Nurses and physicians point of view regarding causes of conflict between them and resolution strategies used

Abstract

Nursing is profession based on collaborative relationships with clients or patients and colleagues. Nurses who effectively deal with conflict demonstrating respect for their clients, their colleagues and the profession. This study was aimed at comparing between nurses and physicians point of view regarding causes of conflict between the first party and resolution strategies used. An analytic cross-sectional design was used in this study which was carried out in various medical departments and intensive care units at Ain Shams University Medical Hospital. A convenient sampling method was used to include 132 nurses and 139 physicians in this study. The researcher used two self-administrative questionnaires namely the conflict causes questionnaire and Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument (TKI). Results demonstrates statistically significant differences between nurses and physicians in five out of the seven categories of factors that may cause conflict between them. The accommodative strategy was the most used by both nurses and physicians. The study concluded that the conflict resolution strategy most commonly used by both categories is the "accommodating strategy". The study recommends that health professionals must develop communication and interpersonal skills and understanding of causes, approaches and strategies of conflict management.

An integrative review on conflict management styles among nursing professionals: implications for nursing management

“…Five studies reported “accommodation” as the most frequently used conflict‐management styles among nursing professionals (Akel & Elazeem, ; ; Baddar et al., ; Chris, ; Kunaviktikul, Nuntasupawat, Srisuphan, & Booth, ; Whitworth, ). Of these studies, two examined conflict‐management styles in staff nurses (Akel & Elazeem, ; Baddar et al., ) and in three studies the staff nurses and nurse managers were included as study participants (Chris, ; Kunaviktikul et al., ; Whitworth, ). For instance, Baddar et al.…”

“…In dealing with conflict with doctors, nurses in Saudi Arabia with diplomas preferred to use compromising, while nurses who had a baccalaureate degree had a greater preference for the collaborative strategy (Baddar et al., ). In one study, involving nurses in Egypt, the nurses’ qualifications had a weak or negative correlation with the collaboration dimension, suggesting a lower use of collaborating styles in nurses with higher academic degrees (Akel & Elazeem, ).…”

“…With the dynamic nature of construct under study, using a longitudinal design would be useful to track how conflict develops, changes, and deteriorates with time. Inadequate sample sizes were common to most studies and only four studies (Johansen & Cadmus, ; Akel & Elazeem, ; Başoğul & Özgür, ; Baddar et al., ) utilized a power analysis to estimate the required sample size. These factors may interfere with statistical findings and could affect the outcomes reported in the overall findings.…”

“…Seven studies reported "competing" as the least frequently used style of managing conflict in nurses. Of these studies, four studies focused on staff nurses (Al Hamdan et al, 2014;Chris, 2015;Ebrahim et al, 2014;Kunaviktikul et al, 2000) and in the remaining four studies the focus was both on nurses and nurse managers (Akel & Elazeem, 2015;Ahanchian et al, 2015;Baddar et al, 2016;Kaitelidou et al, 2012). For example in India and Thailand, the least frequently used conflict-management styles among Indian and Thai nurses and nurse managers were observed in the "competing" subscale, indicating a lower preference of this style when confronted with conflict (Chris, 2015;Kunaviktikul et al, 2000).…”

Causes of conflict between clinical and administrative staff in hospitals

“…Otherwise, such differences may lead to conflict. [5]“Conflict is a dynamic process that occurs between interdependent parties as they experience negative emotional reactions to perceived disagreements and interference with the attainment of their goals.”[6] As Brinkert noted, it is fundamentally a communication process which can potentially arise when individuals are engaged in communications with one another. Therefore, never does the conflict happen in the lack of communication.…”