Conflict Resolution (Research Paper Sample)

Nursing
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Owing to the many improvements in nursing, the profession has continued to grow leaps and bounds. Today, advanced practice nurses (APNs) are able to play different roles, including advanced kind of clinical practice, professional/clinical leadership, research, as well as development (NHS, 2010). Conversely, physicians can play various roles as medical experts, care collaborators and communicators, managers, scholars, health advocates and professionals (DHMA, 2014).
In the recent past, there have been controversies regarding the need to expand APNs’ practice scope to allow them to practice to full degree of their training and education through elimination of the historical, policy and regulatory barriers (Iglehart, 2013). Some physicians feel that expanding APNs’ practice scope will infringe the most respected physician roles. Importantly, one of the controversies includes the authority of APNs to prescribe medications where required.
In fact, I witnessed a situation where nurses in the medical ward conflicted over the care of a patient who died after receiving medical attention from an APN who prescribed for her the medication regimen in the absence of the physician. When the physicians heard of the case, they confronted the specific APN who prescribed, and even wrote a proposal to revoke APNs’ prescription rights. The situation attracted different physicians and APNs who argued bitterly, with the argument turning physical when one physician slapped the accused APN. The following is a discussion of the role conflict with a focus on ways of resolving it using the 12 skills of resolving a conflict.
Looking at the aforementioned conflict, one of the skills of resolving it was to employ the evidence-based win-win approach. The approach would give room for compromise between the opposing parties (CRN, 2014). Through the approach, the physicians would stop opposing APNs’ prescription rights on condition that the APNs would prescribe in consultation with the physicians. Therefore, it would be important to ask the two teams to start collaborating in prescription rather than doing it alone with the urge of proving supremacy. Indeed, if there were collaborative consultation in prescription, there would have been no blame games following the patient’s death.
The second skill that would have helped in conflict resolution would have been the creative response whereby someone turns the problems into realistic possibilities (CRN, 2014). Creative response actually helps someone to see difficulties as challenges rather than as problems. Therefore, it would have been better to calm the nurses and the physicians by telling them to stop the blame game and instead brainstorm for the possible solutions. Perhaps, the approach would have allowed the conflicting parties to treat the case as a learning experience rather than a mistake from the APN.
Thirdly, empathy would be an imperative skill in such a case because it would help each conflicting party to feel that someone understands their grievances (CRN, 2014). Importantly, being empathetic would call for the person resolving the conflict to listen attentively to each party before suggesting possible solutions. Active listening will help in comprehending the clear picture, exploring the entire problem and getting appropriate solutions. In addition, empathy would have aided in calming down the conflict parties.
The fourth skill that would be of great importance is appropriate assertiveness because it helps in stating the mediator’s position without arousing defenses of physicians and the nurses on the issue (CRN, 2014). For instance, using the ‘‘I’’ statements would help in stating how the mediator feels are the expected standards of practice for the APNs and the physicians instead of criticizing them on what they should have avoided or done. For instance, I would say, ‘‘in my own opinion, I think both APNs and physicians can prescribe, but the process should be collaborative.’’ In so doing, everyone would see the sense of cooperating in finding a lasting solution for the prescribing controversy.
The other skill that would have aided in solving the conflict would have been cooperative power in which the conflict mediator asks some open-ended questions in order to reframe the resistance among the conflicting persons (CRN, 2014). In so doing, it becomes easy to explore difficulties before re-directing the discussion to positive possibilities. Indeed, if the conflict mediator used open questions, it would have been easy to clarify details, look for options, and move to positive ideas, as well as return to legitimate concerns and needs.
Furthermore, the conflict mediator may have tried to manage emotions by first handling his/her emotions towards the conflict and then handling the physicians and nurses’ emotions without bias. In handling their emotions, it would be necessary to support the needs of APNs and physicians without rooting for their destructive beliefs while alienating their reaction patterns (CRN, 2014). For instance, it is advisable to ask the nurses why they feel the physicians have offended them and then ask the physicians the same question. Once the conflict mediator is able to handle people’s emotions, there will absolutely be a spirit to collaborate in resolving the conflict.
Moreover, the other important skill for the management of the conflict is the willingness to resolve (CRN, 2014). The conflict mediator has to be ready to understand whether the nurses and the physicians have the will to resolve the conflict by assessing their suppressed needs, their unresolved individual histories and their unacceptable qualities. For instance, there could be a history of a similar conflict in the past, which would be triggering the current conflict. Therefore, it is important for the mediator to apply the concept of projection by seeing his/her thoughts in the physicians and nurses’ behaviors. Equally important is to recognize most of the individuals’ unknown side.
Accordingly, it is imperative to map the specific conflict by defining the existing issue and problem area in some neutral terms, which everyone would wholly agree on vehemently (CRN, 2014). Conflict mapping would for instance involve writing down the nurses and the physicians’ needs, their source of motivation, their concerns, anxieties and fears. Where possible, the conflict mediator should do conflict mapping for each individual involved in the conflict in order to understand each person better. If this had occurred, the nurses and the physicians would have begun to feel that someone is concerned about their issues.
The next skill would involve development of various options using the clarifying tools, the generating tools, and the negotiating tools. For instance, chunking and researching would help in breaking the problem down and getting more information (CRN, 2014). Moreover, brainstorming and consensus as generating tools can help in building solutions while the establishment of alternatives would be a crucial negotiating tool. If the conflict mediator had managed to derive the best feasible options, whereby the physicians and the nurses would work together, including in medication prescription, part of the solution would be achievable.
The other vital skill is negotiation, in which the nurses and the p...