Conflict Resolution in Nursing - Essay Example

Conflict Resolution in Nursing Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Conflict Resolution in Nursing In most workplaces, conflict is an inevitable factor that no manager or leader is able to avoid it. In a nursing perspective, conflict can be described as the situation in which two nursing professional has different views on a situation or a particular task. It can also be defined as the struggle in which two or more different individuals perceive or are incompatible over a certain situation or perceive a situation from different angles in order to achieve their goals (Kelly, 2013). Conflict is able to cause a sense of panic and tension such that people fail to interact fully. Conflict can be of different types such that there is a conflict between individuals, groups, or between health facilities. In order to manage conflict, nursing leaders should be able to analyse the conflict in order to develop the best strategy (Garner, 2011). Among the strategies used by nursing leaders are the five main conflict resolution management strategies, which include competition, compromising, avoiding, collaboration and accommodations. Leaders in nursing spend on average 30 per cent of their total time in managing conflicts between staff members and clients. Hence some managers have developed strategies in managing these conflicts in a more productive manner to ensure that all parties are not affected negatively. The according to the Thomas Killman conflict models index, five strategies are used in managing conflict in nursing situations. These strategies include competence, avoidance, compromising, collaborating and accommodating (Rogolosi, 2013). This strategy has been applied differently and has served different roles in conflict management between nursing employees. This paper focuses on a critical analysis of the applicability of the five main conflict resolution management strategies, their importance and effectiveness in managing nursing conflicts. Accommodating is the aspect where conflicting parties are able to work on a smooth strategy in order to resolve a conflict. In these strategies, the conflicting parties are cooperating in order to come up with a solution, and there is less aggressiveness. It can be described as the conciliation which is present when one individual group of people is willing and ready to yield to the other. This strategy is important in resolving conflict because it ensures that all parties involved in the conflict are considered in coming up with the solution. In addition, leaders are able to allow the conflicting parties in expressing themselves in order to determine the best working solution that will benefit all parties involved. Leaders should be able to apply these strategies in resolving conflicts that arise when two staff members are committed (Garner, 2011). For example, a nurse may not be willing to address an issue with another staff member for fear of intimidation hence agrees to assist another nurse in a task, whereas he or she is committed elsewhere. Instead of challenging the situation, the nurse agrees in helping the task while his own task is waiting. Leaders apply accommodation by encouraging the nurses to have a schedule of working in the medical facilities in order to make sure that all nurses are able to complete their work in time. This strategy is effective when a nurse is able to realize that they are doing wrong when the issue is more important than the work they are helping. Leaders can also use this to build a strong relationship between staff members (Leary, 2008). Avoiding a conflicting is one of the strategies that are used by leaders in management positions to resolve conflict. This is seen when a nurse leader is able to avoid individuals whom they find troublesome in the working environment. These leaders will make sure that they do not engage in a conversation with such nurses by postponing meetings. Although avoiding a conflict is not the best way to resolve conflict in nursing professionals, nurse leaders can apply the strategy in different contexts. In fact, the strategy is important when the nurse in conflict is known to have no good reasoning and have a negative contribution in problem solving (Garner, 2011). In addition, avoiding a conflict is important especially when both conflicting parties are high tempers. This allows the parties involved to cool down before the resolution can be found. In addition, this strategy can be applied in situations where the nurse leader does not have sufficient information concerning the conflict. This means that he or she will avoid the conflict by delaying it until he or she has gathered enough evidence or information to resolve the conflict in the best way possible (Barr & Dowding, 2012). However, this strategy is not applicable to conflicts that require urgent attention of the nurse leaders. This means that the application of this strategy is only to small issues that may not have a great impact on the working environment or in the health care system. In fact, it is recommended that avoidance should be used when the damage that comes with the conflict is less that the benefits. This is because nurses who avoid conflicts are always at odds in improving the work standards in the health care systems. Therefore, the effectiveness of avoidance as a strategy of conflict management in nursing context is dependent on the conflict and the urgency of the solution required solving the conflict (Leary, 2008). Competing is one of the strategies used in solving conflicts among the nurses. Competition is where each party involved is struggling to dictate or impose a decision