Healthcare and healthcare professionals have a major impact on society, at a professional level and at a power/status level. This essay will describe a major development in health care and then analyze the relationships between doctors in today's society in terms of power and status, relating them to the major development in health care. It will then proceed to synthesize these points using Marxist, feminist and functionalist points of view. The final part of the essay will outline an understanding of the history of the NHS and the developments that have occurred to shape our society today. A major, if not the greatest, development in healthcare is the creation of the NHS itself, although this essay will focus on a development within the NHS. There have been many major developments in the healthcare industry over the years, one such development. being the robotic arm used for heart surgery. In 2010, an article was published describing how a pensioner became the first patient to undergo heart surgery using a robotic arm. Usually, the operation is performed by hand, exposing surgeons and their assistants to dangerous levels of radiation for hours. However, with this new machine, the operation was completed in just one hour. The operation was carried out safely behind a screen in a non-radioactive room and was hailed as a “huge success” by British doctors. Surgeons are often considered one of the elite members of the healthcare profession, giving them a high status in society. While it is true that being a surgeon is not an easy task, “Salary For contracted consultants (covering 96% of surgeons), the base salary is £90,200 and the average total salary is £119,800 £ » (Dr Martin Elliott) regarding their work it could be said that it is an appropriate middle of paper......artistic operation using a remote controlled robotic arm | Online Mail [WWW document], nd URL http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1269681/British-man-worlds-heart-operation-using-remote-control-operated-robotic-arm. html (accessed 15.11.13).Health Promotion Service [WWW document], nd URL http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/Services/AZ/HealthPromotionService/Pages/default.aspx (accessed 19.11.13 ).Medical Rape and the Medicalization of Childbirth [WWW Document], nd URL http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2008/06/19/medical-rape-and-the-medicalization-of-childbirth/ (accessed 11.15.13).NHS Choices - History of NHS [WWW Document], nd URL http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Documents/HistoryNHS.html (accessed 19.11.13).NHS Trust Development Authority | NHS Trust Development Authority [WWW document], nd URL http://www.ntda.nhs.uk/ (accessed 11.15.13).