How to deal with conflict at work can lead to either positive or negative results in your work environment. Effective leaders consider conflict a puzzle that needs solving. Read the case study below about a work conflict, and then respond to the questions.
A BSN nurse previously worked as a hospice nurse accepted a position at a local hospital in a pediatric intensive care unit. Because of her outstanding work ethic and eagerness to learn, it was only a few months before she was offered a promotion to nursing supervisor of the morning shift. Her duties now included making patient assignments, communicating with other areas of the hospital, and addressing patient complaints, among other things.
Although this promotion suited this nurse for a challenging work environment, the change deeply upset the staff nurses on the pediatric unit. Most of the staff nurses had worked on the unit for many years and felt that this nurse few months of experience was not sufficient in comparison.
The discontent among the staff nurses soon became very apparent , Her job as nursing supervisor became very difficult as the staff nurses became extremely uncooperative. The complaints over patient and task assignments came first, she hoped that simply ignoring the staff nurses’ behavior would cause this behavior to diminish on its own, but that was not the case. The staff nurses resorted to procrastination, and whenever she approached them with additional tasks, they each had an endless stream of excuses.
She brought the discussion to one of her supervisors. Her supervisor, acknowledged the lack of professionalism in the staff nurses’ behavior; however, her supervisor made it very clear that being an adept nursing supervisor included the ability to handle issues or conflict that may arise within the unit. She encouraged the nurse to view this conflict as an opportunity to make some positive changes ,
Based on the case study, respond to the following:
•What conflict resolution strategies should this nurse utilize first?
•Which techniques for effective communication would be the most practical, as well as the most beneficial? Why?
Support your response with references from the professional nursing literature.
Sullivan, E. J. (2013). Effective leadership and management in nursing. (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.◦Chapter 8, “Thinking Critically, Making Decisions, Solving Problems”
Chap 9, Chap 12
Losa Iglesias, M., & Becerro De Bengoa Vallejo, R. (2012). Conflict resolution styles in the nursing profession. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 43(1), 73-80
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