Nurses, doctors, and their superordinate goal

sue_frantz
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Probably like you, a lot of my Intro Psych students are interested in medicine. Most are interested in nursing, but a smattering are interested in becoming physicians or another type of medical professional, such as respiratory therapists.

This New York Times article (Brown & Bergman, 2019), coauthored by nurse and a physician, will be of interest to these future medical professionals in your course.

After covering ingroups/outgroups and superordinate goals in the social psychology chapter, ask your students to read the article and address these questions.

What factors contribute to dividing medical professionals into the subgroups of doctors and nurses? For example, physicians have higher status than nurses.  

What superordinate goal do the article authors suggest would bring nurses and doctors together?

At about 1,000 words, the article is short enough for students to read and discuss in class.

Alternatively, it’s an excellent real-world example to bring into your lecture.

 

From the new APA Intro Psych student learning outcomes, this activity addresses:

Identify examples of relevant and practical applications of psychological principles to everyday life.

Integrative theme: Applying psychological principles can changes our lives in positive ways.

 

Reference

Brown, T., & Bergman, S. (2019, December 31). Doctors, nurses and the paperwork crisis that could unite them. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/opinion/doctors-nurses-and-the-paperwork-crisis-that-could-unite-...

About the Author
Sue Frantz has taught psychology since 1992. She has served on several APA boards and committees, and was proud to serve the members of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology as their 2018 president. In 2013, she was the inaugural recipient of the APA award for Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at a Two-Year College or Campus. She received in 2016 the highest award for the teaching of psychology--the Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award. She presents nationally and internationally on the topics of educational technology and the pedagogy of psychology. She is co-author with Doug Bernstein and Steve Chew of Teaching Psychology: A Step-by-Step Guide, 3rd ed. and is co-author with Charles Stangor on Introduction to Psychology, 4.0.