Introduction
The growing diversification of nurse responsibilities can lead to the emergence of conflicts, some of which cannot be resolved with immediate intervention. Nevertheless, by analyzing the conflict it is possible to identify the strengths of the involved parties and devise strategies for further prevention of similar occurrences.
Description of the Conflict
The unresolved conflict was observed during the check of the patients done by the hospital staff. Two nurses were present in a room. One of them was addressed by one of the patients on the topic unrelated to health. Before the conflict, this patient was known to have minor mood disorders which could be improved via simple and friendly communication sessions on several occasions. Importantly, in the described situation the patient was not displaying signs of emotional instability and probably initiated the conversation for amusement or as a result of the habit formed by previous experience. The second nurse who was present in the room reminded him discreetly about the amount of work left to do and suggested to proceed as quickly as possible with the talk. The first nurse finished the conversation politely and followed the second one out of the room.
However, once both exited the ward, the second nurse went on with the criticism of the first nurse’s time management skills and unprofessional behavior. Her main point was the recurring waste of time on needlessly lengthy conversations held with patients regularly which allegedly resulted in the inability to perform “more important tasks” on time. The first nurse responded that these conversations were required for ensuring the improvement of the emotional state of the patients and were therefore clearly within the range of nurses’ responsibilities. The description of the conversations as “recurring” allows us to assume that the conflict was triggered by a long streak of similar events rather than the spontaneous and emotional outburst. The second nurse perceived the communication sessions as a sign of unprofessional behavior and as a reason for the delays in their daily routines. After voicing her dissatisfaction, the second nurse once again reminded the first one about the shortage of time and urged him to hurry to the next room. The duration of the entire encounter was not more than four minutes and did not compromise the function of the hospital since both participants managed to talk quietly (although both were visibly impacted by the occurrence emotionally).
Neither theirs nor anyone else’s working process was directly interrupted by the conflict and no patients witnessed the conflict except the one directly involved, although he showed no signs of stress or dissatisfaction with it. Therefore, we can conclude that no immediate harm resulted from the conflict. Nevertheless, the situation may lead to several undesirable long-term effects in the future. First, it is possible that the contents of the dispute could be overheard by some of the patients, which would result in the impression of the hostile workplace climate and the lack of proper management leading to the emergence of such conflicts of priorities. Since the conversation began in the room with three patients, the likelihood of such an event is relatively high. Second, both nurses clearly stated their views on the issue but no sign of reaching a meaningful conclusion was observed, and the second nurse showed impatience in terminating the conversation. These facts suggest that the conflict remained unresolved and is likely to resurface under similar circumstances. Alternatively, the first nurse may comply with criticism and modify his practice to evade further issues. The first option disrupts healthy workplace relationships while the second one is expected to decrease productivity and job satisfaction as well as compromise the emotional wellbeing of the patients.
Conflict Classification
The main cause of the conflict was the difference in understanding of the role of a nurse in the workplace and the lack of agreement on the range of responsibilities and tasks required to be performed during the routine. Since it also occurred between two individuals with conflicting views on the matter, it can be defined as an individual (Huber, 2013). It should be noted that the conflict was at least partially rooted in the ambiguity of the task prioritizing in the nursing profession. Another important detail is the obvious concern with the productivity displayed by both nurses. Both sides voiced relevant points and insisted on their importance, which under other circumstances could be considered an advantage. The determination to ensure productivity among co-workers is an important trait of an involved employee and aligns well with the concept of empowerment and engagement currently gaining momentum in the field. Therefore, the issue can be attributed to the misunderstanding of the concept and the lack of collaborative skills.
Four Stages of the Conflict
Latent conflict is a stage during which certain events set the stage for the conflict. In our case, the latent stage started when the first nurse was prompted for a conversation by the patient and responded to him.
Perceived conflict is a stage during which the events take shape and form a reason for the dissatisfaction of one of the parties. In our case, the perceived conflict was initiated when the second nurse felt that the time allocated for the conversation with the patient was interfering with the schedule.
Felt conflict is the stage during which the event becomes acknowledged as a reason for disturbance by one of the involved parties. In our case, the conflict entered this stage when the second nurse became aware of the fact that prior communications of the same kind could be correlated with previous shortcomings and discrepancies in routine task completion. This could be in the form of the recent negative experience and did not have to be based on evidence.
Manifested conflict is the stage during which the issue is being communicated and specified by one of the sides. In our case, the conflict manifested in the conversation which started in discrete form and escalated to the dispute outside the room. While the manifestation was focused on professional issues and was performed relatively neutrally in terms of emotional background, which suggests the constructive nature of manifestation, it did not produce any meaningful solution and was conducted in an unsuitable setting, which characterizes the manifestation as destructive.
Delegation
This particular conflict did not involve delegation since the actions of both sides were within the range of their direct responsibilities. However, it should be acknowledged that delegation can create a similar or stronger conflict of the same kind, especially if the ambiguous range of responsibilities is aggravated by poor communication of duties.
Conflict Resolution Strategies
The most viable strategy for resolving the described conflict is reporting the issue to the nurse leader and reaching the consensus through discussion (Yoder-Wise, 2014). Both nurses already demonstrated readiness to discuss the issue, certain level of control and emotional stability, and understanding of their preferred position. The leader is expected to assist them in reaching common ground, point out the weaknesses of clinging to one side, and ignoring another and emphasize the importance of cooperation which would allow achieving the necessary level of productivity without sacrificing the emotional stability of the patients and their satisfaction with the services. In other words, both sides possess a sufficient level of proficiency to arrive at the solution but lack coordination, unified effort, and, possibly, time to reach it, thus, nurse leader collaboration is needed (Yoder-Wise, 2014).
Another important strategy that is required to minimize the likelihood of similar conflicts in the future is the clarification of the responsibilities of nurses and the technical aspects of the performed tasks. Both nurses understand the basic grasp of maintaining the integrity of performance as well as the breadth of the responsibilities. However, neither of them substantiated their claims with appropriate standards and requirements. This can be achieved on the organizational level by introducing more flexible schedules allowing for freedom of decision-making (Schmidt, Roesler, Kusserow, & Rau, 2014). Such an approach needs to be backed with training sessions aimed at improving teamwork and collaborative skills to account for intolerance demonstrated in the conflict. Once the advantages of empowerment and cooperation are understood and accepted, such conflicts are expected to decrease (Regan, Laschinger, & Wong, 2016).
Conclusion
The conflict in question is relatively harmless and poses no immediate risks. However, its subtle and complicated nature illustrates several inconsistencies in current nursing practices and shortcomings in understanding important concepts. While its resolution requires coordination and participation of nurse leaders, it also gives some insights on recommended behavior for conflict participants and may be adopted for deescalating future conflicts with a similar background.
References
Huber, D. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. Iowa, IA: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Regan, S., Laschinger, H. K., & Wong, C. A. (2016). The influence of empowerment, authentic leadership, and professional practice environments on nurses’ perceived interprofessional collaboration. Journal of nursing management, 24(1), 54-61.
Schmidt, S., Roesler, U., Kusserow, T., & Rau, R. (2014). Uncertainty in the workplace: Examining role ambiguity and role conflict, and their link to depression—a meta-analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(1), 91-106.
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing. Iowa, IA: Elsevier Health Sciences. relationships. Communications of the ACM, 45(7), 103-108.