Introduction
Conflicts in healthcare settings are often the result of the lack of communication between employees because of weaknesses in leadership or the organization of teamwork and the personnel’s collaboration. However, the problem is that any conflict that can be observed in a hospital has potentially negative effects on patients because conflicting situations influence the staff’s performance of duties (Finkelman, 2015).
As a result, the development of conflicts in healthcare settings can be viewed as a risky situation that needs to be addressed with the help of applying certain efficient strategies for conflict resolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe the case related to the development of a conflict in a healthcare setting, identify its type, discuss four stages of a conflict, and choose the strategy for its resolution depending on this conflict’s phase.
Description of the Conflict, Its Type, and Outcomes
The recurring conflict under analysis was observed in the setting of one of the hospitals in Miami, Florida. Two nurses working in the same unit during the day and night shifts could not collaborate effectively because they were not satisfied with the quality of work done by each other. It is important to note that Mrs. X, a night-time nurse, regularly discusses her inability to work effectively with her patients with the nurse leaders because Ms. Z, a day-time nurse, does not fill in all protocols efficiently.
Furthermore, there are no opportunities to understand whether all required procedures have been completed, and she does not leave any notes for night shift nurses, as is typical of other nurses in this unit. Moreover, Ms. Z does not communicate directly with Mrs. X even in the morning when her shift ends, and she states that she follows all rules and standards while performing her duties during a shift.
The fact that this situation is observed during several weeks and there is no improvement allows for speaking about the case as a recurring and unresolved conflict that leads to decreasing the quality of care for patients. The reason is that in many cases, these patients cannot be asked about the conducted procedures, and there are no protocols to plan the night care effectively. It is also important to note that this conflict between Mrs. X and Ms. Z can be classified as an interpersonal conflict.
The reason is that two nurses are involved in this problematic situation as interacting individuals (Finkelman, 2015). The issue is in these nurses’ inability to communicate effectively and agree on the strategy to inform each other about the results of their shifts following the standards of the hospital.
Four Stages of the Conflict
There are four stages of the conflict: a latent conflict, a perceived conflict, a felt conflict, and a manifest conflict. The first stage is associated with the anticipation of any conflict. Thus, individuals involved in a certain situation can anticipate some tension in it. A perceived conflict is related to recognizing the existence of a conflict. The next stage is a felt conflict, and participants begin to feel anxiety and stress associated with this conflict. The final stage is a manifest conflict when participants can behave constructively or destructively (Finkelman, 2015). One should note that constructive behavior is associated with certain attempts to resolve a conflict when destructive behavior is related to negative discussions of a problem and participants’ avoidance.
It is possible to state that Mrs. X and Ms. Z are at the final stage of the conflict, which is known as a manifest conflict, because Mrs. X discusses Ms. Z’s behavior with nurse leaders in negative terms, and she accentuates the nurse’s lack of competence. Moreover, Ms. Z ignores the policy regarding filling in protocols and communicating with other nurses while avoiding direct interactions with Mrs. X. Thus, their conflict should be viewed as open and requiring an immediate constructive solution. It is important to state that delegation issues are not related to this case because of the type of conflict.
Strategies for Conflict Resolution
In order to resolve the conflict between nurses, it is possible to use such strategies as accommodating, avoiding, competing, collaborating, and compromising. For this case, collaborating should be selected as the most effective strategy because it allows for sharing the goals and values, encouraging, and interacting according to the win-win approach (Ahanchian, Zeydi, & Armat, 2015; Finkelman, 2015). This strategy will work because Mrs. X and Ms. Z will receive an opportunity to discuss the issue and the areas for misunderstanding while developing a plan for overcoming the problem (Baddar, Salem, & Villagracia, 2016). Thus, it is possible to expect that Mrs. X and Ms. Z will communicate to develop an effective path for their collaboration referring to the needs and interests of each other.
It is also necessary to discuss the strategies that cannot be used in this case because of their weaknesses. Accommodating and competing are not appropriate because they mean that Mrs. X or Ms. Z should ignore her interests and adapt to the other person’s views (Fernandes, Araújo, & Pereira, 2018). Avoiding cannot actually resolve the conflict, and compromising is not suitable for this case because of problems in these nurses’ communication with each other.
While choosing an appropriate strategy, it is important to collaborate with a nurse leader. The reason is that the nurse leader has experience of working with Mrs. X or Ms. Z, and she can help in evaluating these nurses’ behaviors and their readiness to resolve the conflict. From this perspective, the collaboration with the nurse leader involves several meetings to select the strategy and discuss possible outcomes. The next stage is the meeting with Mrs. X or Ms. Z to organize their negotiations according to the principles of collaboration.
Conclusion
The described conflict allows for focusing on the problem of communication and collaboration between nurses although their effective interactions are important to improve health outcomes for patients. The analysis of the selected case demonstrates that, in spite of the fact that a collaborating strategy is effective for overcoming the conflict, it is possible to improve the approach to addressing interpersonal conflicts in the future.
The described conflict is at a manifest stage, but it is more appropriate to cope with conflicts when they are at earlier stages. At these stages, discussions of possible problems with the participants of a conflict can predict its further development that can negatively affect the quality of care for patients. Furthermore, the prevention of conflicts is even more important in this case, and in the context of a hospital setting, it can be realized with the help of training and teamwork for nurses to improve their collaboration under the guidance of nurse leaders.
References
Ahanchian, M. R., Zeydi, A. E., & Armat, M. R. (2015). Conflict management styles among Iranian critical care nursing staff: A cross-sectional study. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 34(3), 140-145.
Baddar, F., Salem, O. A., & Villagracia, H. N. (2016). Conflict resolution strategies of nurses in a selected government tertiary hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 6(5), 91-99.
Fernandes, R., Araújo, B., & Pereira, F. (2018). Nursing management and leadership approaches from the perspective of registered nurses in Portugal. Journal of Hospital Administration, 7(3), 1-9.
Finkelman, A. (2015). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education.