concerning a certain issue affecting their work. It is actually, the situation in which one group or party is struggling to attain complete dominance over a certain issue. In competition, the aim is to ensure that one party wins the issue at whatever cost. Leaders in nursing profession use this strategy in situations where an urgent solution to a problem is required. This means that the nurse leader uses his or her authority in enforcing a decision. This is important in case of emergency cases where a patient is in need of medical attention (Leary, 2008). This means that the application of this strategy is important when a quick decision is required in a health facility to deal with no issues, and there is no enough time to debate the issue. In addition, the strategy has been effective in cases where an unpopular course of action is necessary to implement. However, this strategy does not encourage cooperation between leaders and members of staff. This is because decisions are made by the leader alone and in an assertive manner (Harvey &
Sedas, 2008). This implies that the effectiveness of this strategy is dependent on the situation at hand. It should only be used in cases where the other nurses will not ever question the leader’s decision. A leader who often uses this strategy is likely to have nurses who are less empowered and indecisive nurses. In addition, the nurses may be slow to act and may end up ineffective during g a situation when the leader is absent (Rogolosi, 2013). Compromising is a strategy that refers to the situation where one is taking soft bargains concerning an issue. This result in a less than ideal solution resulting from concessions made. This is evident especially when one party is willing to give up something in order to gain leverage on another. Nurse leaders use this strategy to make sure that conflicting parties are able to soften their bargains and give up some issues while they get something in return (Garner, 2011). This is important in ensuring that a strong relationship is maintained between nurses in the health care profession. The application of this strategy is seen when the leaders need to arrive at a temporary settlement concerning a complex problem. It acts as a quick solution as the leader analyse the situation further. In most cases, this strategy is applied in moderate issues that are less likely to compromise the safety of patients. However, this strategy is effective when the conflicting parties have equal powers. If used between parties that have differing powers, one party may feel intimidated rendering the strategy ineffective. Overuse of the strategy may have negative results in the management of health care systems for parties tend to become cynical as concessions are often used to make people with equal powers happy by compromising on the conflict (Leary, 2008). Collaboration between conflicting parties is seen as the best strategy in resolving nursing conflicts. This strategy is important in ensuring that all parties in the conflict are able to achieve their objectives (Garner, 2011). It is important in ensuring that areas of agreement and disagreement are fully identified and addressed in order to come up with a long lasting solution. The effectiveness of this strategy is dependent on the ability of the leaders to ensure cooperation between conflicting parties in order to come up with a solution that will benefit all parties. Although it is regarded as the best way to solve conflict, leaders should be cautious since they may end up spending a lot of resources and time in resolving a problem (Leary, 2008). Conclusion Nursing management t entails the different aspects that are involved in managing the nursing activities in a health care facility. The management systems adopted by different leaders are indicative of their leadership skills. In addition, nursing management is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring good relationships between nursing professionals and between nurses and clients. Among the key roles of nursing leaders is conflict resolution in the health nursing professional. In order to resolve a conflict and manage workers well, nursing leaders should be able to use the Thomas Killman conflict models index properly in order to resolve conflict. Among the five strategies in Thomas Killman conflict models index are avoidance, collaboration, compromising, competence and accommodation. Depending on the conflict, each strategy is applicable to certain limits upon which it further application may result in undesirable consequences. In addition, the effectiveness of these strategies depends on the willingness of the parties involved and their commitment to solving the conflict. Therefore, nurse leaders should analyse a situation and weigh the limitations and benefit of using a strategy in conflict management and resolution. References Barr, J., & Dowding, L. (2012). Leadership in Health Care. London: SAGE. Garner, C. (2011). Nursing Strategies: Common Tactics for Managing Conflict. Health care Blog. Retrieved from http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2011/07/27/nursing-strategies-common-tactics-for-managing-conflict/ Harvey, E., & Seda, M. (2008). The Power of 10%, How small changes can make a big difference. Texas: The walk the talk company. Kelly, P. (2013). Essentials of Nursing Leadership & Management. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Leary, A. (2008). Conflict
Resolution. Retrieved from www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/692-08AL.pdf‎. Rogolosi, E. (2013). Management and Leadership in Nursing and Health Care: An Experiential Approach. New York: Springer Publishing Company Read More