The nurse conflict involves two nurses-a younger one and an older one. The older nurse was known as Catherine, while the younger one was Mary. Catherine has a record of bullying younger nurses and showing undue authority despite not holding any official position at St. Francis’ Nursing Home, Detroit. On the day of the conflict, the two nurses were paired together to attend to renal patients in the ward. However, feeling that she is more superior, Catherine would occasionally assign tasks to Mary while she sat down using her phone to access social media. The behavior continues for days until Mary felt that enough was enough. She politely asked Catherine why she had to do all the work even though they were both assigned to the same station. Visibly angry, Catherine burst into a tirade calling Mary names and shouting how she was inexperienced. In giving her excuse, she asked Mary how she wanted to gain experience if she did not work alone. Mary decided to file a complaint to the nurse manager. The conflict can be described as an example of horizontal violence in nursing.
Taylor, (2016) defines horizontal violence as “hostile, aggressive, and harmful behavior by a nurse or a group of nurses toward a co-worker or group of nurses via attitudes, actions, words, and/or other behaviors.” Horizontal violence in nursing is unethical because it causes moral distress on the part of the nurses and is a significant contributor to the high turnover witnessed in the profession. It also results in emotional detachment from work and adversely impacts patient care. The American Nursing Association clearly states that “even when faced with frustration or anger toward other healthcare professionals, nurses must respond respectfully and compassionately, always keeping in mind the humanity of all individuals” (Matt, 2012). The federal government is yet to pass any law on workplace bullying. Therefore, such incidences are solved internally. The nurse manager suspended Catherine pending further investigation into the problem. The main change that was observed was the increased respect and coordination among nurses.
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The five strategies for solving conflicts include avoiding, competing, accommodating, collaborating, and compromising. In avoiding, the conflicting parties withdraw or simply ignore from a conflict. For instance, Mary should not have filed a case at the Nursing manager because the repercussions outweigh the benefits. The second method is known as competing. Here, each party going into the conflict wants to win. Catherine would succeed by making Mary understand that it is her work to comply with the rules of the seniors. On the other hand, Mary will seek redress through ethical and legal processes. The third method is known as accommodating. Here, each party aims to accommodate the demands of the other. In collaborating, both Catherine and Mary will contribute to the solutions, and each party will be required to accept the harmonized version of the solution. Lastly, the problem can be solved through compromise, where both Catherine and Mary will table their demands, but each will only get a part of what they want.
The best strategy to solve the problem is through compromise. It is best used when the participants are partially cooperative and partially assertive. Each person is required to give part of what they have, and no one gets everything in the end. Therefore, individuals split the differences (Altmäe, Türk, & Toomet, 2013). Catherine will be required to give up her bullying behavior. On the other hand, Mary will be required to appreciate the role of the seniors and avoid filing complaints before she exhausts all the conflict resolution strategies. Comprising will help them work together in the future again.
References
Altmäe, S., Türk, K., & Toomet, O. S. (2013). Thomas-Kilmann's Conflict Management Modes and their relationship to Fiedler's Leadership Styles (basing on Estonian organizations). Baltic Journal of Management, 8(1), 45-65.
Matt, S. B. (2012). Ethical and legal issues associated with bullying in the nursing profession. Journal of Nursing Law, 15(1), 9-13.
Taylor, R. (2016). Nurses’ perceptions of horizontal violence. Global qualitative nursing research, 3, 2333393616641002.
