Conflict in Nursing: A Case Study
Conflict occurs at some point in every context where people interact, regardless of the individuals' connection, education level, race, or professionalism. Nursing is a career that necessitates the teamwork of nurses working in the same ward, which necessitates a great deal of interaction, information sharing, and consultations. Regardless of their level of expertise, academic qualifications, or position in the ward, several sorts of conflict emerge between them. The arguments that develop are mostly work-related, especially when the nurses involved have opposing opinions or points of view on a nursing technique. Any conflict cannot be allowed to last for a long period since it may interfere with the provision of care to patients and therefore there are well-established ways set to solve the differences that might arise. For this assignment, a conflict between a middle-level nurse (healthcare provider) and an expert nurse will be discussed, including the conflict resolution stages.
Conflict between Middle-Level Provider and Specialist
Nursing health care to a patient is a continuous process around the clock and therefore depending on the policy of a healthcare facility, shifts are made to be either two or three in a day. In a hospital setting where I went for my clinical placement, a middle-level nurse P was in charge of the ward at night or during the night shift and was to be relieved from duty by a specialist nurse Z in the morning. Handing over of patients and ward instruments such as a thermometer, blood pressure machines among others usually took place during shift change. A case erupted where a patient developed a condition, and the nurse managed him the best way she knew, but when describing the procedure, the specialist nurse notes that there was a default with the procedure, because it was not well conducted or it posed a danger for the patient. This led to the development of argument between them due to the difference in the level of experience. The specialist could be talking out of the experience, but the middle-level nurse misunderstands and took it as an insult because he or she had a rationale while conducting the procedure. Also, in the same setting on another occasion, nurse z was working at night and failed to conduct a certain procedure which is a failure to complete all the work to be done during the night shift. The nurse middle level nurse in the morning was dissatisfied by the nurse's intervention due to pilling up of produces to be conducted in the day. Nurse P was arguing that it was wrong for nurse Z to fail to complete the procedures since the patient that was not managed could have a prolonged stay in the hospital or even develop a complication. Nurse Z was trying to justify herself by saying that the workload was high and she could not be able to finish it alone since they were only two during that shift, and the other nurse had her duties. This event took place in a surgical ward.
In the same hospital, nurses of the same levels as described above were working in the pediatric ward during the same shift. A conflict erupted due to the difference in the prioritization of work. The specialist nurse X was having a lot of discharges to deal with, and the middle-level nurse R was teaching a mother on how to conduct a first aid on a two years baby who is chocking. Nurse X asked his colleague to come and help with the discharge forms because the procedure cab wait and training take place later after the discharge and other producers are over. Nurse R, on the contrary, knew what she was doing could help save a life of a child and hence could not stop her procedure. This led to a very unhealthy argument because in the process nurse X started talking about how she is experienced especially in the ward and that nurse R should humble herself and listen to what she is being told. This argument later cooled when another nurse who was attending a patient finished her procedure and went to offer help with the discharge. The other nurse acted as a mediator and told them that every procedure was relevant and hence they needed to plan the tasks in order of importance. Although they ceased to argue, the conflict was unresolved. This is because during the lunchtime the nurses also started arguing concerning who was right, nurse went to the extent of informing her fellow nurse that they both are equal since they are nurse doing the same type of work and he should not boast of how experienced he is because experience is about learning new things with time and he has not learnt everything yet. Nurse X said that he cannot keep urging with a middle-level nurse who to him is like a student and they both ceased to talk and held their grudges.
Stages of Conflicts
Latent stage
This is the first stage of the conflict, where the conflict may be in existence, but it has not been detected. Individuals might conflict without them coming to the awareness that a conflict exist. For instance, in a hospital setting, the nurse may conduct a wrong procedure, give an incorrect prescription but unknowingly (Finkelman, 2016). In this situation, the conflict has already arisen, but the nursing managers and the nurses are not yet aware of it.
Perceived stage
In this stage, both parties that is, the nursing management and the nurses are already fully aware of the situation at hand. They get to realize the existence of the conflicts. Here complains are made and analyzed accordingly. The nursing management now takes a step to approach the nurse and speak about the issue (Finkelman, 2016). These concerns from the management of the conflicts are always distressing and may also result in psychological disturbances.
Felt stage
There usually occur a feeling discomfort within the nursing environment that is brought about by stress and anxiety felt by an individual due to conflicts. This pressure is psychologically elevated; as a result, nursing working conditions and the current situation. That includes fear of the outcome of the conflict (Finkelman, 2016). The nursing managers do not deliberately enjoy causing conflicts at the same time the nursing employees are not willing to be under strict monitoring.
Aftermath stage
This is the final stage of a conflict, which usually takes place when there is some outcome of the conflict. These conflict outcomes may include resolution or dissolution of the problem. The nursing manager can correct the mistakes or errors with the clients as well as take appropriate steps to the nurses involved so as cautiousness and carefulness are maintained (Finkelman, 2016).
Delegation Role in the Conflicts
The delegation of duties was not an issue in both of the arguments. This is because for a delegation to exist, a mutual agreement on the type of task as well as the time frame provided has to exist. Although in both situations some nurses tried to unofficially hand over duties to their fellow nurses, this was declined because none had the authority to delegate to the other.
Strategies to Solve a Conflict
One strategy that should be adopted in accommodation, this is a situation where for instance two nurses are arguing, and one nurse decides to listen and let the other nurse win the case until the atmosphere cools. The nurse who decides to lose does not necessarily change his or her ideas concerning the topic of argument. In such a situation I can approach a nursing officer in charge and propose to him to call the nurses in the office and urge them to listen to one another, in the process, we can ask one of them who has a weaker point just to accept and move on. Another strategy to apply in solving conflict includes collaboration. This is a situation where for instance nurses work together to develop a unanimous decision that will make them conduct their duties harmoniously (Katz, & Flynn, 2013). For this situation, I can urge the nurse in charge to introduce a rule of equally dividing duties before the procedure is executed. This can ensure that the nurses collaborate in doing the duties and hence argument will not take place. Even during the argument, the nurses can reason out and collaborate in finding a better solution. Mediation is another method of solving a conflict that works very well. A neutral person helps to unite the conflicting parties such that they begin to reason together and find a better solution for their argument (Moore, 2014). The mediator here can be the nurse manager. This is because she is the head of the ward and according to her capacity each nurse will respect him or her. Therefore, they will be able to reason maturely and come up with a better conclusion.
Conclusion
Conflict if left unsolved can lead to harmful consequence, and therefore there should be a proper mechanism to deal with it when it emerges. Nurses of all the professionals should not allow arguments affect them to a level that they cannot serve the patients well since they deal with people's lives. Nursing managers should come up with ways of preventing disagreement between nurses working in the ward to ensure that continuity of care for the patients is smooth and in an orderly manner.
References
Moore, C. W. (2014). The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. John Wiley & Sons.
Katz, N. H., & Flynn, L. T. (2013). Understanding conflict management systems and strategies in the workplace: A pilot study. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 30(4), 393-410.
Finkelman, A. (2016). Improving Teamwork: Collaboration, Coordination, and
Conflict Resolution section on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, pp. 324-333.
