Interpersonal Conflict At Workplace Is Limited

Conflict is an unfortunate part of life and it is truly inevitable, however in the field of nursing it can be detrimental. “Conflict is defined as the discord that results when two or more parties have opposing or incompatible ideas, beliefs, or goals.” (Schub & Schub, 2015). Within healthcare settings there are an outstanding number of differences in opinions that could potentially lead to conflict throughout a number of different levels of the employees. Focusing in on one of those areas would be the nurse to nurse, or horizontal/lateral violence.

Other Key issues of interprofessional working include: power, poor communication, conflict, team work and ethical issues. When issues like this arise in a healthcare setting, it affects the effectiveness of interprofessional working and quality of care that is provided. Loxley refers to conflict as being interwoven with interprofesssional cooperation and considers this to be a combination of social and professional difference. Social difference can relate to age, gender, pay, ethnicity and status differentials. Conflict evokes an emotional response which could be expressed in various ways such as verbal and none verbal behaviours, for example, blaming people, taking people for granted because of their quiet nature, glaring or slouching position ( Drinka and Clark 2005). This kind of respond can be unproductive and those involved should avoid reacting emotionally and try to react rationally. Dealing with conflict and the process of trying to reach shared decisions is likely to involve a degree of discomfort and in order for individuals in this situation to protect themselves from

Everyone has to deal with conflict: both in the workplace and personal lives. Fresh nurses too have to witness this at their new work setting.

Conflict has been an issue for man since the dawn of civilization. In today’s fast paced world conflict, especially in the workplace, is a frequent occurrence. When that workplace is a health care environment where lives are at stake, emotions run high and collaboration with many different disciplines is required conflict often becomes a prevalent part of everyday life. Conflicts in the workplace can lead to reduced morale, lowered productivity resulting in decreased patient care and can cause large scale confrontations (Whitworth 2008). In the field of nursing whether a conflict is with a peer, supervisor, physician, or a patient and their family, conflict management is a necessary skill.

The nurse as a leader looks to achieve a workable unity. (Gardner, 2007) In an interdisciplinary format this is vitally important. There will be many factors that will prevent group cohesion and mutual tolerance in any environment. In an emotionally charged setting this is especially true. The nurse can help to manage conflict and promote a positive environment. This can

Workplace violence occurs due to an interpersonal conflict between two or more people that results from differences in their needs, ideas, goals, interests, or values (Marquis and Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is not limited to physical violence; it also includes negative activities such as bulling, verbal abuse, pranking, negative insinuations, gossiping, insubordination, and withholding information (Latham, Ringl, & Hogan, 2013). Research suggests that more than 80 % nurses experience workplace violence at some point in their working careers (Frederick, 2014). New graduate nurses are especially susceptible to workplace violence because they are usually unprepared to deal with it, and they are more likely to leave the profession due to workplace violence (Frederick, 2014). Townsend (2012) reported that 70 % of nurses, who experienced bullying at the workplace, leave their jobs, and 60 % of new graduate nurses quit their jobs within first six months of being bullied (as cited in Marquis & Huston, 2015). Workplace violence is an important leadership issue to address because it affects turnover rates, productivity, patient safety, and overall quality of care (Marquis & Huston, 2015).

Lateral violence (LV), is described as one or more secretly or blatantly targeting their discontentment towards each other, themselves or those weaker than themselves. Some may classify it as bullying, aggression, horizontal violence (HV) or professional terrorism, and it 's characterized by facial expressions, spiteful comments, hindering of important information, criticism, blaming, and disregard in all degrees with some so severe they 've resulted in suicide. Lateral violence has been in literature for 20 years and still vastly exists today (Griffin, 2014). Due to the traumatic effect bullying has on a nurse physically and psychologically, along with the safety of the patients she cares for, interventions must take place immediately to bring it to an end. If LV is allowed to continue, the effects it has on the nursing profession are critical such as nursing shortages, staff burnouts, elevated nurse resignation rates and a decline in the amount and quality of work one performs accompanied with a high potential for patient related errors (Becher & Visovsky, 2012). Organizations, managers and nurses are all responsible for eliminating lateral violence in the nursing workplace because each role directly impacts this major issue through education, tolerance and interactions.

Within the interactive presentation of Riverbend City: Team Dynamics and Conflict resolution (Capella University, 2017), there were many forms of aggression displayed by the staff within the hospital. The first type of aggression that will be discussed is instrumental aggression. This type of aggression is brought on by the desire to achieve a goal (Bordens &Horowitz, 2002). Nurse Alan Warnack, was acting very aggressive while helping a different unit of the hospital due to the emergency of the chemical spill. He was very vocal about completing his assignment and was aggressive towards those who began to derail him from accomplishing his goals. Within this group of nurses, Alan was not displaying himself as an interdependent member, which means that he was not depending on the others to help him complete his goals (Bordens & Horowitz, 2002). This made him and other nurses fall apart

Research in the area of incivility in nursing all agree that is it counterproductive, a morale killer, costly, and above all else dangerous. In an excerpt written by the American Nurses Association, incivility is defines as “one or more rude, discourteous, or disrespectful actions that may or may not have a negative intent behind them” (American Nurses Association). The field of nursing is a challenging, emotional, and high-stress profession susceptible for uncivil behavior towards one another.

I was particularly impressed by way this meeting dissected critical issues. The participants of this gathering welcomed openness and honesty from all. This meeting investigated ethical issues regarding patient care, and scenarios in which one’s discretion licensed him/her to question a patient’s judgments. This gathering also addressed the issue of productivity, in terms of sustaining it and enhancing it amid a taxing and demanding environment. The participants then proceeded to address common relational issues, which involved disagreements among nurses, and conflict mitigation. After witnessing the dynamics of this meeting, it became readily apparent that conflict

I need to understand that it may not be the person's personality causing the conflict it may be the situation that the patient is in. One conflict scenario I may come across as a nurse that would be difficult for me due to a personal conflict would be a young 32 year old. She is a wife and mother to three young children. The patient has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has been treating her breast cancer with chemotherapy and radiation.

The lateral violence from colleagues and hierarchical violence from managers in nursing is deeply rooted. Arguably, it should be reviewed and managed as a matter of urgency. Education and training on the conflict management should continue to support future

I enjoyed reading the article by Morrison on the correlation between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and conflict. Reading about the different conflict-handling styles was insightful and I could definitely identify each person's style in my work environment. Conflict resolution is a skill that successful nursing administrators must possess. According to Myatt ( 2012), "Leadership is a full-contact sport, and if you cannot or will not address conflict in a healthy, productive fashion, you should not be in a leadership role" ( para 1). Lack of communication and allowing emotions to set the tone are two key elements of conflict in the work place ( Myatt, 2012); therefore, excellent communication skills and healthy interpersonal relationships are

Managing Conflict As a leader, managing conflict in the workplace environment can be challenging but it is necessary in order to facilitate a positive work environment. Unresolved conflict amongst the staff member can results in decreased moral, disrupt in the organization mission and this can affect the quality of care rendered to the patients. There are two conflict theories in which I will discuss in further details of how the leader can handle conflict. The two conflict theories in which I will discuss in more details are: organizational conflict theory and social conflict theory. There are several change theories in which the nursing leader can utilized in order to become an effective leader and meeting the mission of the organization.

Conflict in the workplace causes a decrease in the quality of care. Conflict creates chaos and a higher risk of poor patient care. Additionally low moral equals poor quality of care. As Sullivan stated, disruptive conflict does not follow any set of rules, and parties involved engages in activities to beat their opponent which causes angry, fear, and stress (2012).