Nursing Strategies: Countering Workplace Conflict With Positive Communication

At home, with my husband, any conflict we have, I know needs to be addressed and addressed in a way where I am confronting him immediately and being completely honest. I can use the words I wish to use as they come to me and can say exactly what I am feeling without sugar coating it. At work, with my coworkers, any conflict that occurs, I must strategically think about how to address the conflict, when to address it and the process that will occur after addressing the conflict.

In order to resolve a conflict i would show I was using careful listening skills and have a calm tactful approach towards that person that offers a compromise that both sides can accept.

In nursing practice, communication is essential, and good communication skills are paramount in the development of a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of communication in nursing, demonstrating how effective communication facilitates a therapeutic

Incivility in nursing education and on the clinical floor is escalating. Due to the negative effects of incivility in the classroom and clinical setting on the students and faculty the profession of nursing could potentially be at risk of violating its foundation, the American Nurses Association code of ethics. Interventions to renew professionalism and trust amongst faculty and students in the nursing profession must be implemented to continue to produce dedicate nurses who are well educated, can work well with their colleagues, and provide quality care to patients.

Conflict management and delegation are two areas encountered daily by nurses. Knowledge, experience and communication skills are vital aspects in the nursing repertoire that enables the adaptability and adjustability to get things done. This discussion involves a critical thinking exercise involving staff regarding the progression of a recent admitted patient being prepared for surgery. Appropriateness of staff assignments and delegation of duties that are known to be within the scope and practice of ancillary staff will aid in the prevention of problems and conflicts. A problem occurs in this exercise and I will present strategies that would prevent this from occurring and ideas to resolve conflicts when they do occur. The scenario involves the admittance of a non-verbal cancer patient at shift change whom is scheduled for a radical mastectomy shortly after.

A research article from the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (2010), discussed a couple of topics for guiding this study. First, a review of the literature , suggests that a healthy work environment cannot occur without nursing leadership. Nurse leader roles are crucial when it comes to advocating for fellow nurses. Nurse managers must be available at all times and willing to take measures that help to improve staff; therefore, creating a more satisfying work environment that is conducive to greater outcomes. Being able to manage conflicts effectively contributes to an environment where staff feels a sense of worth. Secondly, Sherman, Bishop,

No matter where we find ourselves in life, there will always be some conflict(s) that we will need to face. Some may be simple issues of miscommunications or more complex, involving several factors, considerations, and implications that must be accounted for when solving the conflicts at hand. Settings such as nursing homes, clinics, and hospitals are especially susceptible to high numbers of conflicts of various natures due to the numerous parties involved in each environment. Nurses, face an increased risk of getting into conflicts due to the multiple roles they could hold, such as manager, caregiver, and instructor. According to Dr. Higazee, "These roles lead to various types of interactions among nurses and other healthcare team members, which significantly increase the probability for conflict to arise in hospital settings among nurses" (Higazee, 2015). Therefore, conflicts are not something that can be eliminated from the lives of nurses; however, nurses can be given the skills and techniques to manage the conflicts that do arise. Although the word "conflict" has a negative connotation attached to it, there is a positive perspective that can be viewed as Finkelman (2016) says, "It can be used to improve if changes are made to address problems related to the conflict" (p. 324).

Communication is an important part in every day life. It is essential when we are trying to communicate with one another effectively. I personally have had several instances where there has been barriers blocking my effective communication. One of these instances happened during my Certified Nursing Assistant class in high school. We were coming towards the end of the semester and began a month of clinicals. The resident that I was assigned to was unable to speak and had very minimal mobility. Since she could hear and see, I went up to her at eye level and spoke in a loud, calm, and clear manner. I also made sure to annunciate my words, so that she could read my lips clearly. The only form of communication she could give back was a smile. I made sure that she knew I was fully aware of her actions and waited for her smile to appear when I gave her options.

Almost, Doran, Hall and Laschinger (2010) linked antecedent variables to intra-group conflict among nurses. The purpose was to develop and test a theoretical model, which linked antecedent variables to intragroup conflict among nurses, followed by conflict management and two outcome variables (Almost, et al., 2010). The authors used Cox’s (2008) Critical Theory, where conflict is deemed a process, with antecedents and outcomes. The method of the study was a predictive non-experimental survey that tested the theoretical model. The sample for the study included 275 acute care nurses who were chosen from the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) registry. Six-hundred nurses were randomly selected from the CNO, but for the purpose of maintaining accuracy in estimates the number was decreased.

Communication is not only an essential component of an effective nursing process, but also a key component in every aspect of your life. Nurses use good communication skills to gain the trust of their patient and improve outcomes by doing so. Therefore, we can use the same skills with our family, friends, children and co-workers. Miscommunication can have a negative impact on everyone around you including your co-workers.

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.

Conversations between nurses often include medical terminology, even in casual speech. The environment encourages unofficial acronyms, medical slangs and jargons that are easily misunderstood. These methods of conveying information may occur in the form of written or verbal communication. There has been an increased amount of written abbreviated communication with the introduction of electronic communication. Consequently, studies have shown health care mistakes were more related to systematic errors such as ineffective communication than human errors (Kowalski & Anthony, 2017, p.1). Therefore, better communicate skill between nurses, other healthcare professionals and supervisory staff will contribute to a safer environment for the patients.

As with any system, when one piece is missing the system will begin to fail. Our facility understands employees will not always see eye to eye and have implanted certain plans to deal with resolving conflict. Not only in healthcare but in any work setting conflict can occur due to difference in personality, difference in nursing opinions, language, background or many other reasons. In order for them to communicate through conflict we want them to practice:

When we as humans thoroughly think about what conflict actually is we can sometimes forget that conflict operates just like a two way street. While one direction of traffic is traveling towards the state of pre-opposition, the other flows towards actual conflict behaviors. The prognostics of communication conflicts are fairly easy to identify. When I think of an individual’s commitment to erupt because of an opposition I first record a step by step analysis as to why he or she is behaving in such an ill-mannered way. I first would reference his or hers physical behavior while then

However, even though conflicts are commonly believed as bringing negative impacts, they can also provide valuable experiences to nurses and result in occurring positive consequences such as building relationships and more capability to manage emotions, as well as inducing change and innovation (Brinkert, 2010) if the nursing managers and nurses can use appropriate management strategies and make it as opportunities of increasing overall