middle-class children when they are young. This is illustrated in Invisible Inequality in the conversation between the middle-class mother and son when she tells him “…you should be thinking of any questions you might want to ask the doctor. You can ask him anything you want. Don’t be shy” (Lareau, 766). 

          In conclusion, among other things, I have come to realize that some of the consequences of being middle upper class are not always great; as well as some of the consequences of being low or working social class are not all horrible. Upper and middle-class elderly patients have the economic resources that they need but most of them are very much alone. They don’t have a network of relatives who are there for them in their older years. Since they do not have a close relationship with their extended family, and their kids are too busy working and cultivating their own children, many of them end up alone or in nursing homes. On the other hand, lower-class patients do not have the monetary resources but they have a network of relatives that take care of them. Their relatives do not have much to offer, but more importantly, they offer themselves.

Bibliography

Lareau, A. (2002). Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families. American Sociological Review , 747-776.