Strategies for Managing Conflicts in Clinical Nursing - Report

This report delves into the critical issue of conflict resolution within clinical nursing environments. It defines conflict, exploring its various forms, including intra-professional conflicts like bullying and poor colleague relationships, and their detrimental impact on nurses' well-being and patient care. The report emphasizes the importance of proactive conflict management by nursing leaders to ensure patient safety and a harmonious work environment. It then outlines several key strategies for mitigating and resolving conflicts. These include enhancing communication skills, such as clearly expressing ideas and actively listening, as well as providing education and training on conflict resolution techniques, including active listening, effective decision-making, and team building. The report highlights that while complete avoidance of conflict is impossible, the application of these strategies can significantly minimize disagreements and foster a productive work environment conducive to delivering optimal patient care. The report concludes with the assertion that effective conflict resolution is paramount in the clinical setting, and that the proper application of these strategies empowers nurses to address issues and maintain a balanced and supportive work environment. The provided references support the ideas presented in the report.

Running head: CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
Conflicts in Clinical Nursing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
In order for clinical leaders to positively resolve conflict, they must develop strategies
that are effective in dealing with relationships and the various conflicts that are linked with
these relationships. Moreover, it is essential to understand what the term ‘conflict’ entails.
Recognizing conflict and building the adequate skills that are needed to resolve these issues is
an essential aspect of a leader. Thus, in order to settle these conflicts, it is imperative to
utilize proper tools and competence (Jeong, 2018). The primal focus of this discussion is to
properly understand the term ‘conflict’ and most importantly chalk out the strategies that may
be used in order to reduce conflict in a clinical environment.
It is essential for nursing leaders to proactively handle conflict in regards to patient
safety and even patient safety. Conflict may be defined as the disagreement between
parties where one of the parties have perceived a distinct threat to their interests and
concerns (Wallensteen, 2018). However, this may be deemed as a narrow definition of the
term. Ongoing conflicts at the work place are extremely complicated due to the intricate and
complex relationships that are involved. Moreover, due to the various and diverse perceptions
of individuals, often times it becomes difficult to come to a mutual agreement (O'Sullivan,
2017). There are several examples of intra-profession conflicts which may occur in a
clinical environment. For instance, there may be a severe case of bullying between two
nurses. This may evolve out of a jealousy out of many other factors. Facing these
conditions on a regular basis proves to be extremely difficult for a GRN nurse.
These instances of conflict can severely impact a nurse’s experience in a negative
manner. For instance, continuous bullying may lead to emotional distress. This in turn leads
to a tremendous level of job dissatisfaction. As a result, either the nurses would leave this
profession while at other times many nurses would continue to work in an unhappy
manner. Poor colleague relationship, especially when it comes to nursing, would also
negatively influence the nursing team (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). This in turn would break the

2CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
unity of the team and lead to a great deal of unnecessary arguments. The dissatisfaction levels
of a nurse could also affect patient health as well. Furthermore, in extreme situations
where conflict results in violence, the quality of patient care would be greatly
compromised. If these conflicts are left unresolved, then it would severely hamper the
clinical environment (Almost et al., 2016). Thus, it is essential that these conflicts are
properly handled in order to ensure harmony within the work environment.
In order to adequately and productively deal with these conflicts, it is essential to
adopt some problem solving strategies. These strategies would not only aid to mitigate any
intra-professional conflicts but also any problems that arise with the patient as well. In order
to handle these conflicts in an effective manner, the nurses in addition to all of the members
in the healthcare team need to collaborate while dividing their responsibilities evenly. It has
to be acknowledged that the conflict management style that is adopted by each
individual is not only influenced by an individual’s temperament. Rather, these strategies
are purely situational. Thus, an individual needs to apply those strategies that would best fit
the situation at hand. One of the best approaches to deal with conflict effectively is to
work on one’s communication skills (Riley, 2015). The capability to eloquently express
ideas and convey their message without any misunderstanding is one of the greatest assets
that a nurse can exhibit. It is widely accepted that if a problem is properly stated, then it is
considered to be half solved (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). Moreover, it is also extremely
necessary to avoid any kind of ‘troublemakers’ at all costs. These negative individuals
possess a tendency to complicate any situations that may be solved with communication and
hence it is better to avoid them. Another aspect of clear communication is to understand and
fully gather knowledge about a case before arriving at any concrete decisions. It is extremely
crucial to understand when to walk away from a situation and when to mediate conflict.
Moreover, before reacting negatively to any hurtful or upsetting comments, it is vital to

3CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
understand the source and the situation from where it arose. Thus, even though conflict
cannot be totally avoided, it can be severely minimized and resolved. Approaching any
issues with clear communication skills would not only lead to harmonious professional
relationships but it would also lead to a productive work environment (Bach & Grant,
2015).
A second manner in which conflicts can be reduced is through education and
training. It is essential that potential nurses be informed and educated about strategies that
may be applied to reduce conflicts. If they are not equipped beforehand regarding the
different strategies that they may utilize then it becomes extremely difficult for them to
handle the situation effectively (Grohar-Murray, DiCroce & Langan, 2016). Properly learning
these strategies would exponentially assist the nurses to resolve the conflicts early on, rather
than fuelling them to an extent where situations may turn sour. This would not only empower
the nurses but this would enable them to deliver proper patient care as well. The
implementation of these strategies would in turn lead to a peaceful and productive work
environment. However, this training should not only be restricted to handling interpersonal
problems. On the contrary, it should comprise of all hypothetical conflicts that may arise
within the work environment. Though it is not realistically possible to foreshadow all of the
conflicts that may arise, an individual may innovate and combine the strategies they have
learned to combat the problems that they are facing at the workplace. This would not only
develop a nurse’s problem solving skills but it would also prepare them for dealing with any
kind of negativity in a fruitful manner. Some of the strategies that may be taught within
this training are active listening, effective and quick decision making, problem
identification and team building (Kanbay & Okanlı, 2017). These strategies along with
fostering good relationships with the faculty and patients would prove to be extremely helpful
in order to attenuate any disagreements.

4CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
Therefore, it can be deduced that the proper implementation of problem-solving
strategies would aid a GRN nurse’s journey to be extremely peaceful and constructive.
Avoiding conflict altogether is an impossible predicament, but applying proper strategies to
deal with these conflicts would lead to a harmonious work environment. Working in a
balanced work environment would be ideal for a nurse when it comes to delivering the best
patient care. Hence, these conflict resolution strategies would aid one to solve these problems
head-on and deal with these issues in an empowered manner. Thus, it may be concluded that
conflict resolution is extremely paramount when it comes to a clinical environment.

5CONFLICTS IN CLINICAL NURSING
References
Almost, J., Wolff, A. C., Stewart‐Pyne, A., McCormick, L. G., Strachan, D., & D'souza, C.
(2016). Managing and mitigating conflict in healthcare teams: an integrative
review. Journal of advanced nursing, 72(7), 1490-1505.
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2019). Interpersonal Relationships E-Book: Professional
Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bach, S., & Grant, A. (2015). Communication and interpersonal skills in nursing. Learning
Matters.
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Grohar-Murray, M. E., DiCroce, H. R., & Langan, J. C. (2016). Leadership and management
in nursing. Pearson.
Jeong, H. W. (Ed.). (2018). Conflict resolution: dynamics, process and structure. Routledge.
Kanbay, Y., & Okanlı, A. (2017). The effect of critical thinking education on nursing
students’ problem-solving skills. Contemporary nurse, 53(3), 313-321.
O'Sullivan, M. (2017). The Structural Causes of Workplace Conflict: Understanding the
Implications for the Mediation of Workplace Disputes. Bond L. Rev., 29, 87.
Riley, J. B. (2015). Communication in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Wallensteen, P. (2018). Understanding conflict resolution. SAGE Publications Limited.