Klass, ?Nurses?

Discussion questions: Klass (1987)

1. If you know anyone who works in a setting that includes both doctors and nurses, ask whether the hierarchy that Klass describes seems accurate to them. If you have received medical care yourself from both doctors and nurses, do you think her comments are accurate?

2. What are the reasons for the hierarchy Klass describes? What are the potential problems with it, either for patients or for medical practitioners?

3. If you have time, read the excerpt on Blackboard from Tilda Shalouf's memoir A Nurse's Story: Life, Death, and In-Between in an Intensive Care Unit. How does it confirm or complicate some of the things Klass says?

4. Should nurses and doctors earn comparable salaries?