Essay Sample on How to Identify and Resolve Conflict in Nursing

In almost every organization, some conflicts occur between the members of the staff and their clients. The nursing sector cannot be left behind when it comes to an encounter with disputes. One of the most re-occurring conflicts is an interpersonal disagreement between persons. However, interpersonal conflict in nursing occurs due to either bitterness or dissatisfaction among the parties involved. Nurses are working to provide patients care in the same organization, which works together to avail of high-quality services. Excellent interpersonal relationship means having cooperation, collaboration, respect, and listening to each other. Strong and effective leadership is inevitable when it comes to healthcare success. Conflict management is a complex process that requires time and energy. Conflicts in the care delivery setting reduce the quality of patient care offered by nurses. Thus, leaders in health facilities should establish measures such as appropriate delegation of duties and effective managerial styles to improve the management of patient care.

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Interpersonal Disagreement

Alteration in the relationship between coworkers and clients can lead to interpersonal conflict. Also, unequal distribution of tasks and lack of understanding can trigger conflicts. In a situation where there is a negative relationship with nurses and other healthcare workers, then conflict arises. Shah (2017) argued that managers who have busy schedules do not pay attention to interpersonal conflict; hence, it becomes hard to solve the internal disagreements. Failure to settle the dispute, poor attitudes, and reduced quality work are the common triggers of conflict among nurses. Therefore, nurse leaders have a significant role in identifying the source of conflict and ways of managing it before it impacts patients’ care.

There are various sources of interpersonal conflicts, such as staff perception, scarcity in resources, competition, and differences when it comes to achieving goals. Effective managerial style is vital during conflict resolution that rises from workers such as nurses. Increase and unsolved conflicts may lead to a low outcome and a direct impact on patient’s services. According to Jerng et al. (2017), when nurses enter the patient care unit, then they have few opportunities to take part in formal training. Improper communication, delay in care, violation of cultural beliefs, and disrespect are some of the repercussions that occur due to conflict in nursing. Experienced managers in the nursing fraternity should be able to identify the root cause of conflicts and provide ways of solving them.

Strategies for Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

In today’s society, health care set up experiences more challenges when compared to the past decades when the competition was lesser. Resolving a conflict immediately helps in minimizing the adverse effects of interpersonal disputes. Angelo (2019) argued that there are three ways of resolving interpersonal conflict, which are management behaviors of solving, forcing, and avoiding. The most important way the leaders should solve the conflict is by identifying concerns from both parties and establishing a suitable solution. Conflict solving amongst coworkers requires individuals to show their perspectives and share their feelings regarding the issues.

Employees should participate in decision-making when it comes to solving a dispute to minimize the stress that occurs as a result of a poor relationship. Involving subordinate staff in solving the current interpersonal conflict increases work output and raises the team spirit, hence better services. The workers are less likely to create chaos if their efforts are appreciated. If, by any chance, a leader fails to be authoritative in solving disputes by assuming its existence that frustrates the employees. Managers should also delegate some duties to their juniors in order to empower and motivate them. The distribution of duties across departments should be fair to avoid conflicts and confrontations. However, the employees escalate the problem and impact the patient’s care in terms of the services they receive.

Nurses' Collaboration in Solving Conflict

In some organizations, when the managers communicate to nurses on the premises, they opt for collaboration as a means of dispute resolution. The resolution strategy involves ideas from other members and the leader’s opinions. After collaborating, the solution derived favors one side more than the other, but both parties have to arrive at a consensus to ensure patient care improves (Turrentine et al., 2016). However, the final solution has input from all the parties that take part in the process and their own opinions. The decision that the nurses make is satisfying and has a positive impact on their overall performance. When solving interpersonal conflict, the parties participating have a right to select the collaboration method if at all the situation demands. Proper dispute resolution through collaboration makes the parties have specific approaches that are applied the next time when solving another conflict.

Conclusion

When it comes to health care services, not all cases of conflict resolution in the nursing sector acquire a fast, reliable, and thorough solution. Alternatively, some conflicts may not be fully solved by the time the participants are concluding their assignment. Nurses face dramas at their working stations from the managers and patients as well. Regardless of the kind of relationship between a specific nurse and the staff or patients, all workers should strive to provide efficient and reliable services. In the nursing industry, words from the mouth are very evident. Therefore the best thing to do is stay positive, gracious, and courteous.

References

Angelo, E. (2019). Managing interpersonal conflict: Steps for success. Nursing Management, 50(6), 22-28. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.numa.0000558479.54449.ed

Jerng, J., Huang, S., Liang, H., Chen, L., Lin, C., & Huang, H. et al. (2017). Workplace interpersonal conflicts among healthcare workers: Retrospective exploration from the institutional incident reporting system of a university-affiliated medical center. PLOS ONE, 12(2), e0171696. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171696

Shah. M. (2017). Impact of interpersonal conflict in the health care setting on patients. The role of the nursing leadership style in resolving conflict. Nurse& care Open Access Journal 2, (2), 44-46. https://doi.org/10.15406/ncoaj.2017.02.00031

Turrentine, F., Rose, K., Hanks, J., Lorntz, B., Owen, J., Brashers, V., & Ramsdale, E. (2016). Interprofessional training enhances collaboration between nursing and medical students: A pilot study. Nurse Education Today, 40, 33-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2016.01.024