Reshaping Conflict Management Style In Nursing

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.

Conflict cannot be eliminated from the workplace therefore learning appropriate conflict-handling skills is important. It is imperative nurses learn how to effectively handle conflict in the work environment (Morrison, 2008). According to the Conflict Resolution Questionnaire Analysis, my style of conflict resolution is Collaborating. I believe that working together will get better results than working alone, a win/win situation. I can express assertiveness, cooperation and welcome differences of opinions. I will listen to the opinion of others and will give you mine as well.

A conflict can be described as an interpersonal disagreement between two or more parties having a difference in opinion, controversy, negative understanding or insufficient communication (McKibben, 2017). Within the healthcare arena, conflict cannot be avoided. It can have the ability to have a negative impact on the function of the team and result in inadequate patient care. When poor patient care is provided, the integrity of the nurse, the nursing profession, and healthcare as a whole is endangered (McKibben, 2017). As a result, conflict management is the process of recognizing and dealing with conflict in a realistic, fair, and competent fashion. Productive communication, problem solving, and discussing with a focus on the issues are required skills needed for conflict management (Saeed, Almas, Anis-ul-Haq, & Niazi, 2014).

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

Separate assessments of my conflict style reveal that I have become primarily attuned with the integrating style of conflict management, which came as no surprise to me, as I found the results of the assessments to be accurate. However, the assessments also showed that I was nearly equal in the compromising style, leading them to be a near tie. I would be the first to admit that his has not always been the case. It has taken a fair amount of life experience and focused effort in order to move away from the predominate style of compromise

It is especially dangerous in healthcare settings where teamwork can make the difference between life and death. The ramification of bullying in healthcare has brought about the addition of sub-provision 1.5, relationship with colleagues and others within the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics. This provision proposes treating everyone with whom they interact with respect. Nurses will vow to maintain compassionate and caring relationships with not only patients and their families but with colleagues as well. Nurses will commit to the fair treatment of others including patients as well as colleagues. Nurses will resolve conflict within their units with patients, families, and colleagues. Nurses will value the distinct contribution of individuals or groups. Nurses will commit to collaborate to meet the shared goals of providing quality health care (American Nurses Association,

Thanks for bringing up conflict. Conflict is something that is unavoidable. The way a nurse handles

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

In nursing, as in most industries, when looking to blame someone for the existence of incivility, most look upward (figure 3). Managers, supervisors and instructors are often sought out for guidance and for modeling appropriate, team-building behaviors.

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.

Conflicts may exist between physicians, between physicians and administrators, between physicians and staff, between staff and management, or even the patient or patient's family. Conflict may range

Working at a small town hospital, communication and the ability to address conflict is extremely important. Our leaders at Allina Health are superior, employing supervisors around the clock to address issues with staffing, patient concerns, and employee disputes. I am extremely comfortable with our leadership staff. They display emotional intelligence with social skills. They manage relationships and building networks. These individual leaders can read social situations accurately and improve the functional level of the organization (Porter-O’ Grady & Malloch, 2015 pp. 405). In addition to our supervisors, our managers are also useful in addressing conflict. Each week we have team meetings addressing the concerns of our patients and our staff. These meetings are well organized and look into the emotional effects of the individuals expressing concern. Along with our weekly meetings, twice a month we individually meet with our supervisors and managers. At these conferences, they coach people on methods to improve their practice as well as assess the emotional competency of an individual recommending self-assessment and self-reflecting activities. Our hospital relays entirely on

In this study, it is believed that the nurses chose to bully Raymond because they were envious of him. The nurses thought he was overconfident and proud. Besides, he was great at his job and the customers loved him because of his demeanor, skills, knowledge, and customer service. Hence, the nurses might have felt threatened and a lack of control, so they want to feel empowered by taking matters into their own hands. According to Longo (2010) causes of disruptive behavior may be due to the perception of power and authority. The influential shifts in health care is due to the appreciation of valuable teamwork and specific responsibility. In fact, historically nurses were known to lack power in health care and because of this it has contributed to disorderly conduct. Conflict is another factor associated with disruptive behavior in nursing environment. The differences in the way employees meet the needs of patients can cause emotional stress and

What is conflict? According to Masters & Albright (2002), “Conflict exists when two or more parties disagree about something” (pg. 14). Is conflict bad? Not necessarily, conflict can be good or bad. In fact, according to Lewicki et al. a moderate amount of conflict can be productive where as too little or too much conflict can result in complacency or chaos (as cited by Almost, 2006, pg. 447). In healthcare organizations, like other organizations, conflict is an everyday occurrence. According to Thomas, “managers spend approximately 30% to 40% of their workday dealing with some form of conflict” (as cited by Haraway & Haraway, 2005, pg. 11). Conflict will exist between nurses and physicians, within a healthcare organization, and