Conflict Resolution -Part 3
Tools for Nursing

Nurses as Facilitators of Conflict Resolution

Nurses need to become proactive and learn how to effectively communicate with their patients, the patients’ families and friends, as well as their colleagues (Pettrey, 2003). Good communication skills (see effective communication table) allow the nurse to resolve his or her own conflicts or facilitate conflict resolution between other individuals. As a facilitator, the nurse must protect each person’s self respect by focusing on the issue(s), and not the personality of the party involved. It is also important not to blame the participants for the problem. This hinders open and complete discussion of the issue. Encouraging discussion of both positive and negative feelings will increase the chances of both parties expressing all of their concerns. Fostering active listening and understanding enhances this. The facilitator must allow for equal time for all parties to participate expressing their opinions. The nurse must summarize key themes in the discussion and assist in developing alternative solutions to the issue. At a later date or time the facilitator must follow up on the progress of the conflict resolution and give positive feedback to both parties related to the use of problem solving skills (Leddy & Pepper, 1998).

Case Study

It has been an accepted practice at nurse Susie’s* healthcare organization to keep the narcotic cupboard, syringe drawers, medication fridge, and medication cart unlocked during a nurse’s shift and during shift change. So, imagine nurse Susie’s surprise when without warning nurse Betty locked the narcotic cupboard, syringe drawers, medication fridge, and the medication cart. Nurse Susie had learned to respond to conflict with retaliation, resulting in her deciding to act out her frustration in covert ways. She decided to not only report to work late whenever she would receive keys and report from nurse Betty, but also preceded to unlock and count everything in an exaggerated slow manner.
It quickly became apparent to nurse Betty that nurse Susie’s attitude toward her had changed. Nurse Susie decided to utilize her good communication skills, to resolve the possible conflict between them. Nurse Susie told nurse Betty that since nurse Susie was locking everything on purpose, she was retaliating and reporting late, unlocking and counting slow on purpose. The policy at nurse Susie’s healthcare organization is that everything is to be locked when not in use; it had been accepted practice to not lock anything. After a State inspection by the Commissioner, a citation was issued for failure to comply with the policy.
Nurse Betty had decided to break the social norm and follow the policy, to prevent another possible citation. She did not communicate her change in routine, because she thought that it was an obvious response to the citation. Since she did not communicate this to her colleagues, she was perceived as having locked everything on purpose, in retaliation for some unknown cause. By clarifying, and asking open-ended questions nurse Betty was able to resolve the conflict between herself and nurse Susie.

* names have been altered to protect the nurses identity
Conclusion

Nurses need to remember that the foundation of nursing care is the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, which contributes to the patient’s well-being and health. This therapeutic relationship is threatened whenever there is conflict, either with the patient, the patients’ family, the patients’ friends, or colleagues. It hinders communication, collaboration, and teamwork. Nurses need to remember that they share the responsibility with their employers to create a healthy workplace environment, ensuring that conflict does not negatively affect the patients’ health outcomes or the relationships among colleagues (CNO, 2006). By becoming more accountable, nurses are able to decrease, if not eliminate conflict in their organization by utilizing good communication skills and assisting in facilitating conflict resolution between individuals. Cont'd

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