Conflicts are inevitable in any organization. They are caused by a number of reasons such as competition and different points of view ( Finkelman, 2016). Conflict in an organization can occur at the department, within a unit or among the healthcare professionals such as between a nurse and a doctor. A conflict within individuals usually occurs when they disagree on how to carry out a certain task or when they are having different points of view about something. Conflicts are grouped into three types namely the organizational, intergroup and individual conflicts ( Finkelman, 2016).
Details of the conflict
In the recent past, there is a conflict that occurred in the organization that I work for between a nurse and a physician. The problem was that there is a patient who was not on medication for a certain period of time and the nurse did not make the doctor to be aware of the problem. When the doctor came to learn of the issue, he summoned the nurse in his office and demanded to know the reason why the nurse had failed to perform one of her roles. The patient was diabetic and had not being injected with insulin for some days. This resulted into a rise in his sugar levels. The doctor was annoyed and all this while he kept on shouting at the nurse. The nurse only told the doctor that she didn’t have the medical history of the patient and she was waiting for directions from him (doctor).
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In a few minutes, the nurse hurriedly got out of the office and came to me amid tears. I was concerned and this forced me to spare some time to listen to her. She narrative everything that happened and there was a clear indication that the conflict between the nurse and the physician was unresolved. This was not the first time a problem of such nature that occurred in the organization. Many are the instances that the nurses in this hospital used the avoidance strategy in dealing with their conflicts with the doctors at the expense pf the health of the patient. The conflict between a nurse and a physician has adverse effects on the patient. In this case, the patient missed medication for some days which affected the health of the patient.
Type of conflict that occurred
In this case, the type of conflict was interpersonal conflict as it occurred between two individual; the doctor and the nurse. To be more specific, it was inter-professional conflict. In most of the hospitals, the physicians usually feel that they are superior to the nurses and this leads to conflict (Higazee, 2015). This is usually because the nurse obtains directions most of the time from the doctor on the drug regimen to administer to a certain patient and also an update on the progress of the patient.
Stages of conflict
According to Finkelman, there are four stages of conflicts namely the latent stage, perceived stage, felt stage and the felt stage. The latent stage is the first stage in any conflict in an organization. The factors that play a role at this stage include unfair distribution of resources or competition among the nurses within a department or a unit ( Finkelman.,2016). This stage usually involves waiting for a conflict that can lead to stress among the parties concerned. It usually occurs when people working in a certain department identifies something as a potential cause of a problem in the near future. An example is when nurses in a certain group thinks that they are more competent than others and therefore they should be the once providing guidance to the other group.
In addition, the perceived stage is the second stage in any conflict. This is where a member feels like the other members may not be able to meet the set objectives and therefore lead to a conflict. It may be because of a misunderstanding among the team members ( Finkelman.,2016). The best way to resolve conflicts at this stage is to enhance communication among the members. In addition, people should also be aware that there is a potential for a conflict to arise anytime. Further, the next stage of conflict is known as the felt stage. At this stage the members can be able to see the symptoms of conflicts such as one being angry or anxious. Most people use avoidance as a strategy of dealing with conflict at this stage. However, avoidance only helps for some time and the conflict may become worse in future. The best way to deal with a conflict at this stage is to use trust. The staffs should be open on giving the best strategies for the conflict at hand and also show trust that the available strategies will help in resolving the conflict. Finally is the manifest stage where the outcome of the conflict can be seen ( Finkelman.,2016). The response at this level maybe constructive such as a solving the problem or destructive such as failing to perform some duties.
Strategies of dealing with the conflict
Conflicts are a normal occurrence in an organization including the health care. There is an interaction between humans in the hospital which provides an opportunity for the occurrence of conflicts. A conducive workplace requires that conflicts should be resolved in the best way possible to enable every staff to be productive. There are various strategies that can be used in dealing with conflicts in the hospital setting. The first step in resolving any conflict is to unearth the origin of the conflict (Verma, 1998).
There are five strategies of managing conflicts interpersonal problems and this includes withdrawing, smoothing, forcing, compromising and collaborating or negotiating.
Withdrawal is one of the strategies that is used in resolving a conflict. Here, a person may not anything that deals with the conflict or might require more time so that he can be in a sober mood of dealing with the conflict. This type of strategy is not the best in dealing with conflicts in the health care setting because it may lead to a delay in the provision of services to the patient. The other strategy of dealing with the conflict is smoothing or accommodating. In this strategy, the main aim is to bring peace between the concerned parties. This type of conflict management strategy is not the best in finding a lasting solution to the conflict as its solution is short term and the conflict may occur again. The nurse manager should understand that since accommodating and withdrawing only offer a temporary solution to the problem as the conflict may be big the next time that it occurs. The other conflict management strategy is forcing where a person uses his high position in an organization to solve a conflict. This is where for instance the manager provides his viewpoint on the conflict and his words are final (Verma, 1998). This method of resulting conflict is known to provide a quick solution to the problem but it should only be used where other strategies have failed. The other strategy is compromising where the leader weights a lot of solutions to the conflict and only settles on the solution that will leave the parties concerned satisfied. Each of the parties may have to give something for the sake of getting a solution thus none of the parties involved is a winner. Finally, collaborating involves collecting ideas of dealing with the conflict from different people before arriving at a solution (Verma, 1998). Here, the leader is able to appreciate the diversity of the solution in the organization. However, this strategy is not the best if few people are parties to a conflict.
The best conflict management strategy for the problem at hand was confrontation or collaborating. This is because it will leave each party satisfied and it will also provide a permanent solution to the problem at hand.
Conclusion and how to deal efficiently with future conflicts
Problems occur in every organization and the best way to deal with them is to find a quick solution so that the organization may continue operating normally. A conflict occurred at the hospital between the nurse and the physician which affected the provision of care to the patient. This problem was able to be solved and the physician and the nurse went back to having a good working relationship.
The nurse leader should possess the necessary skills on dealing with the problems that occur at the hospital. He should formulate a plan of dealing with the conflicts that might occur in the hospital in future. He should also ensure that all the employees are aware of their duties and the right channel is utilized in dealing with the conflict.
References
Finkelman, A. (2015). Leadership and Management in Nursing: Core Competencies for Quality Care . Pearson.
Higazee, M. Z.A. (2015). Types and levels of conflicts experienced by nurses in the hospital settings. Health Science Journal.
http://www.hsj.gr/medicine/types-and-levels-of-conflicts-experienced-by-nurses-in-the-hospital-settings.php?aid=7838
Verma,V.K. (1998). Conflict management. The project management institute. Project management handbook, 353-364
http://www.iei.liu.se/pie/olssonrune/material/knoflikthantering/1.320924/conflManagmentVer.pdf
