W4-Conflict in the Workplace

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CONFLICT IN THE WORKPLACE 4

Conflict in The Workplace

Name: Luis S. Cabrera

Course No: NU-605-02-21PAS1

Course Name: Concepts Nurs Leadership

Instructor: Diane Droutman

Institution: Regis College

Date of Submission: 05/26/2021

Conflict in the workplace

Conflicts are among the most common issues that occur in any work environment including the healthcare setting (Lahana et al., 2019). Nurses undertake various roles like being an educator, leader, and care provider that usually result in different forms of interactions amongst themselves and other healthcare professionals that increase the likelihood of conflicts (McKibben, 2017). For instance, conflicts among nurses may occur due to several reasons that include; poor communication skills, variations in care delivery, and poor definition of roles, care protocols, or expectations (Mosadeghrad & Mojbafan, 2019). However, the ability to resolve conflicts is one of the most essential components in nursing, especially among nurse leaders that helps in creating a healthy work environment.

One of the incidents that I have encountered in my professional nursing career that resulted in a conflict involved a disagreement between two nurses on how to change bandages. The issue occurred when a staff nurse disagreed with a newly hired nurse on the way she was changing the dressings and bandages. The staff nurse stated that the method used by the newly hired nurse to change bandages was inappropriate, and it was against the facility’s protocol. However, the newly hired nurse stated that her preferred method was the most appropriate method of changing dressings and bandages based on her experience. Instead of explaining to the newly hired nurse about the facility’s protocol, she shouted at her and criticized her method and steps of changing the patients’ bandages, which resulted in a conflict between the two nurses.

The main factors that contributed to this conflict included; differences in the methods used by the two nurses in changing the dressings and bandages, poor communication, and lack of understanding about the facility’s protocol by the newly hired nurse regarding the bandaging techniques. For instance, the staff nurse shouted at the newly hired nurse and criticized her bandaging methods, instead of explaining to her about the facility’s protocol.

However, the nurse leader helped in resolving the conflict by explaining to the newly hired nurse about the facility’s protocol in a polite way, which made her realize that her bandaging techniques and methods were different from the facility’s protocol leading to her adoption and adherence with the facility’s protocol on the techniques and procedure used in changing the patients’ dressing and bandages. Overall, this type of conflict can be categorized as an issue-based conflict that resulted from differences among nurses on their approach and technique for dealing with a common problem.

Conflicts are among the most common issues that occur in any work environment including the healthcare setting, and they are inevitable (Lahana et al., 2019). The conflicts may occur due to various reasons that include; incompatible personalities, structural issues, and differing opinions (Grubaugh & Flynn, 2018). Sometimes the workplace conflicts may be worsened by various factors such as inadequate resources, long working hours, and organizational change. Poor management of conflicts may result in various consequences that include; decreased morale and productivity among the staff members, which may lead to huge financial losses for the healthcare organization (Lahana et al., 2019). However, nurse leaders could play a significant role in resolving and effectively managing the conflicts that occur in healthcare settings. To effectively manage and resolve these conflicts, nurse leaders must understand the sources of conflicts and come up with effective strategies for addressing them.

References

Grubaugh, M. L., & Flynn, L. (2018). Relationships among nurse manager leadership skills, conflict management, and unit teamwork. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 48(7/8), 383-388.

Lahana, E., Tsaras, K., Kalaitzidou, A., Galanis, P., Kaitelidou, D., & Sarafis, P. (2019). Conflicts management in public sector nursing. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 12(1), 33-39.

McKibben, L. (2017). Conflict management: importance and implications. British Journal of Nursing, 26(2), 100-103.

Mosadeghrad, A. M., & Mojbafan, A. (2019). Conflict and conflict management in hospitals. International journal of health care quality assurance.