Unmanaged Conflict In Nursing

Conflict Management

Ayva Rodriguez

Felician College

Conflict Management

Conflict in the healthcare environment can be between the nurses, other healthcare providers and even to the patients and/or their families (Brinkert, 2010, p. 146). Unmanaged conflict can be costly not only for the nurses but also to the patient and the institution (Brinkert, 2010, p. 149). And poor communication between staff members and other clinicians can lead to conflict and often viewed as destructive, but with the conflict management, it can also help address underlying issues and concerns, clarify individuals’ goal and might overcome resentment and leads to mutual understanding (Brinkert, 2010, p. 146).

The sources of conflict among nurses can be

from poor communication that can result in lack of direction or goal, the inability of the nurses to set boundaries that causes them to have work overload, responsibility competition, perceived workers unfair treatment, and self and value conflicts (Brinkert, 2010, p. 147). Moreover, verbal abuse among peers and generational differences are also the sources of conflict among nurses (Brinkert, 2010, p. 147). And with the nurses and physicians conflict, this can be caused by different professional goals, judgments, level of experience and status relations (Brinkert, 2010, p. 147). Additionally, conflict in healthcare also can be between nurses and the patient and/or the family caused by verbal and non-verbal miscommunication, unmet expectations, and different points of view regarding the patients’ end-of-life care (Brinkert, 2010, p. 148).
Unmanaged conflict in nursing can affect directly or indirectly the institution financially, the nurses and the patient (Brinkert, 2010, p.

149). Direct cost of conflict can be from litigation, less productivity, fast turnover of employee, disability and compensation claims, fines, loss of contracts, higher care expenditures for the adverse patient outcomes and intentional damage to property (Brinkert, 2010, p. 149). And the indirect cost of conflict can be the damage of the team’s confidence, project opportunities lost, damaged reputation, costs to patients, higher incidence of disruptive behavior by organizational insiders and emotional costs (Brinkert, 2010, p.

149).
The study suggested that good communication significantly increase the retention rates of nurses and nurses felt motivated when they were able to collaborate with the physicians, recognized as autonomous, effective interpersonal communication and when conflicts were solved constructively (Brinkert, 2010, p. 149). In addition, preceptorship program not only help the transition of the new nurses into the clinical environment from the conflict with more experienced nurses but also lower the stress and workloads of the preceptors and gained self-confidence to the new nurses (Brinkert, 2010, p. 150). Moreover, nurse mentor and advocacy program improved the patient care outcomes with the strengthened managers and colleagues support (Brinkert, 2010, p. 150). And the nurses’ ability to communicate openly and negotiate his/her role can decrease the role conflict, and increased job satisfaction (Brinkert, 2010, p. 150). Also, the emphasis on the negotiation and communication skills were encouraged in the nursing education program to improve patient care and be able to tackle the changing roles in healthcare and the unclear lines of responsibility in nursing (Brinkert, 2010, p. 150). And lastly, collaboration of multidisciplinary professionals, patients and families were encouraged to improve quality patient care (Brinkert, 2010, p. 151).
Conflict in healthcare can be caused by poor communication, verbal abuse from peers, generational differences, nurses and physicians’ conflict, and conflict with the patient and/or the families (Brinkert, 2010, p. 146). Healthcare professionals should work together to achieve the intended goals and outcomes of patient care (Finkelman, 2012, p. 353). Conflicts and issues cannot be eliminated from the complex system of healthcare and will not be resolve without collaboration. (Finkelman, 2012, p. 353). Collaboration with other professionals within and outside the profession and the identification of their expertise are needed to achieve the desired goal of the planned patient treatment outcome (Finkelman, 2012, p. 353). But effective collaboration will not be attained if the involved healthcare professionals are not willing to interact, share information and respect what others can contribute for a quality and cost effective patient care (Finkelman, 2012, p. 355). And the skills needed for an effective collaboration are the healthcare professionals ability to communicate both verbal and written, self-awareness, able to make decisions and solve the problem effectively, able to coordinate with others, able to negotiate in resolving difficult conflicts and lastly, the ability to assess and analyze the information collected (Finkelman, 2012, p. 356).
As a manager open communication, supporting the staff and conflict management are very important for the safety and the quality of patient care (Timmins, 2011, p. 30). And to ensure that the clinical staff member are skilled and effective communicators by making sure that the recruited staff are competent, the staff are competent at all times, effective communications are in place, policies and procedures as well as guidelines of standards-of-care are available to the staff, and encouraged the staff to develop their communication skills through performance review (Timmins, 2011, p. 31). Additionally, by role modelling good communication skills, it can create better working atmospheres that will eventually improve nurses’ motivation, confidence and morale (Timmins, 2011, p. 32).
In conclusion, the safety for the patient is the priority and good communication skills are needed to all clinical staff for safe patient care.

And make sure that the nurses will not hesitate to speak out whenever difficulties arise and notify the nurse manager for any problems, so conflict resolution will be addressed timely and also involve them in decision making.

References

Brinkert, R. (2010). A literature review of conflict communication causes, costs, benefits and interventions in nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), 145-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01061.x

Finkelman, A. (2012). Leadership and management for nurses core competencies for quality care (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersy: PEARSON.

Timmins, F. (2011, June). Managers’ duty to maintain good workplace communications skills. Nursing Management, 18(3), 30-34. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.felician.edu:2306/nursing/docview/871130053/98B9268B7FE74B95PQ/4?accountid=10819#