Uniting forces is of extreme importance in the medical field, where excessive self-reliance may lead to adverse patient outcomes. A nursing leader should accept that building team cohesion is not an easy task, and conflicts are a natural part of it. A good understanding of key factors influencing team familiarity may help to develop a solid conflict resolution strategy. First, it is important to coordinate activities between employees of patient access and outpatient clinics. Sometimes, an array of miscommunications amounts to a full-fledged conflict, which is to avoid. Thus, a nursing leader might want to tackle the issue from both technical and interpersonal sides. Technically, all entities should be connected, i.e., have common means of communication and share databases.
Second, a nurse leader should be able to tap into each individual member’s potential. Even if employees have the same scope of responsibilities, their personal qualities and propensities may still vary. It is possible that some people on the team have built up resentment because they did not feel acknowledged for who they are and what they are capable of (Souza, Peduzzi, Silva, & Carvalho, 2016). Thus, a good strategy would be to learn where knowledge lies. A nursing leader might want to introduce activities that would unveil each member’s personality and let them demonstrate their abilities.
Lastly, employees of patient access and outpatient clinics might struggle to comprehend the “why” of their professional activities. However, they can become united under the same system of values. Thus, the task of a nursing leader here is to communicate the vision and the mission. As Souza et al. (2016) state, seeing one’s work as meaningful and beneficial to third parties might boost employees’ confidence and motivation.
Reference
Souza, G. C. D., Peduzzi, M., Silva, J. A. M. D., & Carvalho, B. G. (2016). Teamwork in nursing: Restricted to nursing professionals or an interprofessional collaboration? Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 50(4), 642-649.