Conflict, evidently, is an unavoidable and integral part of the work environment especially in the nursing field. Due to this fact, it is important that the term conflict is clearly defined. A conflict can be defined as a disagreement between one or more parties emanating from a threat to either their needs and interests or concerns (Johansen, 2012). However, conflicts, especially the ones in a workplace, more often than not have a tendency to run deep and go beyond this shallow description. These conflicts could be more complicated as they involve ongoing, complex relationships in the environment setting and therefore are likely to involve emotions. Different types of conflict exist as it consists of substantive, procedural, and psychological dimensions that participants respond to based on how they perceive a particular situation. Therefore, having a basic understanding of the types of conflicts that a nurse is likely to encounter and the way he or she reacts to the conflict is key in identifying effective conflict management strategies in the healthcare environment (Johansen, 2012). While at work, I to have experienced and witnessed conflicts and the one that comes mind is the one that involved two nurses.
The two nurses worked on one patient who had been admitted to the hospital. One nurse was responsible for the patient throughout the night while the one took over for the day. At first, things seemed to work well as they all performed their duties well. However, after two days, the night shift nurse started doing shoddy work and was mishandling the patient. She became disorganized and this led to late administration of medication and the patient also developed bed sores as result of lying on one side for too long. The day time nurse did not take this lightly, in fact he was infuriated by the negligence portrayed by the night time nurse. He did his best to ensure the mistakes that the night nurse had done were rectified and went on to confront the nurse responsible. The confrontation left the other nurse bitter and angry which led to an aggressive exchange between the two. The scuffle only ended after the chief nurse intervened. The chief nurse called them into her office forced them both to negotiate and lay down their issues. It was discovered that the nighttime nurse was overworked due to the number of patients she was dealing with at night. The other nurse, upon discovery of this unsettling circumstances faced by the nightshift nurse, loosened his stance and was even pitiful of the nurse. The nurse even volunteered to be coming earlier than usual so as to help the other nurse by reducing her workload. The nightshift also agreed to be more vigilant of the patients in spite of the work load.
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The scenario above is an example of an interpersonal conflict between peers. Different strategies have been employed to ensure that the conflict is solved. First, the chief nurse uses negotiation as a way to air the grievances that the two have against each other as well as establish a context to the conflict (Marquis & Houston, 2017). Furthermore, the conflict resolution style used is collaboration in which both parties agree to find a way to solve the problem at hand. Personally, I think that this was the best approach in dealing with this conflict. However, it could have been achieved without the intervention of the chief nurse.
If this conflict was to happen today and especially to me, I would first want to know the reason why the patient was unattended by the nurse in charge. I would engage in conversation with the nurse to know what happened considering this was the first time a scenario like this occurred. Once I have determined the context, I would confirm with hospital records to know whether the individual is being honest. If it is true, I would agree to find a suitable solution for the problem. Essentially, my approach will similar as the one above without the initial confrontation. My thoughts show me that I am a person who will do anything to avoid a violent confrontation. Conflict management is key in any environment in the society. It is an indication of good leadership as one is required to play the role of listening to the grievances of people and do everything possible to improve their conditions.
References
Johansen, M. L. (2012). Performance potential. Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse managers. Nursing Management, 43(2), 50–54. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
CPP. (n.d.). TKI. Retrieved July 24, 2012, from https://www.cpp.com/products/tki/index.aspx
