Nursing & Workplace Conflict: Resolution !

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If you have worked in nursing for any amount of time, then you have probably come in contact with workplace conflicts.

How you do deal with these conflicts when they arise? Read the scenario below

Scenario: Jane has been following the night shift nurse for the past two days and each time she comes in, she feels like she is over-burdened with tasks left over from the day-shift nurse which she has to deal with before she can start her night.

Ariel, the day shift nurse has felt harried the past two days. The day shift has been popping busy and even though she feels sorry for having to leave some of her tasks for night shift nurse, Jane, she feels justified in doing so; after all nursing is a 24hour job!

A conflict is brewing because Jane is nearing her tolerance peak and is about to escalate. Ariel can feel the unspoken vibe and is waiting for Jane to "bring it on".

How should each respond to the situation?

1. They could duke it out (would make for good viewing:unsure:) or,

2. They could have an honest and non-judgmental communication

Many people, including you, respond to conflict in different ways, such as

1. Avoiding the conflict (non-effective in the long run)

2. Rationalizing their behavior ( again, not effective in the long run, makes the other party defensive)

3. "Bringing it on", full attack (most destructive and nothing is resolved)

4. Staying open-minded (most effective, but not always used)

How you react to confrontations or differing opinions are based on how you see yourself (your self image) and how you want others to see you (public image). If there is a disconnect in those images, it leads to you responding to conflict in a very non-constructive way. In responding to conflict, you should stay focused on understanding where the other person is coming from, LISTEN first before speaking.

Rephrase it back to the other person to understand where they are coming from before responding to the conflict.

And try as much as possible to resolve this conflict away from prying eyes. Other people tend to sometimes fuel the fire (knowingly or not). If unable to resolve the conflict between yourself, being in an independent but fair mediator and go at it again.

But on no account, should you resort to a full blown shouting match, it does nothing to resolve the issue but ends up making you feel bad about the whole situation and even worse about yourself and lack of self-control.

Questions? Concerns? Or contributions?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I am a naturally aggressive personality, so my conflict management 'style' was just as dysfunctional as the 'avoiders'. Over the years, I have learned three very important things about approaching conflict: 1) Seek first to understand, then to be understood & 2) Always assume positive intentions & 3) Begin by establishing a common goal.

So in the above scenario - both nurses have the same overall goal: quality patient care. They need to understand one another's positions.. in terms of how the left-over tasks are impacting that common goal. Perhaps they could reach a compromise - developing a mutually agreeable list of "never leave this" tasks but allowing others to slide. They should also set aside some time to follow up and evaluate how their agreement is working and if they need any additional changes.

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Specializes in ICU / Urgent Care.

Two pairs of boxing gloves and a bag of popcorn gets my vote

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Specializes in Hospice.

I am aggressive also, since moving into management I have had to take a good long look at myself, some days are easier than others, but I have learned to stop, take a deep cleansing breath, count to 10, and then force myself to look at the other persons side of the matter. I have on more than one occasion literally had to clench my jaw shut so I wouldn't say what I really wanted to say.

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I am aggressive also, since moving into management I have had to take a good long look at myself, some days are easier than others, but I have learned to stop, take a deep cleansing breath, count to 10, and then force myself to look at the other persons side of the matter. I have on more than one occasion literally had to clench my jaw shut so I wouldn't say what I really wanted to say.

Some days are like that. We also have to learn that, "he who angers us, controls us".

"Keep an open min attached to nothing. be not offended by what you see, hear, taste or smell"

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One of my nursing instructors says, "confront to heal, not hurt" and I take that with me wherever I go because I love that saying

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